SUCCESSFULLY resisting the right wing neo-liberal offensive launched by the Modi government is only possible with the strengthening of CPI(M) and other Left parties, and through united struggles, said CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat. He promised that the CPI(M) would take initiative in forging widest possible unity among Left and democratic forces in the country towards achieving this end. Karat made these remarks while inaugurating the first state conference of CPI(M) Telangana state committee in Hyderabad on March 1. The venue of the conference being held from March 1-4, is named Comrade Y Radhakrishnamurthy Nagar after the late people’s doctor from Khammam district and former CPI(M) member in Rajya Sabha. Veteran of Telangana Armed Struggle, Mallu Swarajyam hoisted the Party flag in the presence of delegates and observers and Polit Bureau members M A Baby, B V Raghavulu, central secretariat member V Srinivasa Rao, AP CPI(M) state secretary P Madhu, central committee members M A Gafoor, S Veeraiah, Paturi Ramaiah, S Punyavathi and others. Everyone paid homage to the martyrs at the column erected at the entrance amidst slogans of ‘Long live martyrs’ and ‘Marxism-Leninism will prevail’. Karat in his speech said if the UPA government's budgets were pro-rich, the latest budget of Jaitley is entirely a rich man's budget. He cited the reduction in corporate tax and the abolition of wealth tax as glaring examples. If anyone had any doubts regarding the class nature of the Modi government, those doubts have been set at rest with this budget. Showering subsidies and incentives to the rich was happening at a time when the top 1 per cent households in the country hold 49 per cent of nation's wealth, he pointed out. Karat lambasted the Modi government for completely neglecting the plight of farmers and taking measures that would further ruin their lives. At a time when hunger is widespread in our country, the Modi government was drastically reducing the PDS coverage instead of universalising it. Also the move to stop procurement of foodgrains from farmers thus denying them minimum support price is a cruel step, he said. This would accentuate the already severe agrarian crisis in the country, including Telangana that witnessed a spate of suicides in the recent months. The drastic reduction in funding to social welfare schemes including to MNREGA glaringly brought out the anti-people nature of the government, he felt. Karat said the Modi government is not just BJP-led government but an RSS-led government. The Hindutva agenda is being aggressively pushed and in the coming days there would be growing trends of authoritarianism both from government and RSS side. These onslaughts on people, their livelihoods, their rights to freedom of expression etc can be effectively countered only by the strengthening of CPI(M) and Left forces in the country. Through widest possible united actions, the Left and democratic forces can emerge as a real alternative. He said the Telangana state conference, drawing on the rich legacy of Telangana Armed Struggle, must chart out a path towards this end. The all India Party Congress in Visakhapatnam would also deliberate on these issues and come out with a clear cut action programme. Leaders from five Left parties and CPI(M) AP state secretary P Madhu delivered fraternal greetings to the conference. (INN)