Towards people's democracy and socialism: Speeches from the Inaugural Session of the 24th CPI(M) Congress
- Michael Laxer
- 14 hours ago
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Prakash Karat addresses the congress session -- image via CPI(M)
Speeches from the Inaugural Session 24th Party Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, April 2.
Chairman of Reception Committee of 24th Congress of CPI(M)
Respected Chairman, delegates and observers to the historic 24th Party Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Members of the Polit Bureau! Members of the Central Committee!
Respected Left Party leaders who have come to greet the congress!
Our dear Special guests, Media friends, comrades, brothers and sisters who are here to attend the Inaugural Session of the Party Congress!
We convey Our revolutionary greetings to you all on behalf of the reception committee. We deem it an honour to welcome you all on behalf of the Reception Committee and the toiling masses of Tamil Nadu. We convey our hearty greetings and thanks to the Central Committee of the party for giving us the golden opportunity to hold the 24th Congress of our party in Tamil Nadu.
We welcome you all, showering on you the internationally renowned Madurai malligai (jasmine) petals. We welcome you all to Tamil Nadu and the city of Madurai wherein the ancient Tamil poet Kaniyan Poongundranaar sang about the unity of the world and universal brotherhood by saying ‘யாதும் ஊரே; யாவரும் ரேளிர்.’
Tamil Nadu is proud of its savants like the great poet Thiruvalluvar and the pioneers of progressive social reforms Ramanujar, Vallalar Ramalinga Adigal, Vaigunda Swamigal, Pandithar Ayothi Daasar, Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi and Swami Sahajanandar. Thandhai Periyar waged a relentless struggle against casteism and superstitions. Tamil Nadu continues to champion the cause of secularism and pluralistic nature of our culture and society.
Tamil Nadu has been putting up a brave fight against the RSS and its political outfit BJP. BJP has not won even a single Parliament seat from Tamil Nadu since the 2019 parliamentary elections. Even in the recent election to the parliament, the secular front in Tamilnadu and Pudhucherry won all the forty seats and scored a centum. The left movement in Tamil Nadu continues to be an important political force. The unity of the secular, democratic and left parties contributed to the defeat of BJP continuously in Tamil Nadu.
Madurai, one of the ancient cities in the world, is called the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu. The excavation works carried out by the department of Archaeology in Keezhadi, on the banks of the river Vaigai have proved that the Vaigai civilisation was an unique one as it was a living evidence of an “urban culture” developed in and around Madurai, during the ancient times itself.
Tamil Nadu has the privilege of hosting five All India Congresses of our party including the present one at Madurai. Of the five congresses held in Tamil Nadu, Madurai has the honour of hosting three of them.
Madurai hosted the third Congress of the undivided Communist Party of India in 1953 in a grand manner and Comrade Harry Pollitt, the leader of the Communist Party of Britain attended the congress.
The Ninth Congress of the Party was held at Madurai in 1972 and it rightly warned the growing trend towards authoritarianism in the country. As predicted by our party congress, ‘emergency’ was declared in 1975.
The Communist Party of India was founded at Tashkent, in the Soviet Union on 17th, October, 1920. Com. M.B.T.Achaarya of Tamil Nadu was one among the delegates of that proud meet. Com. M. Singaravelar of Tamilnadu was the first to celebrate the ‘May Day’ in India. He had the privilege of presiding over the Party Conference at Kanpur held in 1925.
In order to prevent the growth of the Communist Party in Tamil Nadu since its inception conspiracy cases were foisted against the party workers in Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, Kovai, Thanjavur, Thirunelveli and Ramanathapuram.
Under the leadership of Com. B. Srinivasa Rao and others, the peasants in East Thanjavur fought against the tyranny of the feudal lords and cruel casteism. This heroic struggle of the peasants is recorded in the annals of history. At the peak of the struggle against the inhuman feudalism and horrible casteism, 44 precious lives of agricultural workers were burnt alive in Keezh Venmani village in 1968. From a three years old child to a 70 years old man were killed mercilessly. Among those killed were 20 women. The fire set by our class enemies in Venmani is still burning.
