Madurai: Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Brinda Karat Wednesday called the Waqf (Amendment) Bill “an assault on the Constitution of India”.
She also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being silent over US President Donald Trump’s announcement that it will impose a 27 percent tariff on Indian imports instead of fully matching foreign tariffs.
Addressing the media after day two of the 24th congress of the CPI(M), Karat said there need to be reforms and rejuvenation in the waqf boards. “But, this is not the way to make the amendment. The bill goes against the constitutional rights guaranteed to the citizens of the country.”
She also slammed the government and Modi for not speaking for the people of the country. “While we condemn the imposition of 26 percent tariff on Indian imports, we are concerned why the Prime Minister has not reacted to Trump’s arbitrary announcement. The person who claims to be Vishwaguru does not even speak a single word about it.”
Karat stressed the need for a broader secular alliance to fight and defeat the BJP. However, when questioned about the misunderstandings among the parties in the INDIA bloc, she said the alliance was formed for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and they still stick to it.
“Nevertheless, in the state elections held after the Lok Sabha polls, in Delhi we supported AAP and in Maharashtra we supported Congress. In Delhi, we felt AAP would be the force to defeat BJP. So it depends upon the strength of the party in the corresponding states,” she said.
Asked about contesting against the INDIA bloc alliance partners in the state elections of Kerala and West Bengal, she said it was the way to isolate and defeat the BJP. “In the states where we directly confront the INDIA bloc alliance partners, even if it is Congress, we contest against them to isolate the BJP. It is the only way to defeat RSS-BJP in the states wherever we are strong.”
At the end of day two, the party adopted two resolutions—to support a countrywide general strike on 20 May, organised by central trade unions against the labour codes, and to counter the “communal attack of RSS-BJP and Sangh Parivar on the Muslims and the minorities in the country.”
As many as 729 delegates and 79 observers participated in the congress. On the first day, coordinator of the politburo Prakash Karat submitted the review of the political-tactical line taken in the previous congress and proposed the draft political resolution of the 24th congress.
Stating that the main thrust of the draft political resolution was to fight the growing threat of Hindutva forces, Brinda said that the RSS-BJP combine has to be fought on economic, social, ideological, and cultural arenas apart from the electoral area.
“The communal forces, in nexus with the corporates, are spreading their divisive ideology. With the BJP-led government in power at the Centre for three consecutive terms, the RSS and Sangh Parivar are using their access to state power to penetrate into all the organs of the state and communalise the entire society,” she added.
She also said that it was important to build the independent strength of the party to fight the Hindutva forces firmly and uncompromisingly. “For this, the draft resolution calls upon the party to strengthen class and mass struggles. The draft resolution also emphasised the necessity to strengthen the Left unity and mobilise all secular and democratic parties, forces that are ready to join the struggle against Hindutva communal policies of the RSS-BJP.”
On the draft resolution, the party received as many as 3,424 amendments and 84 suggestions, of which 133 amendments were accepted by the party congress.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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