SPIDERNET: Congress No. 2

SPIDERNET: Congress No. 2

By Amba Charan Vashishth*

The veteran CPI (M) leader, Mr. Sitaram Yechury is a veteran of the pen too. In one of his writings recently, he appeared to be hollow, without solid content and strong arguments. He also seems to be ignoring hard facts, obviously deliberately. A review of his writings is both interesting and astonishing, besides being self-contradictory.

“Advani’s willingness to be PM", according to Mr Yechury, "poses a serious challenge to the future of our democracy”. Only a fascist with no respect for people's mandate can say that. In democracy, everybody has a right to be "willing" to be prime minister. And it is not mere "willing" that does the trick; it is the people who will or will not turn it into a reality. Therefore, if tomorrow Advani is PM, it will not be courtesy CPM, Left parties or the Congress, but on the strength of people's mandate.

Mr. does recount the “solid drubbings” BJP received in last year’s UP Vidhan Sabha elections forgetting that his own party’s record was much worse, nothing to feel proud of. While BJP did win 51 seats, the Left front and other leftists who contested about 100 seats drew a glorious blank from the electorate.

It was in 2005 that CPM decided to come out of its nest in the three States of Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala to spread its wings to the Hindi heartland. During the last three years all it has achieved is just total rejection at the hands of the electorate in the North. In Punjab and Uttarakhand elections it failed to open its account. Only in December 2007 the Left parties, including CPM, were given a worst “drubbing” by the electorate both in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where all their candidates lost security deposits.

Just last month CPI (M) itself confessed that because of its acts of omission and commission the Party was losing popularity and support of the people both in Left ruled States and the country.

To Mr. Rajnath Singh’s words “minority (which Mr. Yechury reads Muslim) appeasement”. But if it is not "minority appeasement" what else is it to extend reservation to Muslims on the basis of religion, and religion alone, in employment and education, ordering no power cuts in Muslim dominated areas, reserve 15% loans for Muslims in Bank loans and the like, at the cost of all others?

According to Sachar Committee statistics, while Muslims command a 25% share in population in West Bengal, their representation in services is only 4%. Who is to be blamed for this?

It looks, championing the cause of minorities and Muslims is a sacred act of ‘secularism’ for the pseudo-secularists and doing so for the cause of the majority community of Hindus is an abominable ‘crime of communalism’. This gives substance to the feeling in some quarters that in the ‘secular’ India of their conception it is a ‘crime’ to be a Hindu or Hindu supporter or sympathizer.

CPI (M) can champion the cause of Babri masjid to be ‘secular’ but BJP and other parties become ‘communal’ when they speak of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

CPI (M)'s WB Minister Subhash Chakravarty was made to apologise when he visited a temple and said he is a Hindu first and CPI (M) member afterwards. But it is the same 'secular' CPI (M) which in Kochi (Kerala) allowed its Muslim members to leave the party meeting in between to say their namaz. It gave an iftar party in Regent Hotel to its Muslim members. Is it the CPI (M) brand of ‘secularism’?

Let us, for a minute for the sake of argument, accept CPI (M)'s unsubstantiated charge that the current “agrarian crisis” and “distress” is because of the NDA. But what have the UPA and Left parties done to stem the rot during the last over three-and-a-half years? Do they need centuries to help the farmers? But it is also a hard fact that when NDA left, the food grain godowns in the country were full to the brim and the agricultural production was at its peak. Who is responsible for emptying the stocks and for the fall in the food production which, according to the latest reports, has come down to 2.5% from last year’s 3.8%?

It is unimaginative to blame the “food for work” programme for depletion in food stocks. If food, instead of money, was distributed the food grains went to the stomach of the poor Indians and not to foreign countries. Even otherwise, they would have had to purchase food grains at exorbitant rates from the market with the low wages they would have received.

Till 1998 and now since 2004 it was the Congress or Congress and Left supported governments which had been in power at the Centre and the States. Can they absolve themselves of the responsibility for the present “agrarian crisis” and “distress” the farming community is experiencing?

CPM’s pro-farmer and pro-minority boast was exposed by what it did to the Singur and Nandigram farmers. It only revived the memories of Stalin in Soviet Russia. Leftist litterateur Mrs. Mahasweta Devi has written that women were raped and bullets were made to pierce through their private parts. Governor, Human Rights Commission, and High Court -- all condemned what the West Bengal Government did in Singur.

