New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday said that it will contest in 17 seats in the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly election.
The party has also decided to contest three seats in Chhattisgarh and four seats in Madhya Pradesh. The party is in seat-sharing discussion with INDIA bloc partners in Telangana.
“We have taken these decisions to contest the forthcoming Assembly elections after consultation with the INDIA alliance partners. Our discussion for Telangana is on,” said CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury after the conclusion of the party's three-day central committee meeting in Delhi. Referring to the last Assembly election in Rajasthan, Yechury said that his party contested in 24 seats in the last Assembly election which helped the Congress in forming the government.
Regarding the Kerala blasts that left three people dead and several others injured at a religious convention centre, Yechury said that the central committee strongly condemned it. “The state police have already rounded up one suspect. The Central Committee condemned the comments on social media by a Union Cabinet Minister who without ascertaining the facts hurled communal slurs against Kerala and its people. The Central Committee called upon the people of Kerala to rise, as they have always done, against elements that seek to disrupt Kerala's unique and unparalleled social and communal harmony,” he said.
He said that the party's Central Committee strongly condemned the refusal of the Modi government to vote for the UN General Assembly resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and protection to all civilians and immediate humanitarian aid in Palestine.
“The abstention of the Modi government and its siding with the imperialist warmongers goes against the history and tradition of India’s support to the Palestinian cause. While standing with the UN resolution demands, the Central Committee expressed its solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine against the genocidal war being waged by Israel brazenly flouting all international laws,” Yechury said.
He said that the CPI (M) is part of the growing massive global public protests to force Israel to immediately declare a ceasefire, and the implementation of the UN-mandated two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State with pre-1967 borders.
Referring to 'One Nation One Election', Yechury said that the high-level committee set up by the Union government, under the chairmanship of Ram Nath Kovind, former President of India, to examine the implementation of this proposal has now sought the opinion of political parties and asked for the viewpoint of political parties in writing by January 18, 2024, keeping in mind the general elections a few months later.
“The Central Committee has taken a clear-cut position against this proposal. This proposal would constitute a twin assault on Parliamentary democracy and Federalism as enshrined in our Constitution. Apart from significant amendments to the Constitution, such a proposal would entail either curtailing or extending the life of State Assemblies to synchronize them with Lok Sabha elections. When a government loses its majority on the floor of the House, its continuation is illegal. If Central rule is imposed, denying people their right to elect a government, then it is anti-democratic,” Yechury said.
Yechury said that the Central Committee asked the Modi government to conduct a caste census enumerating socio-economic status along with the 2021 General Census, which is long overdue.
“Such a caste census is necessary to ensure that legal entitlements, including reservations, reach all those who deserve them the most. Bihar has conducted a state-level caste survey, and some other states have declared their intention to do so. The decision to conduct state-level surveys is the prerogative of the elected state governments. However, these cannot be a substitute for an all-India caste census, which is the essential basis to determine the disbursement of entitlements,” he said.
He further said that the Central Committee decided to extend the Party’s support to the countrywide Kisan-Mazdur Mahapadav being held between 26-28 of November. “ The Central Committee also decided to extend the Party’s support and solidarity with the Parliament March call given by the Dalit organizations and platforms on December 4,” said Yechury.