Tamil Nadu communist movement has lost hundreds of party members like the martyrs killed in Salem Jail and Chinniyam Palayam. The communist movement in Tamil Nadu has grown facing all sorts of police atrocities like firings, death sentences, torture at the police stations and many other forms of oppressions.
When the Tamil Nadu government recently introduced a bill to increase the working hours of the employees and workers, our party played a major role by fighting within and outside the state assembly to thwart this attempt.
‘Land for the tillers’ is the slogan of our party. The party in Tamil Nadu had been successful in getting hundreds of acres of lands for the landless labourers through our sustained struggles. We have also helped the tenant farmers and those living in temple lands to get their land rights.
Our party in Tamil Nadu is working spiritedly in the human rights front as well. We have been opposing custodial torture, encounter killing and police violence in any form. In a village called Vaachathi, the departments of police, forest and revenue combined together had indulged in a horrible atrocity in 1992. They ransacked the whole village Vaachathi and raped 18 women. We were able to get punishment for all the accused in the case by fighting in the court and in the streets. We are glad to inform you that the red brigade rally of this conference is going to be inaugurated by the heroines of the great Vaachathi village struggle.
We are also tirelessly working to establish gender equality and protection of women and children from sexual abuse.
Our party has waged thousands of struggles against caste violence. Our party has established a strong and vibrant ‘Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Movement’. This powerful movement is there in the field almost every day and is putting up a brave fight against caste violence.
Our party has succeeded in getting 3% reservation for the Arunthathiyar community which is in the bottom most layer of the scheduled class communities in Tamil Nadu. Within the reservation quota for the Dalits this community now enjoys 3% reservation because of the initiatives taken by our party.
Even during the independent struggle communists were the first to give the call for the formation of linguistic states in India. During the British Raj the Madras Presidency consisted parts of the present Kerala, Andhra and Karnataka states. In the erstwhile Madras assembly, the communists raised the demand for the formation of the linguistic states. Our members in the assembly used to speak in their respective mother tongue.
Com. P.Ramamoorthy brought in the resolution to rename the Madras State as Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha. In his absence on that day, comrade Bupesh Gupta moved the resolution and made a passionate speech in support of the resolution.
The policy of the CPI(M) is for the growth of the regional languages. All the languages in the 8th schedule of our constitution should be made the official languages of India. In all the states of India the administration should be held in the respective state languages. Tamil Nadu is in forefront in the struggle against imposition of any languages.
The city of Madurai wherein our party is holding the Congress for the third time has a strong base of the communist movement. Even during the freedom struggle communist movement was strong and had the support of the people of Madurai. That tradition continues even today in Madurai.
A record number of women courted arrest in Tamil Nadu during the freedom struggle. K.P. Janaki Ammal who belonged to the communist movement was the first woman in India to be arrested under the Defence of India Act.
Captain Lakshmi, who had led the Janshi Rani Regiment of Netaji’s Indian National Army, was also from Tamil Nadu.
Martyrs like Pothumbu Ponnaiah, Veerayee, the twin martyrs Mari-Manavalan, Thillaivanam, Martyr Balu who was hanged in Madurai Jail, Poonthottam Subbaiah, I.V.Subbaiah, Railway Ramasamy, student martyrs Somu and Sembu, Kutti Jayaprakash, heroine Leelavathi, and Madakkulam Karuppu, Kochadai Balamurugan laid their precious lives for the sake of our party in Madurai.
The first general election in free India was conducted in 1952. Com.P. Ramamoorthy contested the election to the state assembly from Madurai North Constituency from the jail and got a remarkable victory. In that elections, Communist Party had come as largest party in the assembly. The Congress Party was not able to garner majority. So, the Communist Party staked claim to form the government. However, the Congress Party managed fraudulently formed the government.
BJP that has come to the power for the third time is implementing vehemently the agenda of the RSS. It is pursuing the ruinous policy of one nation, one language, one election, one religion and one culture. It acts as a servant of the corporates and divides the country in the name of religion. It destroys the values enshrined in the Constitution of India framed under the leadership of Dr.Ambedkar. All constitutionally established institutions are destroyed by this BJP government and it is taking the country towards a neo-fascist rule.
