Rally for Anti-Imperialist People’s Alternative. ( Draft Election Manifesto of the CPI(ML) for discussion among the people.)

To All Left, Democratic, Secular and Patriotic Forces.

Comrades and friends,

The central Committee of CPI(ML) is presenting the draft Election Manifesto for the 16^th General elections to the Lok Sabha expected to be held in May-June 2014 for your study, criticisms and suggestions. Even if you reject it please let us know your criticisms. At a time when vast majority of the people are facing acute crisis as a result of the policies pursued by the consecutive governments, when they need a people’s alternative, come forward and send all your suggestions so that it can be developed as the Manifesto of the masses of people.

K.N.Ramachandran,

General Secretary, CPI(ML)

Dated 1^st July 2013.

Rally for Anti-Imperialist People’s Alternative.

( Draft Election Manifesto of the CPI(ML) for discussion among the people.)

Introduction

1.1.  the Elections to the 16th Lok Sabha are taking place at a critical time in the history of our country.  In the context of the worst ever crisis faced by the imperialist system as a whole, especially US imperialism, and as a result of the last ten years of Congress-led UPA rule, our country is in the grip of unprecedented crisis. As a consequence of the neo-liberal policies and integrating its economy to the global financial capital, which is getting increasingly speculative and parasitic, leading to present global financial crisis, the attacks on the masses of people have intensified unprecedentedly.  As a result, the dreams nourished during the century-long independence struggle and during the more than six decades of people’s struggles against the ruling system and  the vision of people’s democracy cherished by the heroic martyrs are all  shattered.  While struggling for the independence of the country, the people’s movement had the vision of an India free from imperialist yoke, a federal, democratic, self-reliant and secular republic, a new vibrant society that settles accounts with the colonial past, an India where anti-caste, secular democratic values and socio-economic equality shall flourish for all sections of the people in all spheres.

1.2.  But, six and half decades after the 1947 transfer of power the national unity and democratic values developed through many decades of strenuous countrywide anti-imperialist and national liberation struggles are in grave danger. Vast majority of the people have become increasingly pauperised, while a tiny minority has become super-rich. The country is increasingly devastated under the imperialist globalization/ neo-liberal policies pursued by the central and state governments, the whole administration, serving the ruling classes in spite of whichever political party or parties are leading them. Whatever sovereignty was achieved is systematically decimated, reducing the country to the strategic subservience of US imperialism. 

1.Consequences of Ten Year Rule of UPA Government

1.3.  The elections to the 14th Lok Sabha were held in 2004 when six years of BJP-led NDA rule had led the country to a dangerous situation by speeding up imperialist globalisation policies in a frenzied manner and intensifying communal fascist moves including the Gujarat massacre.  Though BJP leadership tried to cover up its anti-people policies through an ‘India Shineing’ campaign, the NDA led by it lost the election. Congress-led UPA supported by the Left Front  took over based on a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) claiming to reverse the NDA government’s policies. But from the very beginning it acted against these promises. It further speeded up imperialist globalization-liberalisation–privatisation policies including enactment of numerous laws for launching SEZs, CMZs etc, opening the economy further to corporate houses, global finance agencies and MNCs. It allowed corporates and MNCs to enter agricultural sector on a larger scale, and in to procurement of agricultural products, while the government agencies were withdrawn from it.  The Public Distribution System (PDS) was further decimated. In the name of establishing parity with international market rates, prices of petroleum products and other essential commodities were repeatedly hiked leading to inflation and price rise reaching unprecedented levels.  Fields of education, healthcare etc were surrendered to privatisation and market-oriented forces.  All welfare measures were further cut down or eliminated.

1.4.  The rights of the working class, adivasis, dalits and all oppressed sections were snatched away pauperizing them further in all respects.  Even existing land ceilings were reversed to assist land concentration with corporates, land lords, mafias etc.  The de-industrialization, that is, closing down tens of thousands of labour-intensive industries, continued. In the name of export-oriented industries, self-reliance was further eroded, giving one-sided emphasis to IT and service sectors.  MNCs were more freely allowed to enter in all fields.  Speculative and parasitic capital was allowed a field day. In the name of establishing strategic relationship with US imperialism numerous military pacts were signed crowned by the Indo-US Nuclear Act.  It led to voting in the IAEA and in other fields at the dictates of US, even abandoning the extremely fruitful Iran-Pak-India Natural Gas Pipeline.  It led to estrangement of relationship with the neighbouring countries further.  Whatever positive character the country’s foreign policy had was destroyed.  .

