The four-day session of the CPI(M) politburo and central committee meeting began in Kolkata on Tuesday. Significantly, this is the last party apex body meet before the 20th party Congress slated to be held in Kerala to finalise the contour line of the party’s political resolution and ideological document. “Details of the ensuing party Congress will form the main agenda in the central committee meeting,” CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.
He added that there have been many changes in the political situation since 2007. “We will take stock of the current situation and the party’s attack against neo-liberal economic policies and how to continue the fight,” Mr Karat said.
Pointing out that the party would also chart out a new path of economic policy vis-à-vis the neo-liberal policy being pursued by the UPA government, Mr Karat said: “One of the major issues is the global economic crisis which has presented an opportunity to go in for an alternative to neo-liberal capitalism and counter the campaign going on since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.”
Interestingly, for the first time, the Marxist party has decided to shed off its orthodox notion to make its ideological documents public. “After finalisation, the resolution and the ideological document will be made public for liberal views of all levels of the party and non-party members and Marxist ideologues before adoption,” party politburo member Sitaram Yechury said, adding that they will be put on the party’s website to take the people’s opinion. These will be “public documents” and the purpose will be to inform people about the party’s strategy and stand in the given political situation.
Meanwhile, Mr Yechury made it clear that his party wants to keep equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP.
In reply to a question about the party’s stand in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, he said: “We believe that the economic policy pursued by the Congress and the communal politics played by the BJP, both are equally harmful for the country.”