The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Congress has lost its relevance: Forward Bloc

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 05, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Congress has lost its relevance: Forward Bloc

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, SEPT. 4. A viable alternative is essential at the national level to replace the ruling Congress and to thwart the attempts of the `communal' Bharatiya Janata Party, Debabrata Biswas, general secretary of the All-India Forward Bloc, said.

He was inaugurating a three-day national council meet of the AIFB here today.

Mr. Biswas said national parties were now dependent on regional forces for survival and compromised with "divisive and neo-colonial forces."

India remained hunger and poverty stricken and illiteracy and unemployment continued to plague the country. Corruption and inequality persisted and discrimination and exploitation affected the people. The successive Governments at the Centre failed to elevate the nation to the expectations of freedom fighters, he said.

The Congress lost its relevance and there was no viable alternative force at the national level. The BJP's defeat in the last election signified that people did not believe in its communal agenda. The Left parties, despite their influence on working classes, failed to emerge as a national alternative.

Netaji ideals

The performance of the Left parties with 61 MPs was not satisfactory and their performance in the Hindi heartland was disappointing. Something was lacking to project the Left as a viable alternative. Here was where the ideals of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the AIFB were of paramount importance. Mr. Biswas said the Madurai meeting was an opportunity to bring back the followers of Netaji and Muthuramalinga Thevar under the AIFB banner. He said the AIFB should champion the cause of the working class and carry forward the struggle against imperialism, neo-colonialism, communalism, casteism, discrimination, exploitation, inequality and injustice.

The Sri Lankan Minister for Cultural Affairs and Education, Vijitha Saraps; theWest Bengal Assembly Deputy Speaker, Kriba Sandu Sahu; the West Bengal Ministers, Kamal Guha and Subrata Basu; the all-India chairman of AIFB, Velappan Nair, and the Tamil Nadu general secretary, L. Santhanam, spoke.

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