[L-I] [INDIA] ML Update Vol.7 , No. 14-20 , 19 - 25 May 2004

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine
Vol.  7     No. 14 - 20            19 - 25 May 2004


Mandate 2004: Signals and Opportunities

In March 1977 when Indira Gandhi finally 'ordered'elections little di=
d she
know that she would be in for a massive shock. When the results were =
out,
the Congress stood liquidated almost everywhere except the southern s=
tates.
Likewise in December 2003, the Sangh Parivar too could not possibly
anticipate that by gambling for early elections it would only be hast=
ening
the downfall of the Vajpayee regime. But the 'upset' is now a recorde=
d fact.
The BJP and its allies have been virtually decimated in all but a few
states. At the end of the day, two of independent India's most arroga=
nt and
anti-people rogue regimes have met with the same fate. Good riddance!

There is a strong tendency in the media and especially in NDA circles=
 to
describe the present outcome as a fractured mandate without any focus=
 or
thrust. We are also told that the overall outcome is essentially the =
sum
total of rather disparate state-specific verdicts. While there is ind=
eed a
good deal of variation in the results from one state or region to ano=
ther,
the results do indicate a strong countrywide rejection of the BJP and=
 the
NDA. The trend is probably most clearly reflected in the national cap=
ital
and neighbouring states like Haryana and UP and even in Modi's Gujara=
t, a
traditionally strong bastion of the BJP, where the BJP has had to tak=
e a
severe knock.

Indeed, the end of the 'Atal era' apart, the warning served on the ma=
n-eater
Modi regime of Gujarat and the collapse of the Naidu rule in Andhra a=
re
among the most redeeming features of the 2004 verdict. Not only the
countryside, much of urban and even metropolitan India has refused to=
 buy
the NDA's 'India shining' propaganda. The much talked about 'feel-goo=
d
factor' became a crude joke across the length and breadth of the coun=
try.
The plight and anger of the 'other' India - the real India inhabited =
by the
starving rural poor, the crisis-ridden farmers, the unemployed and an
increasingly insecure working class - transformed the BJP's fond 'fee=
l good'
dream into a veritable 'feel bad' nightmare.

Midway through the elections, the BJP made a desperate attempt to cou=
nter
and defuse this anger - described as 'anti-incumbency' factor by
psephologists - by once again invoking the bogey of instability. But =
unlike
in 1999 when the 'stability factor' did play a major role in the elec=
tions,
this time round even the ruling classes' most sacred concern for stab=
ility
did not come to the BJP's rescue. The 2004 verdict can only be descri=
bed as
an emphatic rejection of the reigning elitist model of 'development' =
and a
powerful reassertion of the real issues of employment, livelihood and=
 basic
amenities for rural India and for the working people at large.

A key aspect of the BJP's 'Mission 2004' targets was the goal of secu=
ring an
independent majority for the party. In the course of the campaign Vaj=
payee
even appealed to the electorate not to burden him again with the tire=
some
task of running another coalition regime. Campaigning in Haryana, Adv=
ani
called upon the people to vote for either the BJP or the Congress. Ye=
t the
BJP's own tally dropped below 140 seats while a partially rejuvenated
Congress could not cross the 150 mark either. In UP the BJP tried all=
 kinds
of tricks to spoil the electoral prospects of the Samajwadi Party, bu=
t in
vain. Like the Left in West Bengal and Kerala, the SP in UP has also
succeeded in securing its highest ever tally.

While the attempt to foist a two-party model has thus been stalled, m=
ost of
the non-BJP non-Congress parties seem resigned for the time being to =
a
two-coalition model led either by the BJP or the Congress. In spite o=
f a
very good electoral showing by the non-BJP non-Congress parties, espe=
cially
by the Left and the Samajwadi Party, it is the Congress which has com=
e to
seize the political initiative. In the face of a Congress comeback af=
ter
nearly a decade, the only expression of the Left's independence so fa=
r has
been a welcome refusal by the CPI(M) to participate in a Congress-led
coalition government at the Centre.

To conclude, the 14th Lok Sabha elections have indeed delivered a big=
 blow
to the Sangh's agenda of Hindutva and 'hard state' and to the reignin=
g
rightwing and pro-imperialist economic and foreign policies. The
obscurantist and sectarian agenda of the Sangh has been pushed back a=
nd the
basic issues have come back in a big way. The challenge before all
progressive forces is to seize this opportunity and build up a powerf=
ul
movement for a genuinely modern and democratic India.



