At the outset, Sitaram Yechury said that because of the sharp decline in both the influence and strength of the Party at the national level, the Vizag Party Congress had felt the need for calling the Plenum to discuss organisational problems to remove bottlenecks to strengthen the revolutionary movement in the country, to improve the Party’s strength and to mobilise people behind the Party. The political aspect was taken up in the political report to the Party Congress. He emphasised the importance of increasing the independent strength of the Party.

He pointed out that only a secular democratic polity can safeguard the various diversities of India from the BJP/RSS onslaught and this cannot be achieved by anybody except the Party. Even a supposedly secular party like the Congress makes compromises to appease communal and casteist elements. The communal forces are flourishing and trying to consolidate their success by distorting the issues of social discrimination and exploitation: the dalit issues, women’s issues, the minority issues. Haryana does not have a significant minority population but there is acute caste polarisation. Feudal tendencies and practices are still quite strong in the state. The Party has to wage a relentless struggle against these elements and tendencies at the grass roots level. There is also the need to strengthen trade union struggles particularly in southern Haryana.

Yechury concluded saying that we have to recognise that objective factors demanding change are present but we lack the organisational capacity to bring about that change. The Plenum has been specifically called to identify and rectify those organisational weaknesses to strengthen the Party to lead the Indian revolution.

The draft report on organisation placed by state secretary, Surender Malik makes a concrete analysis of those weaknesses persisting at various levels in the functioning of Party committees and mass fronts which have become serious impediments in the enhancement of Party’s growth and in its consolidation.

Main weaknesses underlined in the report include majority branches remaining inactive, increasing dropout rate of Party membership due to erroneous recruitment practices, poor quality level of members, very low share of women and youth in the Party membership, continued neglect of cadre policy etc. The report has drawn attention towards the social composition of Party membership having a positive feature with 44 percent coming from Scheduled Caste communities but they are not adequately represented in the Party committees.

The report is in three sections – present political situation, state of Party organisation and a brief note on the condition of mass fronts and district level Party committees. Each section proposes concrete steps to be taken in a time bound manner. It suggests addition of more secretariat members in the existing team of three at the state centre, activising the district centres and centres of mass fronts, improving the Party education, reviewing the mass fronts in the state committee and addressing other organisational tasks pending unaddressed so far. Two districts of Hisar and Fatehabad have been identified as priority districts.

A resolution was placed before the plenum by state secretariat member Inderjit Singh. The self critical appraisal pointed towards inadequacy of Party’s organisational strength in intensifying struggles to channelise the mounting anger among toiling sections and thus enhancing the independent influence of the Party, a necessary condition to advance the political tactical line of the Left and democratic alternative.

The report and resolution were unanimously adopted after the reply to the discussion in which a total of 38 comrades took part. Central secretariat member Nilotpal Basu made a brief concluding speech exhorting the delegates to concretely study the changes impacting various classes. Campaigning on issues alone is not enough, rather struggle on those issues is a must, he said, referring to the accentuating agricultural crisis.

The plenum adopted a resolution demanding implementation of the Supreme Court decision on ‘equal pay for equal work’, removing  conditions for unemployment allowance, rejecting the anti-farmer and pro-corporate prime minister crop insurance scheme and an end to communalise the stray cattle menace. 

A cultural programme was also organised during the plenum on the second day evening for the delegates and general public.