THE 24th State Conference of the Puducherry committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was held on November 30 and December 1, 2024, at the Comrade Sitharam Yechury Memorial Hall, in Puducherry. Memorial torches in honour of Comrade Sankarayya and Comrade Sitaram Yechury were brought from Mannadipet and Bahoor, respectively, and were used to light the Martyrs' Column. The July 30 Martyrs’ Memorial Torch of Pondicherry, brought from the premises of the Mudaliyarpet textile industry, was also received and lit at the column.

A rousing mass rally marked the beginning of the conference. The rally, featuring a significant number of women chanting powerful slogans, drew the attention of local residents despite the heavy seasonal rains. The Party flag, brought by the Uzhavarkarai Committee, was unfurled by senior comrade  T Murugan amidst revolutionary slogans from the comrades. An exhibition showcasing the Party's heroic struggles was also inaugurated.

The open session of the conference was presided over by V Perumal, with a welcome address by R Natarajan and a condolence resolution presented by N Kolanjiappan. The inaugural address was delivered by N Gunasekaran, state committee member of the Tamil Nadu state party. Gunasekaran noted that, unlike capitalists who establish parties first and then seek doctrines, communists define their doctrines first before founding their party. He emphasized that the spirit of the late Comrade Sitaram Yechury continues to inspire the movement.

Quoting Lenin, Gunasekaran mentioned that capitalism means the exploitation of labour to increase capital for corporations. It fosters inequality, provokes wars among nations leading to massive disasters, causes dangerous environmental changes by plundering the world's natural resources, and dismantles public sector entities. Capitalism cannot solve humanity's problems; it is perpetually entangled in financial crises. Only the proletarian struggle can establish socialism, liberating mankind from all forms of exploitation and ushering in a golden era for humanity.

He urged the delegates to work for promoting the welfare of the downtrodden and the working class, cautioning that failure to do so would leave them vulnerable to the BJP's allure.

The conference was greeted by Salim, CPI state secretary; Balasubramanyam, central committee member of the CPI(ML); and T Murugan, a special invitee from the CPI(M) state party. The inaugural session concluded with a powerful address by G Ramakrishnan, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member.

In his speech, Ramakrishnan underlined the need to defeat the NR Congress-BJP coalition government through a united struggle of the Left and democratic alliance. He emphasized that the only viable alternative is a unified communist struggle to counter the destructive ideology of bourgeois parties. Criticising the BJP's ‘double-engine sarkar,’ he argued that it harms the people, subjecting them to repression through both central and state government policies – a situation he likened to a mridangam, beaten on both sides.

Ramakrishnan accused the Modi government of treating Puducherry as an experimental ground for its liberalisation projects. He highlighted their sustained struggle against the closure of ration shops, which successfully forced the government to resume the distribution of rice and other commodities through ration shops rather than providing direct cash transfers. Similarly, he noted their victory in opposing the privatisation of the electricity department, which prevented tariff hikes through a ‘torch lamp struggle’. He concluded by asserting that the strength of a political party should not be gauged by the number of MPs or MLAs it has but by its ability to lead the peoples’ struggles and stand in solidarity with them.

He pointed out that Parliament is being adjourned daily due to the adamant attitude of the BJP government in not allowing a discussion on the indictment of Adani in a corruption scandal. He criticised the Modi government for granting tax rebates worth Rs 3 lakh crores to corporate allies and writing off loans amounting to Rs 13 lakh crores from the public exchequer. However, he lamented that the same government refuses to extend any meaningful concessions to India’s poor and working-class population. Instead, it has drastically cut the allocations for MGNREGA, which serves as a lifeline for millions of struggling people.

He further highlighted a 200 per cent price increase for 50 per cent of essential medicines in the market. He recalled Sitaram Yechury who stated that the BJP is running a corporate-communal government. He condemned the Modi administration for systematically violating the Places of Worship Act, 1991, by targeting and demolishing mosques. Despite lacking a majority on its own in Parliament, the BJP is aggressively pushing its Hindutva agenda.

Ramakrishnan drew attention to authoritarian policies in BJP-ruled states. In Assam, he noted, buying and selling land now requires the chief minister's approval. In Uttar Pradesh, interfaith couples face life imprisonment under the pretext of curbing ‘love jihad’. He mentioned that Modi praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying, "Learn from Adityanath how to use a bulldozer against jihadists." He condemned the BJP-led government for expelling over 137 opposition MPs from Parliament to push through three anti-farmer laws aimed at corporatising agriculture. Despite assuring the Supreme Court that the sedition law under Section 124A would no longer be enforced, the Modi government secretly enacted Section 152, which is deemed even more draconian.

In conclusion, he called upon the people of Puducherry, who ousted French imperialism through their heroic struggle in 1964, to similarly unite and defeat the NR Congress-BJP coalition in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

The 61-page political and organisational report was presented by Party state secretary, R Rajangam, while the financial report covering the past three years was presented by S Ramachandran. Out of the 223 delegates in attendance, 37 participated in an in-depth discussion. After the reply to the discussions by R Rajangam, both the political and financial reports were unanimously adopted by the conference. A new 10-member office-bearer team was elected, with S Ramachandran as the new state secretary.

RESOLUTIONS

The following resolutions were unanimously adopted by the conference urging both the union and state governments to take the following actions:

1. Grant statehood status to the Union Territory of Puducherry.
2. Withdraw the privatisation of Puducherry's Electricity Department.
3. Provide 200 days of work annually under MGNREGA for beneficiaries and increase the daily wage to Rs 600.
4. Release immediate relief funds for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which were severely affected by the 'Fengal' cyclone and floods.
5. Establish welfare boards for workers in various unorganised sectors with adequate funding to safeguard their social security.
6. Initiate development projects in Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam regions, proportionate to their population needs.
7. Support Puducherry's agricultural sector by providing sufficient funds and subsidies.
8. Fully allocate the special welfare funds under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and ensure these funds are not diverted to other departmental expenses.
9. Provide housing for those without plots or living in rented accommodations.
10. Ensure proper administration and grant-in-aid funding to make cooperative sector institutions profitable.
11. Reopen the AFT, Bharathi, and Swadeshi textile mills.
12. Protect the fishermen's community by withdrawing the Sagar Mala project from coastal areas.
13. Conduct local body elections immediately.

A total of 40 resolutions addressing various issues were adopted during the conference.