CPI(ML) welcomes CPI(M) decision to stay out of the Congress-led coal=
ition

The CPI(ML) welcomes the decision taken by the CPI(M) Central Committ=
ee not
to participate in a Congress-led coalition government at the Centre.

It must be understood that in the course of signalling the end of the
Vajpayee regime, the outcome of the 2004 elections has particularly
expressed a strong rejection of the anti-people and pro-imperialist e=
conomic
policies. The reverses suffered by the Congress governments in Kerala=
,
Karnataka and Punjab are no less significant than the rout of the Nai=
du
government in Andhra and the warning served on the Modi government in
Gujarat.

The new government must be called upon to repeal POTA and release all
political prisoners, mete out effective punishment to the perpetrator=
s of
the Gujarat genocide, provide immediate and adequate relief for the r=
ural
poor and crisis-ridden farmers and reorient the country's economic an=
d
foreign policies.

A most redeeming feature of the mandate of the 14th Lok Sabha electio=
ns is
that the communal fascist agenda of the Sangh has been pushed back an=
d the
basic issues have come back in a big way. The challenge before all
progressive forces is to seize this opportunity and intensify the mov=
ement
for a genuinely modern and democratic India.

---------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------

Votes Polled by the CPI(ML)-Liberation in the 14th Lok Sabha Election=
s, 2004

Assam
1.Dibrugarh:.............................................  9,843

2.Tezpur:..................................................24,595 (IV=
)

3.Autonomous District (ST).............................74,399 (III)



Tripura
1.Tripura East (ST):.................................. 6,475



West Bengal
1.Jalpaiguri :..............................................7,278   (=
IV)

2.Raiganj:..................................................1,154

3.Krishnanagar:......................................... 7,509

4.Katwa:................................................... 6,290

5.Asansol:.................................................4,488



Andaman & ..........:.................................1,448
Nicobar Islands



Tamil Nadu

1.Chennai North:..................................... 2,071

2. Mayiladuturai:......................................2,384

3.Thiruchengodu:.....................................2,431



Kerala
1.Palghat:...............................................3,270


Karnataka
1.Bellary:.............................................12,413



Andhra Pradesh
1.Kakinada:............................................9,458



Orissa
1. Koraput (ST) :.................................48,366 (IV)

2. Puri:...............................................25,419



Jharkhand
1.Dumka (ST):......................................8,039

2.Palamu (SC):....................................16,837

3.Chatra:..............................................8,631

4.Giridih:.............................................6,435

5.Dhanbad:..........................................7,497

6.Koderma:.....................................1,36,554 (III)

7.Hazaribagh:.....................................14,563 (IV)

8.Ranchi:.............................................3,787



Punjab
1.Bhatinda (SC):..................................7,505



Pondicherry:.......................................1,359



Haryana

1.Karnal:.............................................2,487



Rajasthan

1.Jhunjhunu:.... ..................................6,810

2.Salumber (ST)..............................22,029


Uttar Pradesh
1.Pilibhit:.........................................11,804

2.Kheri:.............................................6,739

3.Mishrikh (ST) :..............................4,051

4.Jalaun (SC):...................................3,728

5.Saidpur:..........................................3,413

6.Ghazipur:........................................2,216

7.Chandauli:...................................... 9,826

8.Robertsganj: ...............................11,120

9.Balia:.................................. ..........2,008

10.Salempur: ....................................6,040



Bihar
1.Bagaha (SC):..............................23,338 (IV)

2.Siwan: ........................(counting after May 24)

3.Gopalganj:...................................11,023

4.Samastipur:...................................................6,576

5.Purnea:...........................................7,595

6.Aurangabad:...............................1,06,888 (IV)

7.Bikramganj:..................................85,973 (III)

8.Sasaram (SC):................................9,936 (IV)

9.Barh:...........................................12,940 (IV)

10.Patna:.........................................12,680 (IV)

11.Bettiah:.....................(counting after May 24)

12.Rosera (SC):...............................18,829 (III)

13.Darbhanga:.................................13,443 (IV)

14.Muzaffarpur:................................7,027

15.Katihar:......................................19,569

16.Gaya (SC):...................................8,046

17.Nawada (SC):...............................3,623

18.Nalanda:.....................................19,124 (III)

19.Buxar:........................................32,807

20.Jehanabad:..................................77,743 (III)

21.Arrah:.....................................1,49,679 (II)


