China, Cuba not our models, says Karat

KOZHIKODE: Heralding a shift from its pragmatic approach of exhorting to look towards China or Cuba, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday said the  party had never tried to emulate models abroad but  believed in applying Marxism-Leninism to the concrete conditions of  India to chalk out its own revolutionary path.   In his opening speech at the inaugural session of the 20th Party Congress of the CPM at the Harkishan Singh Surjeet-Jyoti Basu Nagar (Tagore Centenary Hall) here, he said the partymen had to constantly update their ideological understanding and equip themselves to meet the challenges of the  contemporary era.“There was nothing to choose between  the Congress and the BJP as far as economic policies are concerned. Both are wedded to neo-liberalism.   The Congress and the BJP are  corrupt. The BJP government’s nexus  with the mining mafia and the loot of mineral resources in Karnataka reveal the same pattern of high-level corruption as the 2G spectrum scandal under the aegis of the Congress-led Government at the Centre,” he said.  The recent elections to the five state Assemblies  have reflected the failure of UPA and NDA to consolidate and grow. In view of their failures, people are looking for an alternative.According to the CPM, such an alternative can be  provided only by the Left and democratic forces. To forge a Left-democratic alliance as a viable alternative, it is necessary to strengthen the CPM and expand its influence all over the country.    “A strong CPM can strengthen Left unity and thereby rally other democratic forces to present a viable platform,” he said. To do so,  the party will take up  the issues of the working class, peasantry,  agricultural workers, youth and other sections of the working people to launch struggles and united movements. Karat said they had identified the shortcomings and weaknesses of the party in the political and organisational spheres and taken steps to correct them. The party in West Bengal has a mass base of millions of people built up over the decades through mass struggles. It cannot be cowed down by violence and repression. He pointed out that 570 party workers and sympathisers were killed since the last party congress.