THE 21st conference of CPI(M) Tripura state committee concluded successfully with a clarion call to the workers to build a model and stronger Party unit in the state. The conference commenced on February 25 with a massive rally in Agartala and ended on February 28. The conference also called for all-out preparations for the ensuing elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) to ensure the Party’s victory in all the 28 seats with bigger margins, foiling all sorts of machinations plotted by internal and external vested interests.

Party general secretary Prakash Karat hoisted the Red Flag and paid floral tributes at the martyrs’ column. The Party has lost six state committee members including secretariat member Anil Sarkar and a former state committee member since the last conference. In memory of the departed leaders, the area of the conference was named as ‘Anil Sarkar Nagar’ and the venue ‘ChittaChanda-Braja Mohan Jamatia-Sukumar Barman-Gopesh Debnath-Shrish Bhattacharjee-Surendra Paul Manch’.

Inaugurating the conference, Prakash Karat congratulated the Tripura unit for sustaining the Party’s growth whereas most of the Party units in other states were either stagnant or declining. Explaining the imminent dangers before the country, Karat said, now that the RSS-backed BJP is at the helm at the centre, the country is facing danger from two directions – more aggressive pursuance of neo-liberal policies on one hand and communalism on the other. In a word, the rightists have gained strength and the Left forces have declined, Karat said.

No party except the Left stands against these onslaughts, Karat said, thus it is a national responsibility bestowed upon the CPI(M) and other Left  forces to draw millions of people to the streams of struggle against neo-liberalism and the danger of communalism for the sake of national unity and integration. It is possible only if the CPI(M) grows stronger to build up a formidable Left and democratic front. For enhancing the independent strength of the CPI(M), Karat listed four organisational measures undertaken by the Party.

On the limitations of the Left Front government, Karat said, the Tripura government is working in a bourgeois structure. It is not possible for a Left Front government to meet the aspiration of the masses with its many-fold limitations and constraints. Thus, he advised, it is imperative to make the people aware of the government‘s limitations. At the same time, we must be very careful to maintain the revolutionary character of the Party which may inspire the entire Party in the country and contribute to the formation of the Left and democratic front in future.

The conference was presided by a presidium consisting of Khagen Das, Bajuban Riyan, Rama Das, Sahid Chowdhury and Ratan Bhowmik. State secretariat members Bijan Dhar, Badal Chowdhury, Aghore Debbarma, Gautam Das, Narayan Kar, Tapan Chakraborty, Niranjan Debbarma, Narayan Rupini and Manik Dey were in the Steering Committee.

Presenting the political-organisational report before the conference, state secretary Bijan Dhar said the Party all along maintained political offensive against the opposition through campaign movements during the past three years. Our political offensive helped us usher in decisive victory in all three major elections held during the period. The electoral debacles faced by the opposition pushed them further away from the masses and they got split. One section of the Congress leaders formed a separate party named ‘Tripura Gramin Congress’ and another section joined TMC. INPT, a traditional electoral ally of the Congress, is now contemplating to swing to the BJP. The IPFT, an open political front of outlawed NLFT extremists, desperately raised the demand of a ‘separate state’ with the existing ADC areas in consonance with the voice of their bosses in the extremist front. While Congress is trying to mislead a section of people with baseless concocted stories of corruption against the Left Front government, its ministers and party leaders, BJP is trying to widen its base with its communal and religious agenda.

The Left Front and various other Left and democratic organisations are on the political offensive with continuous movements and struggles on national issues as well as matters related to the state’s progress and advancement, Dhar said. He also highlighted the achievements of the Left Front government in various spheres like strengthening the atmosphere of peace and tranquility, extending democratic rights, administrative decentralisation, infrastructure development, achievements in various core departments like enhancing the literacy rate to 96.82 per cent, the highest in the country. Friendship between Tripura and Bangladesh too has been strengthened. Dhar also narrated the fallout of neo-liberal policies among various social strata like farmers, workers and small traders.

At the same time, he pointed out some weaknesses in conducting campaign movements like lack of seriousness on conducting joint meetings, failure to attract youths into the struggles, lack of innovation in conducting movements, hesitation in conducting joint protest programmes against torture on women, and poor participation of primary members in such movements.