Uttaranchal
1.Nainital:........................................2,292

2.Almora:........................................5,820



Chhattisgarh
1.Bastar (ST):.............. ..................5,017

---------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------

Left Must Pursue it's Own Agenda Forcefully

Stock market crash of May 17 and earlier related developments may be =
seen as
an exercise to put pressure on the forthcoming regime to go unabated =
with
economic reforms with a rightist orientation undermining the Left. Th=
e
attitude and approach being adopted by the big business and the media=
 to
project Left as anti-development and anti-change vis-=E0-vis policies=
 of
economic reforms started more than a decade ago. And it certainly req=
uires
for the Left to put forth its agenda and people's issues without givi=
ng any
concessions to the rulers. The common people and toiling masses can n=
ot
allow the ruling class from evading the vast range of issues adversel=
y
affecting their lives which certainly are the outcome of economic ref=
orms
being perceived by the bourgeoisie for more than a decade.

One more thing that's been exposed by the May 17 crash is the state o=
f the
Indian economy where the FIIs and foreign speculative capital which h=
ave
shown their capacity to hold country's stock markets to ransom by sel=
ling in
a big way leading to the crash on the Sensex. A significant reason fo=
r the
market to crash was the pulling out of foreign funds. According to a =
stock
broker, anywhere between $2 billion and $2.5 billion was expected to =
be
pulled out within a few days. And after the close of trading on May 1=
7, the
figure already have touched to 1.5 billion mark.

Moreover, it is not just political developments in India that are tri=
ggering
off the sell button of foreign investors. Stocks are reaching to a lo=
w in
many countries at the moment. China and India have been seen as the t=
wo
emerging markets that have caught the fancy of imperialist countries =
and the
MNCs. In India, these were the policies followed by the BJP-led NDA t=
hat
gave concessions to the MNCs and big business without actually streng=
thening
country's economy and therefore such a sell off must not be viewed as=
 quite
unexpected one.

Many corporate leaders have shown a preference for the next Finance M=
inister
for either Manmohan Singh or P Chidambaram. They are quite convinced =
that
the Congress, the party that started it all in 1991, would only take =
forward
the ongoing reforms further. As a Congressman said to the media that
Manmohan Singh, has no intention of rolling back any of the liberal p=
olicies
even as he speaks mildly on television. "He will not agree to their (=
Left's)
demands. When it comes to reforms, Dr Singh is extremely committed," =
he
added. "The economic reform was the brainchild of the Congress and we=
 hope
that with the party coming to power, the reform process will get a bo=
ost,"
Bajaj Auto Vice-Chairman Madhur Bajaj said. The corporate sector was =
hopeful
that the process of economic reforms would continue even if the Left =
parties
joined the Congress-led coalition. "We expect that Manmohan Singh wil=
l be
the next finance minister. The Congress knows the rules of the game a=
nd I do
not think the Left parties will try to derail the process," Bajaj sai=
d. The
Federation of Indian Export Organisations has suggested in clear term=
s that
the "flexibility in labour laws" should be looked upon by the new
government.

Yet, the market forces did not leave any scope and nakedly came out w=
ith
this unprecedented desperate pressure and openly pleaded continuity o=
f the
rightist economic plank. The outgoing Finance Minister was only laugh=
ing
behind the scene. This dangerous trend gives a clear message for the
Leftists and the working people that any pro-people shift in the ongo=
ing
anti-people rightist direction of our economy cannot be soft-peddled =
but
would demand hard resistance and protracted struggle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------


OBITUARY

                Comrade Suresh Yadav died of cancer on May 7 in his n=
ative
village Gangta Kalan in Godda district. He was one of the founder mem=
bers of
the Party in that district and a member of the District Committee. He=
 was
53.

                Com. Suresh actively associated himself with the comm=
unist
movement from his school days and became a member of the CPM at the a=
ge of
16. He soon became a full-time activist. He joined CPI(ML) in 1985 an=
d took
the responsibility to organised the Party in Godda. He was also the D=
istrict
Secretary and member of the State Council of the Indian People's Fron=
t. Com.
Yadav always lived a very simple life and always remained committed t=
o the
communist ideology and service to the people.

                A large number of people came to participate in his f=
uneral
=66rom nearby villages. A condolence meeting was organised in his mem=
ory on
May 12 in Godda which was attended by a number of leaders from many L=
eft and
democratic parties including CPI(ML) CCM Prabhat Kumar.