The minority communities in the country are under constant threat. The State Governors in many states including Tamil Nadu are acting like the agents of the union government and strangulating the elected governments of the states. All powers of the state governments including that of education are taken away. The union government has usurped all the powers of the states and the country has lost its federal character. In the name of redrafting the constituencies the union government plans to do injustice to many states.
As part of the this 24th party congress, fifty seminars on various topics have been conducted all over Tamil Nadu. Thousands of people have participated in these conferences. The message of the 24th Congress has been taken to the people all over Tamil Nadu.
As part of this congress, a special seminar on ‘Protection of the Rights of States’ is being organized in which Chief Ministers of states are participating.
Artistes from Tamil Nadu and other states will be presenting a variety of cultural programmes during this congress. Renowned artistes from various parts of our country are honouring us by their august presence here, in Madurai.
Our party cadres went around the state and held house to house campaign, explaining the salient features of this congress. People of Tamil Nadu came forward to donate liberally. I am proud to say that all our party members have contributed their mite for the success of this congress.
We have done our humble part for the success of this congress. We request you to put up with any inconvenience caused during the time of your stay in Madurai.
The 24th party Congress of our party is being held in Madurai wherein the fight for India’s freedom was vehemently waged. And the fight against imperialism was passionately held.
We are sure, this 24th congress of our party will evolve the right strategies to isolate the forces that indulge in the politics of hatred and to push back the pro-corporate, neo-liberal economic policies. We hope that this congress will show us the ways to strengthen secular and democratic forces and to unite the left forces much more strongly. This party congress will say aloud that the policy of the left parties will be the saviour of this country. With these words, I welcome you all once again to this historic 24th congress in Madurai.
Thank you.
Coordinator of the Polit Bureau, Comrade Prakash Karat
Chairman of the Reception Committee, Comrade K. Balakrishnan
Leaders of the Left Parties on the dais
Delegates, Distinguished Guests and Friends,
Vanakkam.
We are assembled here in Madurai for the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Madurai has a rich history as an ancient city and a seat of Tamil culture. Madurai is also a centre with a vibrant tradition of the Communist and working class movement. Many stalwarts of the Communist movement hailed from here or worked in this city. P. Ramamoorthi and N. Sankariah are two prominent such names.
I welcome Comrade D. Raja, General Secretary of CPI, Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation, Comrade Manoj Bhattacharya, General Secretary of RSP and Comrade G. Devarajan, General Secretary of AIFB who are attending this inaugural session. Their presence augurs well for the strengthening of Left unity.
I had the privilege to attend the 9th Congress of the CPI(M) held in Madurai in 1972 as a delegate.
On this occasion, I extend my warm revolutionary greetings to the lakhs of Party members, supporters and Left sympathisers of Madurai and Tamilnadu.
The 24th Congress of the CPI(M) is taking place at a time when American imperialism is becoming more assertive after Donald Trump took over the Presidency. The coming days will see tumultuous developments and we must be prepared to step up our anti-imperialist campaigns and struggles.
Eleven years have elapsed under the Modi government. It has seen the consolidation of the Hindutva-authoritarian regime. At no time has the axis between the big corporates and the RSS - BJP - been so strong and blatant.
The result has been subversion of democracy, secularism and federalism.
For the vast mass of the ordinary people of the country, it spells suffering from unemployment, rising prices, agrarian distress and corruption.
Minorities are being systematically persecuted and reduced to second class citizens.
The resistance to the Hindutva-corporate regime has been going on. Every section of the working people are coming out to defend their rights. In this connection, I salute the workers of the Samsung India factory, who conducted a successful 38-day strike in Kancheepuram braving all sorts of repression.
The 24th Congress will discuss and show the way for:
* Uniting all secular and democratic forces to take on to fight, isolate and defeat the BJP-RSS.
* It will discuss how to widen and intensify the struggles of the working class, peasantry, urban and rural poor and champion the rights of the dalits, adivasis, women and minorities.
The Party Congress has, on its agenda, how to enhance the independent strength of the Party by expanding the political, ideological and organisational activities. Waging the multi-faceted struggle against Hindutva ideology and communal forces has to take centre-stage.
