The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : CPI(M) told to reinvent itself

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

CPI(M) told to reinvent itself

Special Correspondent

UDF reacts to ideological tussle; says Basu’s remarks a change for the better

Mani says Basu deviates from official line
Chandy hails party’s late realisation of facts

Thiruvananthapuram: The United Democratic Front has picked up the current ideological tussle in the CPI(M) with the Kerala Congress(M) and the Congress welcoming the veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu’s remarks on capitalism as a change for the better.

Kerala Congress(M) leader K.M. Mani, addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, said Mr. Basu’s statement deviated from the CPI(M)’s official line and wanted that party to re-invent itself at its Coimbatore Congress to fully encompass the new line of thinking.

Mr. Mani said he agreed to several of Mr. Basu’s suggestion. He disagreed with Mr. Basu’s remark that there was no alternative socio-economic system to replace capitalism.

He said that the Kerala Congress(M)’s democratic socialism based on the working class as an alternative system that would avoid the exploitation under the capitalist system and the centralisation under the socialist system. This would lead to comprehensive growth, while at the same time assured economic stability of the working class.

Mr. Mani also partially agreed with Mr. Achuthanandan’s statement opposing capitalism and welcoming capital formation. He said CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat was trying to cover up for Mr. Basu by stating that the party had adopted the line.

He said Mr. Achuthanandan’s rejection of the theory of socialism through capitalism was a strong retort to Mr. Karat. Mr. Mani pointed out to the divergent perceptions in the CPI(M) towards the agrarian and industrial sector.

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy said that the Kerala unit of the CPI(M) should be prepared to function in a democratic manner taking cue from the Bengal unit’s realisation that socialism as envisioned by the Marxists was not a practical goal in the Indian context.

In a statement here, Mr. Chandy said that communism had lost its relevance in all the countries it had roots and changed their economic systems. The CPI(M)’s late realisation of this fact was welcome.

Democratic socialism envisaged by the Congress had become more relevant in the Indian context. Its emphasis on food, housing, drinking water, health, education and employment for all and social justice and economic growth was more relevant in the modern context, he said.

The Congress rule had succeeded in ensuring capital investments at the same time ensuring cooperation of the common man, he said and added that the party had to travel a lot more to reach the goal.

Mr. Chandy said that Bengal continued to be backward despite three decades of CPI(M) rule.

The minority communities had been marginalised. The CPI(M) leadership failed to give a legitimate answer to these questions.

The communist comrades should realise even at this late juncture that Marxism was an impractical concept to be implemented in Indian and world conditions. Attempts to conceal the impracticality of Marxian tenets would only end up in taking the country’s development backwards, he said.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala has said that the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s ideological shift would led to a “vertical polarisation” in the Left parties.

Mr. Chennithala, reacting to the issue on Monday, said that the CPI(M)’s stand jettisoning socialism would be the death knell of communism in the country and the degeneration was part of the fate that befell world communism.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala