Leftists need to formulate policies keeping immediate objective and necessity in mind. Now the main objective is to isolate the RSS-BJP and end its rule. So, the CPI (M) has decided to back Jaswant Sinha in the Presidential election. In order to defeat communalism, the CPI (M) has one aim—to develop a total unity at national level. Presidential election is not out of it. Communalism has to be defeated. Those who are interested in that, have to be included in that unity. This is the stand of our party. In order to achieve that objective, there is no point to raise objection as to who is wearing yellow shirt and who is wearing red shirt.
The CPI (M) supported twice Ajoy Mukherjee, the dissident Congress leader in the 1960s in West Bengal as maximum MLAs were with him. At that time, the aim was to keep the Congress away from power. Similarly, the CPI (M) and others supported Jagjivan Ram when he opposed emergency and dissociated from Indira Congress. Installation of Morarji Desai government at the center created favourable condition for the CPI (M) to gain power in West Bengal in 1977. Again when V P Singh severed relationship with Rajeev Gandhi, the CPI (M) supported him.
Yechury was delivering a lecture on ‘75 years of independence’ on 109th birth anniversary of Jyoti Basu in Kolkata. But two things he did not mention. First of all, VP Singh government was supported by both the CPI (M) and the BJP. Secondly, capitalist roader Deng Xiaoping once made a comment: ‘‘It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.’’ This is taken to mean that as long as the economy works, it is a good economy. He spoke these words long before the reform and opening-up of China’s economy that ultimately led to counter-revolution in China.
(ABP-09-07-22)
CPI (M) on its ‘leftist’ political line
