CPI (M) SHALL FORGE AHEAD BATTLING ADVERSITIES

KOLKATA,31^st JULY: Addressing a large indoor rally to remember E M S Namboodiripad, the legendary Communist leader on his centenary year, held at the Calcutta University centenary hall during the evening of 31 July, CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat said that the CPI (M) would go to the people as in the past, learn from them and battle ahead defeating all adversities. Biman Basu was in the chair. The members of the CPI (M) state secretariat were on the dais.

Prakash Karat said that EMS was not merely a theoretician he was also of that rare quality that allowed one to put theory to practice. He would analyse the evolving situation and raw the correct lessons from them. He placed a remarkable address on the problems plaguing the Malabar kisans when he was speaking at a legislative session in Delhi in the pre-independence years.

This was the address that later served to inspire the land reforms movement in the country and gave birth much later to the movement for land reforms in places like Kerala and Bengal.

EMS was also a correct analyst of the nationalities question in Kerala and apart from calling for an integrated concept of what was then called a province EMS also spoke firmly in favour of democratic decentralisation of power, financial as well as administrative.

Prakash Karat said that the CPI (M) was at present under assault from forces of reaction, indigenous and foreign. The attack took a sharp formation prior to the 15^th Lok Sabha elections and has continued since in Bengal.

From the date of the announcement of election schedule, 70 comrades have been martyred here in Bengal said Prakash Karat. In Kerala, the attack was open and overt. In Bengal the attack is covert and in the guise of ‘Maoism.’ Prakash Karat was bitterly critical of the politics of ‘Maoism’ being practiced in some parts of the country.

Analysing the election results obtained in the 15^th Lok Sabha elections, Prakash Karat pointed out that the results were an ‘exception in Bengal where the LF has been in office for 32 long years.’ The CPI (M) has full confidence that it should learn from the people the correct lessons and drive forward in the days to come. The life and achievements of EMS would serve as source on inspiration in this task.