1.5.  These neo-liberal policies have led to economic ruin for vast majority, with only a minority getting unprecedentedly richer. Contrary to the claims of the UPA government about combating communal offensive of the Sangh Parivar, its communal appeasement policies led to further communalization of all walks of life in the country, taking it to dangerous levels. Everything including terrorism is communalized. The minorities were criminally targeted by the state machinery while the Sangh Parivar forces were allowed to escape punishment even after repeatition of Gujarat massacre like atrocities in Odisha and elsewhere.  The caste divide and suppression of dalits and adivasis also intensified. Thus the first term of UPA government witnessed further cutting down of all social welfare policies, sky-rocketing price rise and unemployment.  There was further snatching away of democratic rights, and imposition of black acts.  Corruption became more rampant in all fields. For suppressing increasing people’s resistance to these anti-people policies, the state terror was intensified wantonly.Exploitation of and atrocities on women and children also intensified. The devastating ‘development policy’ has led to further ecological destruction. The number of people below poverty line went up. In short, five years of Congress-led UPA rule propped up by the LF had led to further intensification of the neo-colonial slavery, pauperization of the masses and communal fascist threats to unprecedented levels.  It had further weakened the national unity and led to the growth of forces of disintegration.

1.6.  By the time the elections to the 15^th Lok Sabha were held in 2009, the Congress led UPA government was reduced to a minority and there was growing resentment against it. But, BJP was the only alternative to it in many states and due to its communal and divisive policies and as anti-BJP sentiments were still strong among the masses, it could not become a powerful  alternative to Congress. Besides it was advocating the very same neo-liberal policies the UPA was imposing with disastrous consequences to the masses. In W. Bengal and Kerala, where the CPI(M) led Left Front was in power, the Congress and TMC could get benefit from the growing sentiments among the masses against the LF brand of neo-liberal raj. As a result, Congress could manage to come to power for another term making opportunist alliance with a conglomeration of regional parties.

1.7. Under the second term of the UPA government as the neo-liberal policis  are imposed more ferociously, among the BRICS group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) India’s rank is the lowest, with a per capita GDP of $1340,even much below South Africa’s $1610.  India is ranked 140^th in the world in GDP growth.. Based on definitions of poverty/human development, India’s ranking in the U.N. Human Development Index, which includes life expectancy and education, is 134 out of 182 countries. The Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by the United Nations defines the poor as those who face multiple deprivation with respect to education, health and living standard (including water, sanitation, and electricity), and measures the extent of their poverty by the range of their deprivations. It puts the number of MPI poor people in India at 645 million, or 55.4 per cent of the population. Thus there are more MPI poor people in eight Indian states alone (421 million in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal) than in the 26 poorest African countries which have a combined population of 410 million.

1.8. Another definition of poverty, which tries to take into account various minimum food and non-food (clothing, shelter, medical care, electricity, etc.) needs for a dignified existence, yields poverty rates of 84.6 and 42.4 per cent for rural and urban India, and an average of 68.8 per cent all-India. A large majority of the population does not attain the minimum calorie levels required for rural and urban areas which form the original basis of the official Indian poverty line methodology (87 per cent of the rural population gets less than the rural cut-off of 2400 calories/day, and 64.5 per cent of the urban population gets less than the urban cut-off of 2100 calories/day). 48.5 percent of the adults and 53 percent of the children are undernourished.  The number of child labourers is put at 10 crores. India has about 61 million children under the age of 5 who are chronically malnourished, compared to 150 million children worldwide  Average life expectancy of 62 at birth is one of the lowest in the world. Total expenditure on education of central and state governments at 4 percent of GDP is one of the lowest in the world, even less than that of poorest African countries. Arjun Sen Gupta Committee of the Indian Planning Commission has recorded that more than 80 percent of the Indian population has a daily earning of only less than Rs. 20 a day.  . GDP growth rate has declined from 9.5 percent in 2005-06 to around 5 percent  in  2012-13.

1.9. Even when the GDP growth rate was 9.5 percent, employment growth rate was only 1.06 percent. Whatever employment generated under Manmohanomics is in the informal sector where no social security is available.  Unemployment rate increased from 8.9 percent in 2005 to 10 percent in 2011. 70 percent of the Indian labourers have only below primary level education. If the present trend continues, within a decade unemployment in India will reach 30 percent of the population and the total people unemployed in India will reach 25 crores.

1.10.        Agriculture is in chronic stagnation while Index of Industrial Production (IIP) comprising capital, intermediate and consumer goods decelerated from 3.7 percent in 2011 to 0.7 percent in 2011. Production of pulses marks an absolute decline from 18.24 million tons in 2010-11 to 17.28 million tons in 2011-12. Rice production has declined from 96.69 million tons in 2007 to 95.98 million tons in 2011. Groundnut production has declined from 9.18 million tons to 6.94 million tons during the same period. Per capita availability of food grains declined from 162.5 kilograms in 2006 to 162.0 in 2011.  It was 171.1 kilogram in 1961.  Only 47 percent of the people have drinking water facility within the premises. Only 29 percent use LPG for cooking and the remaining use firewood, crop residue and cow dung. 53 percent do not have toilet or drainage facilities on premises. 60 crores of Indians have no electricity at all.  

1.11.        Under present  ruling regime  india has become one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It tops the worldwide list for black money with almost $1,456 billion stashed in Swiss Banks alone. At the same time, total corporate tax exemptions based on Statement of Revenue Foregone (see, Annexure 12 to the Receipts Budget) since 2004 under the UPA government now reach the alarming figure of Rs. 35 lakh crores! During  2006-11 alone, according to official estimates, the total revenue forgone under corporate income tax, excise duty and customs duty amounted to more than 20 lakh crores of rupees! While the total food and fuel subsidies in the 2013-14 budget is reduced to Rs. 155000 crores from Rs. 181880 crores in 2012-13, the defence spending has risen from Rs. 1.79 lakh crores to Rs. 2.03 lakh crores during the same period.

1.12.        The contribution of the petroleum sector by way of taxes to the central exchequer rose from Rs 112,000 crore (Rs 1.22 trillion) in 2009-10 to Rs 136,000 crore (Rs 1.36 trillion) in 2010-11; state government taxes were an additional Rs 72,000 crore and Rs 80,000 crore respectively. Instead of this, the Government is not ready to  hike direct taxes on the corporate sector and the rich, or hike the indirect taxes on luxury commodities (including additional taxes on automobiles and their use which would also help to curb the use of petroleum products) and can reduce prices and inflation. But that would go against the class interests the rulers and so is ruled out. Meanwhile to make the Reliance richer the UPA government has approved doubling of the price of natural gas to $8.4 which will further hike of gas and electricity rates.

1.13.        In short, during its second term the UPA government has proved itself as the most corrupt and anti-people government during last six and half decades. The prices of all essential commodities and rates of basic services, unemployment , expenses for education, healthcare, housing and transport have reached unprecedented levels. In order to help the imposition of neo-liberal policies, communalization, caste based divisions and oppression, and state terror are intensified. Under the name of war on terrorism  the Muslim youths are tortured and arrested in large numbers, while  in spite of clear proofs the saffron brigades and majority communalists are allowed to escape. Using  war on Maoists as a cover, all democratic movements are suppressed and adivasis in larger numbers are forced to bear the brunt of police raj. Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast are still languishing under military occupation. AFSPA and other black laws are imposed creating an emergency like situation. Along with the displacement of millions of dalits, adivasis, and other oppressed sections from their lands, the so-called development policy imposed under the neo-liberal policies are devastating nature and create catastrophes like the one witnesed recently in Uttarakhand. Signing of a number of open and secret agreements with the US imperialists, UPA goverment has intensified strategic subservience of the country to US imperialism. All these developments have led to intensification of people’s anger in all fields including massive upsurges like the ones witnessed in Delhi streets against corruption and gang-rape. The 16^th Lok Sabha elections are taking place when vast masses of the people are fed up with the ruling system and  are looking forward for an alternative which will better their living conditions and provide a democratic atmosphere.

2.Socio-Political situation in the country.

2.1. To maintain and strengthen the colonial state apparatus, the British colonialists had promoted upper caste Hindus and feudal forces while pursuing the ‘divide and rule’ policy of fomenting communal rivalry between Hindus and Muslims, in addition to favoring the growth of Christian evangelism in the country. The post-1947 Indian state, in the interest of imperialism and comprador ruling classes, pursued the same policy of appeasing communal and casteist forces often resulting in communal riots and massacres in different parts of the country. This communal appeasement policy got an added momentum with the intensification of neocolonial plunder and growing contradictions and crisis within the ruling system. This provided a fertile ground for the Hindu fundamentalist forces spearheaded by the RSS through its political arm, Jan Sangh till the seventies, and BJP since then, to penetrate entire apparatus of state power. The growth of majority fundamentalism  has led to the growth of Muslim and other minority communal forces also. If the Congress government in 1992 allowed the RSS Parivar to demolish Babri Masjid to divert attention from the imposition of the imperialist globalization policies, this dangerous and sinister step has led  not only to the communal fascist BJP coming to power at center in 1998, and consolidating its grip in few states, but also to the growth of all religious fundamentalist forces, especially Hindu fundamentalists, leading to communalization of the society to a large extent.

2.2. In a similar vein, the ruling classes effectively utilized the caste based vote bank politics, going against the demand raised by the renaissance movement and anti-caste movement during the independence struggle for the annihilation of the caste system.  The Indian state encouraged land concentration and opposed democratization of land relations based on land-to-the-tiller principle. It never upheld caste-based reservation as a democratic right. Using parliament and even judiciary the central governments often tried to dilute the reservation policy by incorporating such concepts as creamy layer. At the same time, from Congress and BJP to all regional parties are using the caste-based vote banks. Along with the political degeneration and intensification of neo-colonisation, the anti-caste campaigns became weaker and dalit and backward caste parties also started emerging, mainly focusing on caste votes. Though the Mandal Commission Report provided new enthusiasm for the backward sections to demand their rights, the caste based parties and feudal social set up like Khap panchayats, etc. soon intensified the caste based strife to unprecedented levels. As a result, the caste system continues all over India with specific characteristics in different areas, influencing all religions with its ugly features like caste hatred, caste discrimination, caste oppression, untouchability etc.

2.3. The adivasis who constitute nearly 10 percent of Indian population have a great history of heroic struggles against British colonialists and fighting for their rights after the transfer of power. They have not established autonomous councils in a progressive manner or protected their rights to land. On the contrary, as part of corporatisation,  in the name of expanding the mining and plunder of natural resources and establishing corporate projects they are displaced in ever larger numbers.

2.4.  Contrary to the promises during the independence struggle, though more than six decades passed after transfer of power, successive governments  have refused to unite the peoples of India based on their right to self determination. Even for achieving linguistic states the people had to wage long struggles. Military is deployed in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast for six decades or more refusing to implement their right to self determination through political settlements. . Since consecutive governments  refused to take steps for political solution of J&K and North East peoples’ struggles for self-determination, the antagonism in these areas is intensifying, with their increasing communalization. As military occupation of these areas is continuing, it is only intensifying the contradictions there. And the very same political forces responsible for prolonging the agony in these areas are utilizing it for their narrow political ends. As the uneven development under neo-colonisation is intensifying, giving rise to demand for separate states, they are ruthlessly suppressed instead of trying for their political settlement. In the absence of progressive decentralization, devolution and democratization of the political power, strife based on nationality and ethnic questions also is intensifying. Even existing federal principles in the Constitution are undermined by autocratic Congress and BJP for appeasing corporate interests as a unitary structure is more conducive for their plunder

2.5. Women who constitute half of the population are victims of worst forms of exploitation, attack and oppression under the neo-colonial, neoliberal regime. Under the confluence of feudal patriarchy and neoliberal consumer culture propped up by the Indian ruling classes, commodification of women has assumed worst forms today. Ever-mounting sexual atrocities including even murdererous assaults unleashed on women have assumed highly deplorable proportions that the capital city, Delhi has got the synonym of ‘rape capital’. Religious obscurantism and Khap panchayats like caste institutions patronized by the upper castes and ruling classes for vote banks have further enslaved women who are already at the receiving end of patriarchy and private property. The practice of female infanticide especially in northwestern states has made the proportion of women in total population abysmally low in these regions. A recent growing trend is large-scale employment of women in low-wage export-oriented works including outsourcing for facilitating the surplus value-extraction by corporate capital. The police and all the bureaucratic apparatus of state have become anti-women. Growth of religious fundamentalism is aiding and abetting the growing attacks on women.

2.6. During the post- 1947 decades, especially after the imposition of the neo-liberal policies, under the policies implemented in the name of development ecological devastation has become an ever intensifying danger. ‘Global warming’ like phenomena,   nuclear catastrophe created by the nuclear arms race, and the mad rush for new nuclear plants, which are ‘nuclear time bombs’ as once again proved by Fukushima meltdown are threatening the future of human race. Imperialists are dumping industrial and nuclear waste in countries like India. All these developments have made the struggle for ecological protection one of the basic components of social progress.

2.7. In order to perpetuate the reactionary ruling system and to promote neo-colonisation, along with medieval and feudal culture and various forms of superstitions, the imperialist cultural values are also promoted brazenly, commercializing and commodifying culture. Utilizing extensive growth of information technology and electronic media, culture is increasingly linked with the market interests of imperialist system and its lackeys and turned in to an industry. Communal forces colluding with imperialists are communalizing all spheres of social life including culture. All these serve as ideology of national servitude and strive for destruction of all progressive and democratic cultural consciousness.

2.8.  Along with all round criminalization of the society, corruption has become one of the worst malice threatening the social fabric. It has taken gigantic proportions with the speculative capital playing all pervading role under neo-liberal policies. The corruption in the state apparatus including the government machinery from top to bottom, the defense and police services, the electoral system, and even the judiciary have reached unprecedented levels. Under the Manmohan regime, economic policy-making itself is being exposed as rooted in corruption and almost 40 percent of the members of Lok Sabha  are charged with corruption, rape and murder, pinpointing  the extreme decay of  the necolonial ruling system.

2.9. With the introduction of the neo-liberal raj, the foreign policy was speedily adjusted by the ruling system to suit its present role of a junior partner of the imperialists, especially US imperialists. As a result, India’s relations with the countries subjected to imperialist aggression, bullying and domination, and especially with the neighbouring countries have deteriorated fast. It is engaged in imposing its dictates over the neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangla Desh, Pakistan and Nepal, forcing them to view it suspicion. A vigorous campaign for an anti-imperialist foreign policy, which will focus on strengthening relations with all oppressed countries, especially the neighbouring countries, subjected to aggression, plunder and bullying by the imperialists, especially US imperialists, is the need of the hour. Urgent efforts are needed to strengthen fraternal relations at the international level and to develop people to people relations.

