CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat has said a clear demarcation is needed between the party and state in a socialist set up.
While the party comprised advanced sections of the working class, the state included all sections of the people.
So, the principle of democratic centralism should apply only to the party and not to the state, he said, adding that the revolutionary discipline need not be applied to the state as it was meant only for the party.
Karat was speaking at a seminar here on Tuesday on ‘The Future of Socialism,’ organised by the Reception Committee on the eve of 20th Party Congress that begins here from Wednesday.
He dismissed the argument that the working class had lost its revolutionary role because of the changes brought in by technology and production.
Although the size of the working class had come down in industrialised countries, it had relocated to countries like China.
While the nature of work might have changed because of informalisation and technological advancements, this kind of transformation had in no way reduced the role of the working class.