A strong Party organisation is required to implement the political line of mobilising the millions of working people and the youth. The Party must have its organisation at the work place and the residential areas. An organisation capable of connecting with the people and launching struggles of the working people.
Let the 24th Congress be a landmark in the ongoing struggle to defeat the forces of reaction and to go towards building a Left and democratic alternative.
At the 24th Congress of CPI(M), held from April 2 to 6, 2025 at Madurai
Comrades, leaders from fraternal parties present here, I extend revolutionary greetings to all of you on behalf of the Communist Party of India. I would like to warmly acknowledge the CPI(M) for holding this important Party Congress here in Madurai — a city where, in the past, the undivided Communist Party of India held one of its most decisive congresses, drawing strength from the militant tradition of Tamil Nadu's working people, peasants and socially oppressed sections. We stand today in the land of comrades who laid down their lives, not only for freedom from colonialism, but also for freedom from feudalism, caste tyranny and exploitation.
The International Situation
Comrades, the world capitalist system is engulfed in a deep and chronic crisis. The neoliberal offensive has neither brought prosperity nor stability to the vast majority. Inequality is obscene on a global scale. The combined wealth of a handful of billionaires exceeds the combined wealth of entire nations. The World Bank and IMF continue to push the very policies that have brought misery to workers and peasants across continents. As Marx correctly observed, “Capital comes dripping from head to toe, from every pore, with blood and dirt.”
We are also witnessing the sharpening of inter-imperialist contradictions. NATO’s provocative expansion and the war in Ukraine have deepened global instability, with working people paying the price in blood. The genocide in Gaza, backed by imperialist powers, has exposed the hypocrisy of Western regimes that preach “human rights” while aiding and abetting war crimes. Lenin had forewarned us, “Imperialism is war.” Today, imperialism’s character is naked for all to see.
Alongside this, the climate crisis, driven by capitalist plunder of nature, threatens the very survival of humanity. Yet, the ruling classes are busy building fortresses for the rich, leaving the masses to perish. Adding fuel to the fire, the rise and consolidation of the obscurantist international right-wing forces serve only to divide, confuse, and immobilize the working people from their real task: overthrowing the system of exploitation.
The National Situation: India under Crisis
Comrades, it is our own land that cries out most urgently for revolutionary intervention. Centuries back, in this very land of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvalluvar said “Pirappokkum ella uyirkkum!” (All are equal by birth). Contrary to this universal and timeless assertion, we see that Inequality is systematic in India. It is this structural and evolving system of exploitation and discrimination that we have to fight.
Comrades, India today stands at a breaking point. The structural oppressions of class, caste, and patriarchy have become brutal under the BJP-RSS regime, which is nothing but the political tool of the most reactionary sections of the bourgeoisie and landlords.
Let us speak plainly: India is not merely suffering from bad governance; India is suffocating under a system designed to exploit. The gap between the rich and the poor has never been this shameful. The top 1% of this country now owns more than 40% of the national wealth, while half the population struggles for two meals a day.
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles,” wrote Marx and Engels. In India, this class struggle is intertwined with the caste system — the oldest and most vicious system of social oppression. Caste and class oppression are not parallel — they are fused. Land ownership patterns, wage structures, access to education, and even basic human dignity are still denied to Dalits, Adivasis, and the most marginalized sections. Dr. Ambedkar had warned, “Caste is not merely a division of labour; it is a division of labourers.” Today, the ruling classes, hand in glove with the Hindutva forces, seek to revive Manu’s order while parading in the garb of nationalism. Patriarchy, too, is thriving under this regime. Violence against women, discrimination, and denial of autonomy are institutionalized. The ruling classes are only too happy to use patriarchy to divide and dictate the working people.
Unemployment is pushing the youth into hopelessness. Agrarian distress is driving farmers to suicide. The public education and health sectors are being systematically destroyed. The working people’s rights — to organize, to dissent, to dream — are under relentless attack. Trade unions are demonized. Universities are turned into RSS laboratories. Journalism is criminalized. The secular-democratic fabric of the Indian republic is being torn apart, thread by thread.