---------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------
----

The Main Culprits of Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal

 Pentagon has dismissed the grave charges of cruelty against Iraqi pr=
isoners
as "outlandish, conspiratorial and filled with error and anonymous
conjecture." But devastating accusations against Defense Secretary Do=
nald
Rumsfeld in the May 24 edition of The New Yorker magazine and Newswee=
k
exposed that Rumsfeld secretly approved a plan to use harsh interroga=
tion
methods (read torture) on prisoners in Iraq. This plan of operation i=
ncludes
encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation to obtain informa=
tion
=66rom the prisoners was known to President Bush and fewer than 200 o=
peratives
were approved by the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, acco=
rding
to the report.  Newsweek affirmed that a memo written by White House =
Counsel
Alberto Gonzales after the September 11, 2001 attacks may have establ=
ished
the legal foundation that contributed to abusive treatment. This publ=
ication
forced the US Congress and called for additional investigations into =
the
Iraqi prisoners' abuse scandal to determine whether responsibility li=
es
higher up the chain of command than with the seven Army reservists wh=
o are
facing criminal charges by making them scapegoats.

Largest Israeli Demonstration Against Palestine Occupation

On March 13, an anti-war demonstration in Israel, largest  so far, de=
manded
withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestine. 120,000 Isr=
aelis
gathered in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square to the sound of John Lennon's "Gi=
ve
Peace a Chance" and "Imagine" and warmly applauded repeated calls to
withdraw from Gaza and return to the negotiating table. The big weeke=
nd
rally is said to have marked the re-emergence of the Israeli peace mo=
vement,
marginalized for most of the last four years, as leftists joined forc=
es with
moderate centrists in the biggest display of anti-war feeling since t=
he
beginning of the intifada more than three and half years ago. Shimon =
Peres,
leader of the mainstream opposition Labor Party, told the rally: "The
demonstration we're holding tonight is not a demonstration of the lef=
t. It
is a demonstration of the majority."

Referring to the outcome of last month's referendum in which 100,000 =
Likud
members voted against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to disengage=
 from
Gaza, Peres said the country could not be held to ransom by a mere 1 =
per
cent of the population. Meanwhile, residents of the southern Gaza tow=
n of
Rafah were piling their possessions into the back of cars and onto do=
nkeys
as they braced themselves for the beginning of another Israeli demoli=
tion
operation following the destruction of close to 100 homes late last w=
eek.


More Than a Million March in Havana against US Designs


President Fidel Castro condemned the US Administration by affirming t=
hat
George W. Bush has no morals or moral right to talk of terrorism, hum=
an
rights or freedom and democracy, at the beginning of a giant march by=
 1.2
million Cubans along the Havana Malec=F3n to the U.S. Interests Secti=
on on
March 12. The march was organised to condemn and protest and repudiat=
e the
brutal and heartless measures proposed by the Bush administration aga=
inst
Cuba and former's so called project of 'regime change'

In his address Castro said "in the world that Bush wants to impose to=
day
there is not the least notion of ethics, credibility, standards of ju=
stice,
humanitarian sentiment or principles of solidarity and generosity.
Everything written on human rights in the world of Bush and that of h=
is
allies is a monumental lie, and in that context recalled that thousan=
ds of
millions of human beings are living in subhuman conditions.

"You have neither the morals or the moral right to speak of freedom,
democracy and human rights when you boast sufficient power to destroy
humanity, when you have ignored the United Nations, when you violate =
the
rights of any country and engage in wars of conquest in order to seiz=
e
resources."said Castro. Fidel stated that Bush only has the right of =
brute
force to intervene in Cuba's affairs and proclaim a transition from o=
ne
system to another. He warned that the Cuban people could be wiped off=
 the
face of the earth, but not subjugated if subjected to the humiliating
condition of being a U.S. Neocolony. He affirmed that human beings do=
 not
and cannot understand freedom within a regime of inequality like the =
U.S.
and recalled that the only equality in the Black ghettoes and the Ame=
rican
Indian reservations is that of poverty and social exclusion.

Fidel charged that Bush "has decided that our die is cast," and made =
his
farewell like the Roman gladiators who were to fight in the circus: "=
Ave
Caesar, we who are about to die salute you." "But," he assured, "in t=
hat
case Bush will be thousands of kilometers away and I will be in the f=
ront
line to die fighting in defense of the homeland."

-END
---------------------------------------------------

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