The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Refashion parliamentary democracy’

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Monday, Feb 04, 2008
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Karnataka

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‘Refashion parliamentary democracy’

Special Correspondent

It should be done to implement socialist principles in society, says Nilotpal Basu

‘Inclusion of the word socialism in preamble of Constitution during Emergency was a misnomer’
Socialism cannot be introduced in such a casual manner: CPI (M) leader

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Leaders all: (From left) The former MLA G.V. Sriram Reddy; CPI (M) leader V.J.K. Nair; the former MP and Central Committee member of the CPI (M) Nilotpal Basu; and Bangalore District Committee member Umesh at a seminar on ‘Towards socialist society: the role of parliamentary democracy.’ in Bangalore on Sunday.

Bangalore: Nilotpal Basu, member, Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Sunday called for refashioning the parliamentary democracy in a radical manner to implement socialist principles in society.

He was speaking on contemporary challenges before the democratic movement at a seminar on the role of parliamentary democracy, organised by the party here. Mr. Basu, a former MP, said that inclusion of the word “socialism” in the preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency was a misnomer. He said that socialism could not be introduced in such a casual manner and the whole society had to be ideologically readied for it.

No one knew what kind of socialism it was, and even the Bharatiya Janata Party, at one time spoke of Gandhian socialism, but what was required was the concept of socialism based on scientific enquiry, he added.

For the same reason, he said that the Left Front Government in West Bengal could not bring about changes it wanted to, it had been ruling the State for nearly 30 years. “What we have in this country is a representative form of parliamentary democracy and not a participatory parliamentary democracy, which made all the difference to the people,” he said. Mr. Basu said that the Left parties had, however, succeeded in effecting some changes in banking and insurance sectors, among others, though it benefited the middle class.

In West Bengal, he said the Government was able to distribute 22 per cent of the agricultural land to the landless labourers, which was more than the national average.

He said that the party workers had to highlight the limitations of parliamentary democracy, but they should make use of it to put across the alternative point of view, as the Left had been doing with the United Progressive Alliance Government.

Till the people were ready to accept the ideology, attempts should be made to educate them, but what was important was that they should be taken into confidence for the long battle.

G.V. Sriram Reddy, former MLA and State secretariat member, spoke. G.C. Bayyareddy, member, State secretariat, presided. State secretary K. Prakash welcomed the gathering.

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