CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday tweaked his party’s search for true Indian version of socialism, saying “we never tried to emulate models abroad”.
Inaugurating the 20th CPI(M) congress here, Mr Karat said the CPI (M) had always believed in applying Marxism-Leninism to concrete conditions to chalk out its revolutionary path. The party constantly updated its ideological understanding and equipped itself to meet contemporary challenges.
He said that in the given context, only Left and democratic forces could provide a viable alternative to the Congress-led UPA and the BJP-led NDA. Results of the recent Assembly elections reflected the need for such an alternative.
“To build the Left and democratic alliance, it’s necessary first to strengthen the CPI(M), expand the party base and influence nationally,’’ he said.
Only a strong CPI(M) could strengthen Left unity, rallying other democratic forces on a Left and democratic platform.
The CPI(M) would take up joint agitations with democratic and secular parties on people’s issues, federal issues and for upholding secularism, he added.
The CPI(M) and the Left had suffered serious reverses in Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and, subsequently, in Assembly elections in Bengal and Kerala. The party had examined and identified lapses and weaknesses in the political and organisational spheres and taken steps to correct them, he said.
Two decades of liberalisation had led to an unprecedented increase in inequalities and the CPI (M) considered the fight against the neoliberal polices as a central task.
“While India has produced some of the richest people in the world, vast millions are still deprived of basic necessities of life,’’ he said.
Attacking the UPA government, he said the government had set a new record in high-level corruption. In the eight years of the UPA rule, corruption and the loot of natural resources had reached unparalleled heights and it was an outcome of the neoliberal regime. There was a need for an effective Lok Pal bill to curb corruption among public servants but that alone was not enough, he added.