[Marxistindia] Central Committee Communique

[news from the cpi(m)]

August 7, 2023
Central Committee Communique
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in 
New Delhi on August 4-6, 2023.  It has issued the following statement:
Manipur
The Central Committee expressed its indignation at the fact that for 
over three months now the ethnic conflict with communal dimensions in 
Manipur is raging leaving hundreds dead, tens of thousands displaced and 
surviving in relief camps under inhuman conditions. The culpability of 
the state government is clear enough. The silence of Prime Minister Modi 
and the ineffective Central government intervention so far suggests 
complicity in allowing the situation to slide into greater anarchy and 
mayhem. PM Modi has chosen to abdicate the responsibility of being 
accountable to Parliament which has resulted in the total disruption of 
Parliamentary proceedings. The spreading of the Manipur conflict to the 
nearby states in the North East has very serious consequences.
The Central Committee demands that as the first step in the direction of 
restoring normalcy and peace, Chief Minister Biren Singh must go.
Sharpening Communal Polarization
Haryana Communal Violence: The Central Committee strongly condemned the 
unleashing of brutal bulldozer politics by the Haryana BJP government 
following the communal violence in the Mewat region, starting with Nuh, 
spreading to Gurugram and other places. Instead of taking firm action 
against the culprits and the provocators that engineered this violence, 
the Haryana BJP state government is targeting the minority community, 
embarking on a large exercise of demolishing shops and residences of the 
Muslim community. Many of these have legal ownership documents and some 
others have court stay orders. Nevertheless, the BJP state government 
has proceeded to demolish these properties. However, the Punjab and 
Haryana High Court has stayed the demolitions which went on for four 
days.
Hate Crimes: The horrifying killing by a Railway Protection Force 
constable of an officer and three Muslim passengers is a dehumanizing 
hate crime. Such crimes are growing as a result of the vicious hate 
speeches and propaganda by the BJP-RSS demonizing the Muslim community. 
This condemnable incident is a wakeup call to India that the toxic 
agenda of the Hindutva forces is destroying the secular democratic 
character of the Indian Republic.
Gyanvapi Mosque Dispute: The Central Committee is dismayed and mystified 
as to why the Judiciary at the highest level is not strictly enforcing 
the implementation of the Places of Worship Act 1991 which provides the 
status quo regarding all places of worship in  the country after 
independence. The sole exception made at the time of its enactment was 
of Ayodhya where the dispute was the subject matter of court 
proceedings. The August 3 Allahabad High Court verdict allowed the ASI 
to conduct a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex.  The Supreme Court 
which has repeatedly upheld the validity of the Act has also not stopped 
the survey. The Central Committee demanded that this Act, which is the 
law of the land, be strictly implemented.
Attacks on Federalism
Fiscal Federalism: The Modi government has recently changed the 
definition of public borrowings which imposes a further squeeze on the 
fiscal space of the state governments.  The off-budget and extra 
budgetary borrowings by state governments are to be now considered to be 
part of the public borrowings. However, this does not apply to Central 
government borrowings! Further, this is being applied retrospectively. 
For a state like Kerala, this would mean a shortfall of Rs. 17,310 Cr 
for the fiscal year 2023-24, creating a huge deficit in the budget 
approved by the state assembly. This constitutes a serious assault on 
state rights.
Delhi Ordinance: In a brazen authoritarian move, the Modi government 
issued an ordinance to nullify the recent Supreme Court judgement by a 
five-member Constitution bench upholding the rights of the elected 
government of Delhi over major areas of governance including control of 
the bureaucracy. Not only does this constitute contempt of court, but it 
is also a direct assault on the federal character of the Constitution 
and the norms of accountability and democratic governance as defined by 
the Supreme Court.
The Modi government using its brute majority in the Lok Sabha and with 
the support of regional parties like BJD and YSRCP in the Rajya Sabha is 
enacting this as law.
Loot of National Assets: Under this corporate-communal nexus, the loot 
of national assets is being legalized by legislating new laws. Through 
the disruption of Parliament, important bills facilitating the 
privatization of national assets are being passed. These include the 
Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 to provide blanket exemption 
in the name of development which will help corporates to loot natural 
resources. The consequent deforestation will adversely aggravate the 
climate impact in the country. The Mines and Minerals (Development and 
Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 has been passed that facilitates the 
private mining of crucial and valuable mineral resources including 
Lithium.  The Offshore Areas (Development and Regulation) Amendment 
Bill, 2023 has been passed which facilitates private offshore 
exploration of crude oil.
Growing Crimes Against Women and Girl Children: There is a growing and 
alarming trend in attacks and crimes against women and girl children.
The NCRB data shows that on an average 86 rape cases were lodged daily, 
with 49 offenses against women per hour in 2021. The number of rape 
cases went up from 28,046 in 2020 to 31,677 in 2021. The number of 
crimes against women rose from 3,71,503 in 2020 to 4,28,278 in 2021. The 
attitude of the Modi government in  giving patronage to the accused in 
many cases has led to a culture of impunity amongst criminals.
Fear of Authentic Data
The Central Committee expressed its deep concern at the removal of 
questions related to prevalence of anemia and those related to 
disability from the National Family Health Survey – 6.
The previous survey had revealed that over 57 per cent of women and over 
67 per cent of children in India suffer from anemia. Anemia is a major 
contributor to maternal and child mortality amongst other things. 
Removing questions related to disability is a regressive step.
The Modi government has been unabashed in its contempt and dread of 
accurate data. While data collection through the Census exercise has 
been going on elsewhere in the world, the exercise has been delayed 
indefinitely in India.
The Central Committee condemns the suspension of K.S. James, the 
director of the International Institute for Population Sciences, which 
conducts the NFHS. NFHS-5 had produced data that was not in sync with 
the Modi government’s claims especially on India becoming a “open 
defecation free” country.
Protest Rally of Tribal People: The Central Committee extended its 
support to the call of Adivasi organizations for nationwide protests on 
August 9 against the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act 2023 and the 
Uniform Civil Code. The Act will deny the rights guaranteed by the 
Forest Rights Act and other laws and it will directly impact on 
Constitutional guarantees for protection of customary laws.
CC Calls:
1.	All Party units will observe an all-India protest week against price 
rise and for jobs creation from 1-7 September 2023.
2.	To make efforts to hold a convention of Left parties at the earliest 
and give a call for all-India campaign on a mutually agreed charter of 
demands.
3.	Support the plan of action declared by the joint platform of Central 
Trade Unions and Samyukta Kisan Morcha.
4.	Extend support to the all-India Delhi rally on October 5, 2023 called 
by the All India Democratic Women’s Association.



Muralidharan
[For CPI(M) Central Committee Office]