2.10.       During the post -1947 decades, especially after imposition of imperialist globalization the big captialists growing in to a powerful corporate class has increased its subservience and collaboration with imperialists, especially US imperialists. The bureaucracy, fattening more and more through corruption is increasingly collaborating with global capital interests.The kulaks or rich peasants and capitalist agriculturists are combining with the big bourgeoisie and bureaucracy in collaborating increasingly with the imperialists, especially US imperialists, to run the ruling system. The various ruling class parties, big or small, are serving the interests of these classes. None of these parties are ready to wage any struggle against imperialist globalization which is ruining the country and pauperizing vast majority of the masses, against its savage consequences like cutting down of all welfare measures, price rise, unemployment, deprivation of democratic rights etc.

2.11.       While consciously avoiding the focus on burning issues of common people, divisive policies like communal, caste, parochial, chauvinist issues are highlighted by them..The BJP and Sangh Parivar forces are spreading Hindutha-based communal fascism wantonly. Gujarat pattern communal riots were repeated in Odiaha, Karnataka like states to consolidate vote banks.and each and every issue is communalized. They spread terrorism as proved in the investigation of Malegaon bomb blasts in which the involvement of many leading figures of Sangh Parivar and their links with army officers were exposed. When others try to retaliate in the same way it is communalized, targeting the Muslims. As the state machinery is already communalized to a large extent, it is becoming handy for them to attack the minorities. As far as Shiv Sena like forces are  concerned, they are  utilizing the Hindutua communal card, and provoking parochial sentiments targeting the North Indian migrant workers to provoke chauvinist hatred of local youth, propagating that this migration is the cause for their unemployment. Similar parochial venom is spread in different regions. Along with these frantic communalization, as the elections are coming nearer BJP has foisted Narendra Modi as their prime ministerial candidate as prompted by the RSS. He is projected as vikas purush, projecting Gujarat under his rule as a development model. Under development, the fascicisation promoted under his leadership is covered up, resembling the Nazi propaganda of Germany to foist Hitler.

2.12.       While the BJP-led state governments are promoting these communal fascist, chauvinist tendencies, the Congress-led central and state governments refuse to act against these. Afraid of loosing Hindu votes they indulge in communal appeasement. Under a decade of UPA rule, the Bajrang Dal, VHP like forces were allowed to indulge in wanton communal fascist acts, while Musilms were targeted as a whole for terrorist acts. Similarly the Congress-NCP Maharashtra government allowed Raj Thackeray and his MNS, an offshoot of Shiv Sena, to grow in to a criminal gang assaulting the North Indian migrant people. Against communal fascist assaults of RSS Parivar, Congress and its allies are pursuing communal appeasement, often reducing the state machinery to silent spectators of this wanton, criminal communalization of all walks of social life and politics.

2.13.       Uneven development and its intensification are inherent characters of the present comprador ruling system. Consecutive governments at centre and in the states are only promoting them further. Utilizing people’s grievances created by this uneven development, parochial forces come up and thrive on them. All political parties purse opportunist policies allowing them to grow. And they are utilized as allies to promote vote banks. Worse is the case with the caste question. Instead of putting down caste-based suppression of dalits and other oppressed sections and promoting a casteless society, caste is increasingly utilized as a vote bank, not only by BSP like caste-based parties, but by all other ruling class parties.

2.14.       As a result of all these, the forces of degeneration and disintegration are getting strengthened day by day, and they are dominating the political spectrum. The apolitical approach spread by the NGOs, Self Help Groups, New Social Movements etc contribute to their growth further. Imperialists, especially US imperialists, have vested interests to promote these forces as safety valves to intensify their neo- colonization drive. The comprador parties are playing as convenient tools of imperialist powers and corporate houses in this nefarious game. As election dates are drawing nearer the corporate media also play a major role in de-politicizing the campaign. Along with it, money, mussle and liquor power is profusely utilized. The corrupt and communalized state machinery also play its dirty role. Thus the basic issues involved in the election are covered up, communal-caste-parochial-fringe issues are highlighted, individuals are projected above political positions and the election is reduced to a farce in practice, so that the different ruling class parties or their fronts sharing basically similar lines can continue to share power. All of them are interested to make the elections a game of musical chair. The drama which was enacted in US elections for electing the president and the elections in other imperialist countries are repeated in a more shabby form here. While highlighting these basic characteristics of elections under the bourgeois democracy, evaluating how far these elections can be utilized to intensity class struggle, to propagate party line and to strengthen the party organization correctly, they should used to expose the ruling system and to project the people’s alternative against all ruling class alternatives.