On the organisational aspect, Bijan Dhar said new Party committees have been formed according to the administrative district areas for the first time. At present, there are 24 sub-divisional and eight district committees, 244 local committees and 6,151 branch committees. While in 2011, total Party members were 76,636, in 2014 it went up to 87,691. The growth in four years from 2011 to 2014 is 12.61 per cent. Except in 2013, upward growth was maintained in every year. Women composition of the Party members is 25.76 per cent, though it is not sufficient compared to the women participation in day-to-day movements, he said. In respect of social composition, share of Party members of SC, ST, OBC and minorities, etc are by and large remained same as of 2011. During branch conferences, 90 per cent attendance was reported. Of the total 5,848 branches, written report were submitted in 5,630 conferences. In 265 branches, women were elected as secretary. After conferences, the number of branch committees was raised to 6,151.

On February 26 morning, discussion by delegates on the political-organisational report started and it continued till the next evening. As many as 57 delegates, including 12 women, participated in the discussions. Issues that came forth during the discussion were: parochial campaign of BJP and RSS in various tribal dominated areas vitiating the ethnic amity among the people, need of an independent electronic media to refute the slanders against the Party and the Left Front, imparting political education to the Party members, enhancing monitoring of implementation of government schemes at village level, concern over reducing price of raw rubber. Tripura is now the second largest rubber producing state.

The delegates in their deliberations identified some weaknesses as well. They pointed out weakness in practicing collective functioning, lack of quality among members compared to its numerical growth, reluctance to promote women in various committees, lack of communist values among a section of members, and negative trends acquired by a section. The delegates expressed concern over spreading of superstition, spirituality and idealism, setting aside rationalism in the society, corruption and nepotism among a section of elected members in gram panchayat/villages in sanctioning government benefits, and addiction of a section of tribal youths to gambling and liquor, etc.

The delegates felt the necessity of more and more practice of criticism and self-criticism inside the Party committees, review of performance of Party whole-timers, a renewed drive of rectification campaign, rise in circulation of Daily Desher Katha and Peoples Democracy, accepting the new entrants and assigning them with responsibility.

Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, in her address said Tripura showed the way how a social movement could be transformed into a class movement. Social oppression and capitalist exploitation complement one another. Thus the movement against social oppression cannot be viewed separately from the class struggles. At the same, Tripura is also an instance that the Party could grow defeating the wrong concept of ‘identity politics’. She narrated the activities of the newly formed Adivasi Adhikar Manch and ‘National Platform for Rights of the Disabled’ throughout the state. She stressed on keeping up lively relations between Party leaders and the masses. She also stressed on the utilisation of the social media to cope with the demand of the hour.

In his address, Polit Bureau member and Party’s West Bengal state secretary Biman Bose narrated the horrendous political atmosphere in the state of West Bengal where the ruling TMC is strangulating all democratic rights of the opposition parties and the masses. They have let loose a semi-fascist terror regime where hundreds of women are killed, raped or tortured and the culprits are roaming free. In a word, total autocracy has been set in the state. He said the Party is trying its best to stand by the victims and sought cooperation and solidarity of all Left and democratic forces throughout the country with the struggling people of West Bengal. Assam state committee secretary and Central Committee member Uddhab Barman expressed gratitude for generous assistance extended to the Assam Party by the Tripura state unit from time to time. Assam is being ruled by the Congress for the last 15 years. Earlier the AGP ruled the state. The people of Assam are very much unhappy with both the Congress and the AGP. People who occasionally visit Tripura from Assam highly appreciate the pro-people government here. The time for advance of Left and democratic forces in Assam has come, and we shall utilise the experiences of Tripura in Assam, he said.

Summing up the deliberations on the political-organisation report, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said considering the present adverse national political situation, the Party deserves an important role to be played by its Tripura unit to inspire the entire Party in the country. We must be careful so that the numerical growth does not become a burden on the Party. Thus it is necessary to keep up the quality of Party members. We must practice self-imposed disciplined. We must judiciously select comrades for enrolment in the Party as well as strictly follow the guidelines in renewal of their membership, Sarkar suggested. So far as Party whole-timers are concerned, Sarkar said, they are assets of the Party. According to Lenin, they are professional revolutionaries. Whole-timers should be selected from among the politically conscious, competent and promising Party workers. Their lifestyle, behavior, moral values, conviction to the Marxism and mass-contact etc, should be the model before the masses.