Above all, the RSS-BJP combine is openly targeting the very Constitution of India. It is seeking to dismantle its fundamental pillars — socialism, secularism, federalism, and social justice. Their assault on our Republic is systematic and ideological. RSS as an organisation follows a deeply divisive, communal and fascist ideology. It is inspired from Mussolini and Hitler and follows their organisational principles. BJP is the political arm of the RSS and along with several other organisations, known as the Sangh Parivar. The Sangh Parivar shares the Fascist contempt for democracy and believes in making representative institutions like the Parliament redundant, just as Hitler did. Together, the Sangh Parivar dreams of a theocratic, corporate-ruled India where majoritarianism, caste and capital will dominate without restraint.
Bhagat Singh had said, “Revolution is an inalienable right of mankind. Freedom is an imperishable birthright.” He raised this slogan fighting the British Raj. The time has come to follow his words and reclaim our freedom from the RSS-BJP Raj.
The Tasks Before Communists
Comrades, the present situation demands that we, as Communists, rise to the occasion. All Communists and Left forces must forge principled unity to mount a decisive resistance against this corporate-communal assault. We must be the voice of the voiceless, the organizers of the unorganized, the hope of the hopeless.
We must lead struggles on the streets, in factories, in villages, in universities — not only against economic exploitation but also against the deep-rooted structures of caste and patriarchy. We must make sure that the slogans of “Jai Bhim,” “Inquilab Zindabad,” and “Lal Salaam” are not mere words but rallying cries for a transformative movement. This is not a choice anymore, comrades — it is our revolutionary duty.
The defense of public education, public health, employment, food security, and social security must be placed at the heart of our program. These are not “welfare demands” — they are instruments of social justice and human dignity.
Importantly, we must also wage a battle for scientific temper, as enshrined in the Constitution. The Communist movement must boldly take up the challenge of using science and technology — including digital tools and AI — in the service of the people. We must fight for universal access to knowledge, technological equity, and against the commodification of science. It was Lenin, after all, who told us, “Communism is Soviet power plus electricity.” Today, it must be Communist strength plus democratized technology.
The Road Ahead
Comrades, the time is not for hesitation but for action. The situation is grave, but it is also pregnant with possibilities. As Marxists, we understand that the greatest crises can open the greatest opportunities — provided we are ready to lead by example.
Let us intensify mass struggles. Let us mobilize the workers, peasants, youth, women, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities — all who are oppressed — under the red banner. Let us confront not only the RSS-BJP, but the very system that breeds exploitation, inequality, and injustice.
We must reinstall Marxism-Leninism at the center of political discourse — proving, through practice, that it alone provides the key to liberation. Lenin reminded us, “Without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement.” But this theory must walk on the feet of millions of toiling people.
The people are ready to rise. Let us be worthy of their trust. Let us hold high the Red Flag — the symbol of hope, of resistance, of the future.
The only path forward is to Unite and Fight!
I wish your Party Congress a success.
Lal Salaam!
Red Salutes!
President of this Session, Comrade Manik Sarkar
Chairman of the Reception Committee, Comrade K Balakrishnan
Comrade D Raja, General Secretary of CPI
Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation
Comrade Manoj Bhattacharya, General Secretary, RSP
Comrade G Devarajan, General Secretary, AIFB
Delegates, Distinguished Guests and Friends,
Vanakkam.
I convey my warm greetings to all those who have gathered here at the inaugural session of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The Party Congress is the most important and supreme forum of a Communist Party. It is, therefore, appropriate that we are holding this Congress in Madurai, a city redolent with the ethos of ancient Tamil literature and culture, and which harmoniously combines the history of over eight decades of the working class and Communist movement.
On this occasion, we remember the outstanding leaders of the Communist movement - P. Ramamoorthi, K. T. K. Thangamani, N. Sankariah and K. P. Janaki Ammal. All of them made distinctive contributions to the development of the Communist Party in Madurai and Tamilnadu.