3. Whom do the various political parties serve?

 Indian National Congress.

3.1. The Congress is the oldest political representative of the big capitalist – big landlord classes to whose hands British had transferred power in 1947 after communally dividing the subcontinent. Its claims of the heritage of the independence movement against the British imperialists who colonized and ruled the country for more than two centuries call for srutiny. Its formation itself was by two former servants of British rule – A.O.Hume and Wright. It was founded as a safety valve for articulating grievances against the colonial masters so that people’s upsurges like the one witnessed during 1857-58, the First War of Independence, could be avoided. The Congress leadership cannot uphold the glorious heritage of this struggle Later when the Gadar Movement founded in Canada and US tried to mobilize the overseas patriotic forces to overthrow the British rule through revolutionary upsurge during the initial years of the First World War, the Congress leadership supported the British rule to brutally suppress it. During 1920s and early 1930s when under the leadership of Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar and others the revolutionaries tried to overthrow the British rule,the Congress leadership supported its brutal suppression, calling them terrorists. When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose called for more active resistance to British rule, in spite of getting elected president in 1939,he was forced out of it and his attempt to form the Indian National Army and to wage war against British rule using the favorable opportunities created during Second World War was opposed. The Congress leadership was always contended with dominion status within the British Commonwealth. It was under compulsion of popular forces it adopted Purna Swaraj as its slogan.later. But after 1947 transfer of power it made India part of  British Commonwealth betraying the martyrdom and sufferings of millions who fought for the liberation of the country. The country is still maintained in that condition.

3.2. The First War of Independence was a glaring example of Hindu-Muslim unity with Bahadur Shah declared as the leader of the independent India by the liberation forces. Only by spreading communal divisions as they tried to divide the liberation forces in Avadh foisting artificially created Ayodhya question the British could suppress the movement. Immediately after suppressing it, the colonialists intensified their’divide and rule’ policy by spreading communal venom through all heinous means including the founding of Hindu, Muslim universities and supporting the religious fundamentalist forces of all hues to prevent the strengthening of secular democratic patriotic sentiments.The Congress never opposed this policy of the colonialists and itself pursued a policy of appeasment of all religious, communal forces, instead of separating religion from political, social fields. Similarly, right from the beginning Congress was upholding the caste system and Brahmanic values. When Ambsdkar raised the slogan of ‘Caste Annihilation’ and struggled for reservation for the socially suppressed sections, these were opposed by the Congress in practice.

3.3. During the post-Second World War years, British imperialists transfered power to the comprador classes, promoting the ‘two-nation theory’ in order to continue their control over the region. At the same time, the ‘Bombay Plan’ of Tata-Birla also advocated the formation of unitary states even if it needed division of thecountry. Congress supported the ‘Bombay Plan’ and stood with the Britishers for the communal division of the country. Following transfer of power, Cingress faithfully continued the ruling system built by the colonial rulers. Though the Constitution adopted in 1951 contains a progressive preample, it has incorporated all the basic contents of the 1935 Government of India Act adopted by the British parliament. Instead of solving the national question of Jammu and Kashmir and Notheast based on the right of self-determination of the peoples, it imposed military rule there which is still continued after six decades using AFSPA like blak laws. Lack of initiative to resolve the border questions with the neighbouring countries and big-brotherly attitude have worsened relations with neighbouring countries. Its foreign policy always favored closeness to the imperialist super powers, firstly with US, then with Soviett social imperialism and now once again to strategic alliance with US interests.

3.4. Internally, in the concrete conditions that emerged following the World War II, it opened the country to the domination of finance capital, market forces and technological penetration under  IMF-World Bank and MNCs as part of the neo-colonial policies initiated by US led forces. It was as a part of it, in continuation to the US led policy of Keynesian welfare state measures, under the sign board of Nehruvian socialism, ‘the import substitution’ industrial policy as well as the policy of building  powerful public sector etc as demanded under the ‘Bombay Plan’ were pursued. But as this Keynesian phase of neo-colonization led to further intensification of the crisis of the imperialist system, and neo-liberal policies were initiated to overcome it from 1970s, the Congress government introduced the globalization-privatization-liberalization policies in 1991, cutting down all welfare policies, replacing ‘import substitution ‘ with ‘expost promotion’, and increasingly reducing the role of the state to infrastructure development and maintaining law and order. It has led to growth of a small section of elite classes and impoverishment of the vast masses. It led to  intensification of price rise, corruption and unemployment. The Congress led UPA governments taking imperialist globalization and neo-liberal policies to unprecedented levels, have enslaved the country and people to neo-colonial slavery in all fields. In spite of the fact that the global market system is in a worse crisis, more serious than the ‘Great Depression’ of 1930s, it has thrown the country at the mercy of MNCs and corporate houses.  It has surrendered whatever sovereignty is left, by signing the notorious Indo-US Nuke Deal and many other unequal treaties leading to strategic subservience to the US imperialists.

