The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : CPI (M) will launch independent campaigns on people's issues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 04, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

CPI (M) will launch independent campaigns on people's issues

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JULY 3. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) today announced the adoption of a two-pronged strategy in the post-poll scenario — launching independent campaigns on people's issues and strengthening the unity of the Left parties.

The State secretary, N. Varadarajan, said in a statement here that a two-day meeting of the secretariat, which concluded here today, was attended by Polit Bureau members, Prakash Karat, P. Ramachandran and R. Umanath.

The CPI (M) panel described the State Government's rollback decisions a victory to the people. But it had not yet revoked many other "anti-democratic" measures, it said, adding that the Tamil Nadu Essential Services Maintenance Act and the Essential Services Maintenance Act still existed.

The Government failed to announce relief to farmers in drought-hit areas, implement Kolappan panel recommendations on the welfare of farm workers, start conciliation on wage revision in the transport and power sectors, put an end to confusions in the admission to professional courses and prevent escalation in the cost of education, the party alleged.

Appointment of ruling party men to 15 State-owned Boards would only result in waste of funds, as the move would not benefit the public, the CPI (M) felt. It also referred to the problems faced by weavers, particularly those in Erode, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karur, Namakkal and Salem, following the 9.2 per cent tax imposed by the State Government on hank yarn and the Central Value-added Tax introduced by the previous National Democratic Alliance Government. The party would hold a meet at Erode tomorrow highlighting its demand to protect the textile industry.

Against direct funding

The CPI (M) was of the view that it would be wrong to directly release Central funds to local bodies under the three-tier panchayat raj system as it would harm the rights of the State Governments. But it would not subscribe to the views of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam that the two-tier panchayat raj system in the State would suffice, the party said, adding that only through devolution of powers to local bodies, the democratic goal of decentralisation of powers could be achieved.

Expressing concern at the recent conflict between the Pattali Makkal Katchi and actor Vijaykant following the latter's dig at political parties, the party said everyone was free to criticise political formations but they owed an explanation of their act to the public. Instead of meeting such issues politically, allowing things to take a violent turn was not a healthy trend, as it only resulted in people's issues getting diverted, it felt.

The CPI (M) would soon launch a State-wide campaign demanding Central intervention to ensure release of Cauvery water to the delta region and urging the State Government to extend relief to farmers and farmhands in the drought-hit areas and distribute Government poramboke land to landless agricultural workers. The party would organise a meet in Chennai by the end of this month highlighting problems relating to education and social justice. It flayed the Government's move to reclassify town panchayats on the basis of population.

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