Madurai has produced many Communist parliamentarians and legislators. To the Lok Sabha, it has elected Communist MPs six times - K.T.K. Thangamani (1957), P. Ramamoorthi (1967), P. Mohan (1999 and 2004) and the current incumbent Su Venkatesan (2019 and 2024). Since the formation of the Communist unit in Madurai in 1940, generations of Communists have worked among the workers, peasants and agricultural workers to build the Party and the movement. We remember the contributions of all these Communist men and women. I salute the memory of our martyr Comrade Leelavathi, a municipal Councillor of the Party in the city, who was killed by local criminal elements in 1997 for defending the people's interests.
This Party Congress is being held at a poignant moment for us. The General Secretary of the Party, Comrade Sitaram Yechury, under whose leadership the preparations for the Party Congress began is no more with us. Faced with this unexpected situation, the Polit Bureau and the Central Committee has worked collectively and unitedly to fulfill all the work for the holding of the 24th Congress. We shall, forever, cherish Comrade Sitaram's distinctive contributions to the theory and practice of Marxism.
Comrades and Friends,
The main job of the Party Congress is to formulate a political-tactical line, which will set the direction for the Party's political work. For this, it is necessary to have an accurate grasp of the essence of the political situation today, the class nature of the government and the ruling party and the balance of class forces that exists. This exercise at times can be a complex one. But, at the present moment, it is relatively simple.
Just ask three questions:
(i) Who claims to be the friend of Donald Trump?
(ii) Who is the close friend of Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani?
(iii) Who owes total loyalty to the RSS?
The answer to all these three questions is the same - Narendra Modi and the BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government represent the Hindutva-corporate nexus that is closely allied to US imperialism. It is the BJP-RSS and the Hindutva-corporate nexus underpinning it that needs to be fought and defeated. From coming to such an easy conclusion, a more complex question arises of how to fight the BJP-RSS combine effectively, so as to isolate them and reverse the rightward shift. As Marxists, we know that the political domination that is exercised today by the Hindutva forces is not through electoral means alone. This is a dominance acquired through the influence that the Hindutva forces exercise in the ideological, cultural and social spheres. This is a dominance enforced through authoritarian attacks on democracy and the Constitution.
The political-tactical line that we adopt in this Congress should take into account the waging of a multi-faceted struggle against the BJP-RSS and the Hindutva forces. The Party and the Left have been conducting many struggles in defence of the people's livelihood and against the onslaughts of the neo-liberal policies. But the masses, who have been mobilized in these struggles, will be politicized only if there is a vigorous campaign amongst them against the reactionary and divisive Hindutva communalism. What is called for is the integration of the struggle against Hindutva communalism and the struggle against neo-liberal policies. At this juncture, when we strive for the broadest mobilization of all secular forces against the BJP, it must be borne in mind that it is the Left alone which is the consistent force, which can firmly and uncompromisingly fight all manifestations of Hindutva and majoritarian communalism precisely because of our uncompromising stand on neo-liberal policies.
The Modi government, in its third term, is going ahead with the RSS-driven Hindutva agenda, aggressive neo-liberal policies and reinforcing authoritarianism. In this process, it is displaying neo-fascist characteristics. Implementing the fascistic agenda of the RSS entails the constant targeting of the Muslim minority. They are marked for persecution through communal violence perpetrated by the Hindutva outfits, aided and abetted by the State machinery in the BJP-ruled states. The state of perennial violence and intimidation directed against the Muslim community is part of the drive to create a permanent communal divide and to effect a `pan-Hindutva' consolidation.
The Modi government has become a byword for crony capitalism. It seeks to privatise new sectors and provide new areas for profit maximization for the big monopolies. As a result, we are seeing unprecedented inequality with the top one per cent of the population owning 40 per cent of the total wealth of the country. There are high levels of unemployment, particularly among youth; increased exploitation of labour through contractualisation and the fall in the share of wages in net value added in the industrial sector. The condition of farmers and agricultural workers has also worsened due to the worsening agrarian crisis.
The coming period will see an intensification of the class and mass struggles of the working people and we must be prepared to give a political direction to these struggles.