3.5. The claims of Congress about fighting communal fascism of Sangh Parivar are also proved hollow. Under UPA rule, utilizing its communal appeasement policies, the communal forces, especially the Hindutua forces, have become stronger spreading its tentacles far and wide. Under it,  state machinery is extremely communalized. It is communalizing terrorism, targeting Muslims as a whole for all terrorist acts, while Bajrang Dal, VHP like RSS Parivar outfits and BJP leaders are left scot free even after their involvement in demolition of Babri Masjid, in Malegaon, Samachauta Express like terrorist attacks, and in the communal massacres in Gujarat, later in Orissa and elsewhere are fully exposed. The Congress led UPA could regain power in last general elections in 2009 as the anti-BJP sentiments among the people was strong, as the regional parties had no agenda to put before  the people, as the CPI (M) led Left Front parties had got disgraced due to their mis-rule in W. Bengal and Kerala, and as there was no viable alternative to Congress. Or, Congress could come to power only because of these negative factors. In spite of it, during the last five years Congress has created unprecedented record of misrule and mega scams, making the life of people intolerable through sky-rocketing prices of all essential commodities,  increasing unemployment, increasing travel, electricity, fuel, water, housing, education and healthcare expenses etc. Millions are uprooted from their habitats through displacement for so-called development projects. Corruption in all fields has reached unheard of levels. All these have made the people immensely angry. There are massive upsurges against the neo-liberal projects all over the country. Even Delhi streets witnessed many people’s upsurges, whether against corruption, gang rape of a student or rape of the child etc.  Congress led UPA rule has become extremely unpopular. Its support base is shrinking fast.  Still it is able to continue  in power as the opposition parties are severely fractured and very few forces want to align with the BJP. Its major advantage is that it is the communal BJP and Modi with the record of Gujarat massacre are its major adversaries. The absence of a progressive secular party with all India base has made the task of throwing out Congress from power very difficult. This is the grave challenge to be taken up by the revolutionary forces.

BJP

3.6. The Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) is the political front of the Sangh Parivar led by RSS. It    has fully exposed its communal character and fascist orientation while in power, and through its activities as the main opposition party at centre. It is working under the RSS agenda of turning India in to a Hindu Rashtra, a fascist Hindu fundamentalist state implementing the neo-liberal policies at very fast pace. Or, communalism is its most important tool to pursue its servitude to the ruling classes spearheaded by the corporate houses and to imperialism, especially US imperialism.  Under its communal agenda, cultural and racist intolerance, national chauvinism, negation of secular democratic values, criminal attacks on minorities and democratic forces, it is pausing growing threats to people’s unity and national security. The BJP-led NDA is acting as an effective Hindutua tool of the RSS Parivar, and in practice the Congress led UPA and BJP led NDA work as two sides of tha same coin to serve the ruling reactionary syatem. Six years of BJP-led NDA rule at centre has proved it, besides its still continuing rule in a number of states.

3.7. The RSS policy is to communalize the society and the state apparatus systematically by penetrating all walks of social life and administration. BJP is a mass party and the different mass organizations of RSS ranging from BMS, to ABVP with millions of members, the vast net-work of educational institutions, so-called cultural fronts, Viswa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal etc are functioning as a vast net work to mobilize and communalize the masses spreading Hindutua chauvinism and communist hatred. In order to perpetuate its colonial rule, the British rulers had utilized RSS and other Hindutua forces alongwith the Islamic fundamentalists to implement their ‘divide and rule’ policy. Under neocolonization, the imperialists, especially US imperialism, is utilizing the religious fundamentalist organizations all over the world alongwith caste/ race based organizations with more finesse, even providing an ideological fervour with ‘identity politics’like theories, for  imposing their ‘divide and control’ policy.

3.8. In spite of the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 using Godhra incident as  cover, through wanton promotion of corporate forces, Narendra Modi is projected as a ‘vkas purush’ and future prime minister of India. It is a clever ploy by the prominent section in the BJP to win over a section of the middle classes who are thinking that present imperilaist development model is the best and a Modi like strong men are needed to implement it! Almost this was the same tactics used in Germany, when that country was in a crisis following the defeat in First World War, to foist Hitler. After the debacle in Karnataka in normal sense it is difficult for BJP and ipresent NDA allies to reach anywhere near majority. So the Nazi trick to whip up support for a strong prime minister, is utilized for gaining power.  Congress leaders and their storm troopers appearing under various guises are trying to whip up anti-Modi phobia to cover up the  reactionary record of a decade of UPA rule and to win over the support of all progressive, secular democratic forces and the vast masses. In this situation, Modi or anti-Modi form of polarization will help BJP to consolidate its base on the one hand and Congress to overcome its alienation from the masses by projecting the fascist danger symbolized by Modi on the other. But in effect, both are two sides of the same coin, engaged in perpetuating the present reactionary ruling system and neo-colonial slavery. So, while exposing the Modi card of Sangh Parivar the progressive forces should be alert about the danger of a repetition of the Congress led rule also.

