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Leaders call for Left, socialist unity

Gargi Parsai

Inequality has grown since independence, says Mulayam Singh
Need of the hour is to bridge the chasm between two Indias: Yechury

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury at a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday to condole the death of Janeshwar Mishra.

NEW DELHI: At a meeting held here on Thursday to condole the death of socialist leader and Rajya Sabha member Janeshwar Mishra, political leaders gave a call for the coming together of the communist and socialist movements.

Several leaders including Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh, Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, Amarjeet Kaur of the Communist Party of India and socialist ideologue Ved Pratap Vaidik spoke about the urgent need for the Left, socialists and followers of Ram Manohar Lohia to join hands to tackle poverty, illiteracy, hunger and lack of healthcare.

Among others who paid rich tributes to Mr. Mishra were Congress leader Santosh Bagrodia and Bharatiya Janata Party secretary Prabhat Jha. The former SP general secretary Amar Singh did not attend.

Urging “like-minded” parties to join hands to fight poverty, hunger and unemployment, Mr. Mulayam Singh said his party had, along with the CPI(M) and the CPI, struggled from the same platform. He said: “Today the best tribute to Janeshwar Mishra would be for like-minded parties to come together. We can leave aside issues on which we differ, but for the rest, we must join hands because whether it is the poor, the farmers or the youth, people are suffering. The inequality that was there between the haves and have-nots at the time of independence has only grown. Our aim is not to get political power but to end inequality, all kinds of inequality.”

Agreeing with him, Mr. Yechury said the country was divided today into a “shining India and a suffering India” and the need of the hour was to bridge the chasm. “Only if the communists and the samajwadis come together can we tackle the problems of the country, and that would be the best homage to Janeshwar Mishra, a socialist who struggled for the people all his life.”

Mr. Sharad Yadav said that socialists had been away from one another and fought one another for long. “At a time when people are passing through difficult times, we must dedicate ourselves to the path shown by Janeshwar Mishra, also known as Chota Lohia.”

While CPI’s Amarjeet Kaur also called for the unity of the Left and the Socialist movement, Abani Roy of the Revolutionary Socialist Party said whatever be one’s ideology, only struggle could tackle poverty, hunger and lack of education and healthcare.

Describing Mr. Mishra as a ‘messiah of the poor,’ Mr. Bagrodia said whenever he spoke he was heard with total respect and silence in the Rajya Sabha.

BJP’s Prabhat Jha said Parliament today needed people like Mr. Mishra who raised the sanctity of the House and were not propagandists. “Parliament needs not one but several Janeshwar Mishras,” he said.

Mr. Vaidik asked Mr. Sharad Yadav and Mr. Mulayam Singh to sink their differences and bring together all socialists on a single platform to tackle the people’s problems.

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