The government is going ahead with the implementation of the four labour codes, which curtail the rights of workers. These anti-working class laws have to be fought. The Central Trade Unions have given a call for a one-day strike on May 20 demanding the withdrawal of these four labour codes. The Left parties and all class and mass organisations will work to make the strike a resounding success.
The fact that the BJP lost its majority in the Lok Sabha and that the NDA does not command a two-thirds majority in either House of Parliament, has not stopped the Modi government's authoritarian efforts to re-shape the Indian State and Constitution. The Constitutional Amendment Bill to bring about simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assembly is a direct assault on federalism and states' rights; the steps to curtail Parliament, weaken the higher judiciary and erode the independent status of the Election Commission are still ongoing.
Draconian laws like the UAPA and PMLA are used against opposition leaders.
For the first time in independent India, two elected Chief Ministers were put in jail on so-called corruption charges. The authoritarian-centralisation drive is trampling upon the federal principle and the rights of the states. There is blatant discrimination in the allocation of funds to the non-BJP state governments.
The BJP-RSS combine manipulates sub-caste identities to maintain the caste system as the basic framework of social relations in India. The manuvadi values are being insidiously infiltrated into the social and cultural spheres. The fight against the manuvadi-patriarchal system, which attacks the rights of women, dalits and adivasis are an integral part of the struggle against the Hindutva forces.
The Party Congress will be addressing the prime issue of how to increase the independent strength of the CPI(M). Taken the country as a whole, there has to be a planned effort to launch local struggles on class and mass issues, build the Party at grass-roots and streamline the functioning of the Party organization.
The LDF government in Kerala has been in the forefront in opposing the anti-people policies of the Central government. Because the LDF government has sought to implement alternative policies, it is facing hostility and discrimination by the Union government. The ongoing struggle in defence of federalism and states' rights by the LDF and the people of Kerala is an important part of the all-India fight in defence of federalism and against authoritarianism.
Comrades and Friends,
The Trump Presidency signals a new chapter in the saga of US imperialism.
Here is a more naked form of imperialist aggrandisement. Territorial annexation and squeezing the resources of even close allies is the norm.
Trump is supporting Netanyahu's plan to obliterate the Palestinians from Gaza. Trump is taking aggressive steps against many countries of the Global South. Despite all these, Prime Minister Modi remains supine and proclaims his fealty to Trump.
The repercussions for our country are going to be severe. The Modi government is already surrendering India's vital interests on tariffs, on purchase of energy supplies and military equipment. A new front is opening up against the Modi regime and its close embrace of America. The CPI(M) and the Left will be in the forefront against any compromising of India's sovereign interests. We must go forth and rouse the people against imperialist depredations and the servile attitude of the BJP rulers.
US imperialism, under Trump, will launch new attacks through economic and trade wars, political and military interventions on countries around the world. This is the time for the CPI(M) and the Left to actively develop anti-imperialist struggles and expose the pro-imperialist policies of the Modi government.
From the platform of this Congress, we express our full support and total solidarity with the Palestinian people who are facing a genocide in Gaza for the past 17 months perpetrated by the brutal Zionist regime of Israel. We condemn the shameful betrayal of the Palestinian cause by the Modi government and its blind support to Israel.
We also greet the heroic people of Cuba and Cuban government, who have been valiantly opposing the inhuman economic blockade imposed by US imperialism for more than six decades. We will always stand with socialist Cuba.
Comrades and Friends,
This is the time to strengthen Left unity and expand Left political intervention. The Left is the only consistent force against neo-liberal capitalism and who firmly defend the interests of the working people. It is the Left, which has the ideological wherewithal and convictions to fight and counter Hindutva neo-fascism. It is only the Left, which can lead the fight against imperialist designs on our country.
The CPI(M) will work with all Left forces to go forward towards the building of a Left and democratic alternative.
The CPI(M) will renew its commitment to join hands with all secular and democratic forces to forge the broadest unity, so that the struggle against the BJP-RSS can be successfully conducted.
From Madurai, let this call go out loud and clear: All Left, democratic and secular forces should unite to push back the dark forces of reaction! Let us work together to build a `New India' - on secular, democratic and progressive lines. Towards people's democracy and socialism.
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