Party to Prioritize Working Class Outreach: Salim
Samprikta Bose
CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee has announced the immediate launch of an ongoing campaign against the Election Commission (EC). The party contends that the EC is using the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process as a mere pretext for the intentional deletion of the names of legitimate voters in the state. State Secretary Mohammed Salim announced that a major protest rally, involving all Left parties, will take place in Kolkata on October 29, specifically targeting these alleged attempts at voter disenfranchisement. Salim underscored that the party's future strategy must focus on fostering class consciousness through direct engagement with the working class. He was addressing a meeting at Pramod Dasgupta Bhavan on the 106th Foundation Day of the undivided Communist Party of India.
VOTER DISENFRANCHISEMENT
Salim stressed that the primary challenge today is to counter the "politics of creating panic" orchestrated by political rivals. Salim alleged that the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) were using fear tactics—specifically referencing the ‘three Ds’ for voter list manipulation: 'Detect, Delete, Deport'—to frighten masses and sway them towards their respective parties. He accused the RSS of utilizing the EC, which was once used for "looting votes," to bring back the issues of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and snatch away people's voting rights. "It is the responsibility of the Election Commission to remove dead or fake voters from the voter list. However, no genuine voter must be harassed or have their name deleted," Salim asserted.
The Left parties plan to continue this fight throughout November, establishing support centers at every booth and intensifying pressure on the EC to ensure the accuracy of the voter rolls.
IDEOLOGICAL CRITIQUE
Kallol Majumdar, the Kolkata District Secretary, presided over the meeting, which was organized under the banner: "Pledge of Foundation Day: Struggle is the Path." In his opening address, Majumdar traced the Communist Party of India's history, noting its foundation in Tashkent on October 17, 1920, against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution and India's nationalist movement, and highlighted the Party's development through continuous struggle.
Referencing the party's history, Salim drew a sharp contrast between the Communist movement and the RSS. He noted that the Communist Party consistently demanded Purna Swaraj (complete self-rule) from its inception, united the working people, and consequently faced suppression and oppression from the British regime. In stark contrast, Salim stated, the RSS "never struggled against British imperialism for independence, nor was it ever banned by the British government," indicating the colonial rulers never viewed it as a threat.
Salim explained that the difficulties India has faced since achieving Independence stem from an unfinished political transition. The incomplete abolition of feudalism and the failure to fully implement land reform resulted in a compromised form of capitalist development. This compromise has both constrained the growth of the domestic market and sustained India's reliance on Western imperialist powers. This explains why, unlike China in facing Trump's threats, the Indian government has been unable to effectively respond; instead, it is shifting the burden of the capitalist crisis onto the country's poor.
This structural compromise, Salim contended, also enables the RSS to promote communal and superstitious ideologies. This, in turn, intensifies religious fanaticism, caste discrimination, and violence against women, as evidenced by the horrific incidents in places like Hathras, Hanskhali, Unnao, and Durgapur.
BUILDING MOVEMENT FROM WORKING CLASS HOUSES
Salim stressed that the only way to combat the rising Right-wing ideology, which capitalizes on emotional appeals based on caste and religion, is by increasing class consciousness.
He advocated a boost in the mobilization strategy, asserting that the party must engage the masses by directly addressing their immediate, class-specific needs. This involves identifying the poor—those who are victims of natural disasters and whose precise needs must be ascertained, or those deprived of 100-day work, housing benefits, or essential health and education services. He stressed that, "The issues and demands of the movement must be raised from within the class itself... We have to go to the houses of the working-class people and build the movement with a thought process coming up from the grassroots."
Drawing examples from the history of India's communist movement, Salim demonstrated how work began by identifying the needs of the distressed, leading to the formation of the Mahila Atmaraksha Samiti (Women's Self-Defense Association) and the People's Relief Committee. Concurrently, a cultural movement also emerged through creativity, led by the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).
He concluded that at a time when the extreme Right-wing is using state power to launch attacks on everyone, strengthening unity among Communists is essential. Once this unity is established, it will be easier to build unity among the remaining Left parties, which will, in turn, make it possible to unite the Left with democratic parties to intensify the movement.
During the meeting, Mohammed Salim unveiled the digital catalogue of the Naren Sen Memorial Library. He also accepted a significant donation of approximately Rs.12.5 lakh, which had been raised by Kolkata party workers to support flood and landslide relief efforts in North Bengal.
CPI (M)) marked its foundation day with a variety of programmes across the state, including Kolkata. Activities organized included flag hoisting at party offices, paying tribute to martyrs, and holding meetings. Kallol Majumdar, the CPI(M)'s Kolkata District Secretary, hoisted the red flag at the party's Kolkata District Committee office in the presence of party leaders and workers. Additionally, on the occasion of the party's foundation day, Member of Parliament Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya inaugurated a progressive book stall at Balu Hakkak Lane in the Park Circus area.