It goes to the credit of excellent administration that food riots broke out in CPI (M) ruled West Bengal, perhaps for the first time in the history of Independent India. According to the figures released by the Central Statistical Organisation, the highest number (10.6%) of those going to bed without food for a number of days in the country belong to West Bengal.

CPI (M) belongs to that tribe of politicians who must condemn BJP for all its acts of omission and commission at all times and in whatever situations for no rhyme or reason. They condemn BJP if it champions for a Uniform Civil Code, repeal of Article 370 and promises to construct a magnificent Ram temple at Ayodhya. But it equally gives them stomachache if BJP puts these issues to the back burner till its gets full people's mandate for the purpose. Enactment of Uniform Civil Code forms part of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution and the Supreme Court has reminded the Union government at least thrice of its responsibility to enact it. The Constitution itself says that Article 370 is a temporary measure.

It also exposes the hypocrisy of both the Congress-led UPA and the Left parties supporting it from outside when they argue that Article 370 cannot be revoked till the minority community consents to it. But it is the same very 'secular democrats' who wish to thwart the attempt of the majority to construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya.

It is a misstatement of facts that BJP MPs ever “sabotaged its adoption demanding reservation for OBC women within this reservation” when the women’s reservation Bill was “first introduced in Parliament”.

CPM leader has kept a count of NDA allies who left it, but not of those who left UPA. He is insomniac about the rift within the CPI (M) and the Left allies in West Bengal and Kerala. As recently as the first week of February, 2008 the ‘people’s’ government of West Bengal gunned down five activists of its own ally, the Forward Block.

Recently, in West Bengal local bodies' elections, Forward Block contested against its big ally CPM. In the current Tripura assembly elections, Forward Block is fighting against the ruling CPM.

Principles had never been the moral forte of left parties, particularly the CPI (M). Their commitment to nationalist causes has always been questionable. They have recently taken an about-turn on socialism and capitalism. Only recently Shri Jyoti Basu supported West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's stand on capitalism saying that there is a need to industrialise the state. "Socialism is not achievable at this point of time”, he said.
How ironic is Mr Yechury’s boast that “out of the 61 Left MPs in the Lok Sabha, 54 of them reached there by defeating Congress candidates”. And yet the Left parties had the cheek – and the high 'democratic' principles -- to support that very Party in Parliament speaking and fighting against whose programmes, policies and individuals had it won people’s mandate for these 54 parliamentary seats. Does it not amount to cheating the electorate? Why should the people have voted for CPI (M) if they knew that Left MPs were, ultimately, to support Congress?
It remains a fact that the Left parties are speaking in two tongues – one in New Delhi and quite the opposite in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura.
This also substantiates the charge the Left parties are “sleeping with the enemy” and have entered into a marriage of convenience, devoid of principles, in their lust for power without responsibility.
It again is a hard fact that the moment the Left parties make a bold declaration not to support an anti-people policy of the UPA government, like hike in prices of petroleum products, increase in EPF interest rates, Indo-US Deal, disinvestment and the like, they receive invitation to lunch or dinner either by the Prime Minister or UPA chairperson. After having the sumptuous meals they forget their opposition to UPA policies and come out smiling. It is this behaviour of theirs that has given strength to the charge that the Left parties wave the red flag on the streets for public consumption and wave the green flag at private meetings with Government. The fact remains that the UPA had its way at all the times and it was the Left parties which had to compromise and submit each time. Remember their famous words on Indo-US Deal, “Congress has to choose between us and US”. Where do they stand today?
Needless to remind Shri Yechury of his own famous remark that Left not only barks; it can bite too. CPI (M) and Left have yet to come true to their words.
On February 14 the UPA government announced a hike of Rs. 2 per litre in petrol prices and Re. 1 in diesel. According to official announcement, the decision was taken after taking all the UPA allies and the Left parties in confidence. But the Left parties are opposing the decision publicly. Is it not cheating the people?
The least said the better about the Left. In fact the Left Parties, particularly CPI (M), may pose whatever they may, in reality they are only proving themselves as Congress No. 2 in the current political scenario.

*Amba Charan Vashishth is a political commentator on the editorial board of a political fortnightly.