Explaining the constitutional limitations and financial constraint compounded with the NDA government’s non-cooperation with the Left Front government, Sarkar said we are trying to render maximum good to the people with minimum resources. Already our achievements in several parameters have been recognised nationally. So the elected members in various local self bodies must keep serious watch against the misuse and malpractice of government funds in implementation of developmental schemes.

The conference adopted resolutions against parochial demand for a separate state with the existing ADC area; torture on women, domestic violence and social degradation; the anti-people land acquisition ordinance; reduction in MGNREGA fund allocations by the centre; strangulation of democratic rights and barbarism in West Bengal; and in support of protecting secularism and communal harmony in the country.

Bijan Dhar in his reply thanked all the delegates who joined in the discussion and put forward constructive suggestions for developing mass movements and strengthening the Party organisation. The loopholes that the delegates pointed out would be plugged by the new committee, he said.  

In the last session on February 28, an 80-member state committee was elected unanimously. In its first meeting, the newly elected state committee unanimously re-elected Bijan Dhar as secretary. A three-member State Control Commission with Jyotish Saha as its chairman was also constituted. The conference ended amidst the chorus of ‘The Internationale’.

MASSIVE

RALLY

The conference began with a massive rally on February 25 in Agartala. Addressing the rally, Party leaders said the Congress and the BJP can never be an alternative to each other. The real alternative for the poor and toiling masses is the Left and democratic forces. The CPI(M) has to take the initiative of building such an alternative. Strengthening CPI(M) is the prerequisite for building this alternative which will work for the toiling masses. All roads in Agartala witnessed a Red Tsunami on February 25 as thousands of people carrying Party flags, posters, banners and pictures of Communist leaders marched through the city to the Swami Vivekananda Stadium braving the scorching heat.

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, in his address, said the Modi government had assumed office with the promise of bringing ‘ache din’ (good days). But in the last nine months, it has become clear whom the ‘ache din’ have come to. During the last one year, the assets of Gautam Adani alone have increased by Rs 25,000 crore. From coal fields to insurance sector, to land, everything is being given away to the corporate firms by issuing ordinances. In the last nine months, nine ordinances have been issued. Attacks are being mounted on the livelihood of peasants, agricultural workers, working class, small shop owners. Allocations in social welfare schemes like MGNREGA are being drastically reduced. Tripura has been badly affected by this as the allocation for the state has been reduced by more than 50 per cent. Labour laws are being amended which will leave 70 per cent of the workforce out of whatever protection they had. Another aspect of this right wing offensive is the communal activities of the RSS and the BJP. The minorities are being targeted. In Delhi alone, five churches have been attacked in the past few months. The RSS thinks that with the BJP in power at the centre, it has the golden opportunity to create a Hindu Rashtra.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar told the massive gathering that our Party has been constantly stating that the Congress and the BJP cannot be alternative to each other as they are the two sides of the same coin. The real alternative is the Left and democratic force. Cautioning Party workers against deviating from Communist values, Sarkar said enhanced strength of the Party and successive electoral victories should not make us arrogant. We must go to the people, serve them with humility, listen to them and win over those who are still with parties like the Congress, BJP and INPT. He said, with the elections of TTAADC approaching, the Congress and BJP and the masks of the separatist forces IPFT and INPT who are trying to misguide a section of the tribal youth in the name of separate state may join hands against the Left Front. We must guard against this danger.

Addressing the rally, Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat said our vision of development is totally different from what Modi is trying to sell. This government is acting as an agent of real estate giants and trying to evict peasants and tribals from their lands. RSS is hell bent on dividing the masses on communal lines. On the contrary, Tripura is a living example of unity and development. The rally was also addressed by Party West Bengal state secretary Biman Bose, Assam secretary Uddhab Barman and Party Central Committee member Aghor Debbarma.