CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya while addressing a press conference on Dec 21 in Patna, has said that results of Assembly elections in five states are a good indicator for the politics in coming days. He said almost complete rout of BJP especially in Chhattisgarh where repression was highest, natural resources and lands were being handed over to the corporates, activists were being terrorised terming them as ‘urban naxals’, the chief minister of UP was spreading communal venom, and two Jio officials were found right inside the strong room where EVMs were kept, in spite of all this people rejected BJP in its very laboratory of ‘Green Hunt’ is a very encouraging sign. Similar trend was apparent in MP and Rajasthan, while BJP’s designs to capture North East were also foiled by the electoral results in Mizoram. BJP was rejected in Telangana too. This gives encouraging signals for the democratic forces all over the country who must work hard to repeat Chhattisgarh in the forthcoming 2019 election.
While the Adivasis from North East to Chhattisgarh have given a befitting reply to BJP which has devastated their lives and livelihoods, the latter is now trying to divide the society on communal lines in the name of so called Rath Yatra in West Bengal. This will also be met with fitting resistance from all democratic forces.
This is not appropriate to give credit for the series of BJP’s electoral defeats to the Congress, said Comrade Dipankar. He emphasised on the fact that irrespective of Congress party’s ample opportunist maneuvering of soft Hindutva stance during these elections, it was the struggles of students, unemployed and underemployed youth, struggles of women, Dalits and adivasis against oppression, and struggles of farmers, workers and middle classes against economic hardships which played a decisive role and forged a widespread unity against the BJP. After Mandsaur firing on peasants, farmers increase their assertion all over the country and organised massive mobilisations in the national capital, and now the farmers struggle has attained political dimensions. The civil society, intellectuals, journalists, teachers and students in the universities have stood firmly against BJP and its fascist actions, this all has contributed to the defeat of BJP in five states, he said.
The CPI(ML) has resolved in the meeting of its Central Committee held on 18-20 Dec in Ara, Bihar to strengthen this resistance of the Indian people against fascist forces in order to fight for a true democratic India of Bhagat Singh and Amebdkar’s dreams. The party will support the All India General Strike called by the central trade unions on 8-9 January 2019. The party will also work to make the massive Students-Youth march to be held in February ’19 a great success, and also to fight for the Citizens’ Charter issued by the All India Peoples’ Forum (AIPF) for the year 2019.
The party has criticised Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for not fulfilling his own promises made with the ASHA workers of Bihar and not calling them for talks who are on strike since 1 December. There are different sections of workers agitating for their genuine demands in many states. Mid-day meal workers are striking, while Para Teachers in Jharkhand are facing severe repression from the state government and many of them have even died during agitation. CPI(ML) salutes all the struggling people and their courage to stand up against unprecedented repression. There is an urgent need to strengthen the struggles of honorarium and contract workers in all states.
There is an urge among the people of Jharkhand and Bihar to form an effective unity among the opposition parties to defeat the BJP in coming elections. The CPI(ML) has constituted coordination committees separately to negotiate with all concerned parties in respective states.
The CPI(ML) strongly opposes Citizenship Amendment Bill which is perpetrating communal divisions among the people of Assam, and so far at least five persons have been killed by the violent mobs and those sent in detention camps are being subjected to inhuman conditions. There are attempts by BJP regime to change the very definition of Citizenship of India which must be opposed. The CPI(ML) supports parties opposing these designs and will participate in the protest on this issue to be held in New Delhi on Dec 28 by the left parties jointly.
While striving to make all efforts for a broader alliance of opposition parties, the CPI(ML) at the same time expresses its concern towards those parties who have been part of BJP bandwagon for all along and now showing willingness to join the opposition. Such parties must first express their apology to the people of India for supporting the policies of the BJP regime. Without a changed heart an opportunist unity with such forces won’t be of any help in fighting the atrocious BJP regime. The betrayal with the people’s mandate by Nitish Kumar is known to all of us, hence this is quite pertinent to be vigilant against such kind of opportunism.
