After the central committee of the CP(M) decided against giving a third Rajya Sabha term for its general secretary Sitaram Yechury as rules do not permit it, the party has decided to support an independent candidate from the same seat in West Bengal.
The left party, on its own, cannot win the Rajya Sabha seat due for elections next month and it would need the support of the Congress. But the party seniors ruled in favour of maintaining the party line of not entering into an alliance with the Congress. Instead of letting the seat go into the hands of Trinamool Congress, the party decided to back an independent candidate who can be supported by the Congress as well.
“Today there is a need for someone to follow some degree of political morality...principles are more important than the numerical value for the party,” Yechury said. He was answering queries related to the party denying him the third term. He claimed that he was also not in favour of getting a third term, and following principles were more important than retaining a seat.
Noting that in the past, intellectuals have been sent to the upper house with the support of various parties, he said this time too, a common candidate can be elected.
When asked if Meira Kumar can be the common candidate, he refused to confirm saying party’s Bengal unit was holding a meeting on the issue and they would take a call soon.
Briefing reporters about the party's future programme, Yechury said the CP(M) would launch a 15-day agitation against the Modi government starting August 15.
He said the country was witnessing an all-round attack on the livelihood of the vast majority of people. He listed four issues: neo-liberal economic policies of the government, sharpening of communal polarisation with rise in attacks on dalits and people belonging to minority communities, undermining of parliamentary institutions and making India a junior strategic ally of US.
“The BJP has been able to consolidate its position mainly through the massive sharpening of communal polarization across the country. Every institution of parliamentary democracy is being penetrated and sought to be communalized. Education and research bodies, including agencies like the archaeological survey of India, are being penetrated with RSS personnel in order to sharpen communal polarisation and to rewrite history,” he added.
Among the demands to be raised during the protests include immediate loan waivers for farmers, setting minimum support price, bringing central legislation giving the right to farmers to sell at MSP, implementing BJP’s electoral promise of creating two crore jobs, stopping large-scale privatisation of public sector and public services and bringing women’s reservation bill.
The party would also observe the world peace and anti-imperialist day on September 1, 2017 highlighting the surrender of the Modi government to US imperialism and India being reduced as a junior strategic ally of US imperialism.
He also demanded a central ban on all private armies, particularly gau rakshak samitis.