Other Bourgeois, Petti-bourgeois Parties, and Regional Parties.

3.9. The alienation of Congress from the masses, and the various forms of contradictions among the ruling classes have led to the emergence of numerous political parties in different regions competing with each other for seats of power while basically united in implementing the ruling class policies. Though these parties express many diverse things in their programmes and election manifestos, experience of last four and a half decades have shown that all of them are united in working for the big-capitalist, big landlord classes and the state policies put forward from time to time in the service of the elite classes. After the imperialist globalization and neo-liberal policies were imposed in 1991 all of them, big or small, are united in implementing them when in power or sharing power.While doing so all of them are promoting vote-bank politics reflecting their narrow interests, based on caste, communal, parochial interests. The still continuing proliferation of these parties have only led to intensification of the further autocratisation and anti-people character of the ruling system, making the whole system including the social life unprecedentedly corrupt and decaying.

3.10. Among these the NCP and many state level parties are split away parties from Congress. The Samajvadi Party (SP) of Mulayam Singh, RJP of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Janatha Dal (United), Janatha Dal (secular) like parties are descendents of earlier socialist parties. The different groups of Republican Party, BSP like parties started with dalit-identity politics. In multinational India implementation of the neo-colonial policies have already led to  acute uneven development among the states and among regions within the states. It has led to emergence of numerous regional parties, with one of these, DMK, coming to power in TN as early as in 1967. They have proliferated to AIADMK, TDP, TRS BJD and many others. But, abandoning their earlier positions on self-determination, centre-state relations, strengthening of federal values etc, wherever in power, all of them are faithfully implementing all the ruling class policies including imperialist globalization.  Neither they have any consistent stand against communal or casteist forces. On the other hand, they are also using communal, caste cards alongwith the regional cards as their vote banks. They are neither anti-imperialist, nor secular, nor democratic. By becoming the apologists, or executioners of the ruling class policies, they are competing with other parties in pursuing the reactionary comprador policies. Such parties are coming up even now demanding separate states as in the case of Telengana, Vidarbha, Gurkhaland etc. Before, during or after the elections all these parties may align with Congress or BJP, or any other ruling formation as proved in the past. All these parties also basically support the ruling class policies, and any form of politiical alliances is not possible with any of them, as far as the left and democratic forces are concerned.

CPI(M) led Left Front Parties.

3.11. The Communist movement in India started its activities from early 1920s under Communist  Party of India (CPI) organizing the working class movement and the movement of the peasantry against the feudal forces. It had a glorious history of leading numerous struggles of the working class and of the peasantry, alongwith struggles of other sections of people. But, it committed grave mistakes  in applying Marxist-Leninist teachings and the line of Communist International acording to Indian conditions and in analysing the character of the big bourgeosie and the Congres leadeship which were collaborating with British colonialism. It refused to take anti-imperialist task as the principle one and did not try to establish the leadership of the working class and the communist party in the independence struggle. It failed to oppose the imperialist conspiracy for communally dividing the country and to transfer the power to the comprador classes and their political representatives. As a result, in spite of the numerous anti-feudal and working class struggles it led, in the independence struggle it could not make any independent left assertion.

3.12. After 1947, though once again it led many workers and peasant struggles against the Congress governments at centre and in the states, it once again failed to recognize the rightist and pro-imperialist character of the Congress leadership and to wage political struggles against it. Soon the CPI leadeship, degenerating to economism and parliamentarism, compromised with the Congress leadership and abandoned the path of leading People’s Democratic Revolution. It abandoned the path of class struggle and took the line of class collaboration, reducing all activities to parliamentary work. It inflicted a major setback to the communist movement in the country.

3.13. It was during the struggle against this reformist line, the 1964 split took place and the    CPI(M) was formed. It declared that it shall fight against the class collaborationist line of   the CPI, and shall struggle for People’s Democracy and socialism. But, it also refused to accept the comprador character of the Congress leadership which was representing the big capitalist-big landlord classes and collabirating with imperialism. In 1967 general elections, it forged opportunist alliance with CPI, dissident Congress parties, communal Muslim League etc and came to power in W. Bengal and Kerala. Once in power, the CPI(M) and CPI leaderships  refused to utilize the opportunity to intensify the political struggle against the ruling system represented by Congress. They were afraid of implementing land reforms based on “land to the tiller” slogan. When the landless and poor peasantru in Naxalbari region in North Bengal organized an uprising and seized the land illegally held by the tea-garden owners and jotdars, the CPI(M) led government suppressed it brutally with the help of the Indira Gandhi government at centre. In spite of adopting a class collaborationist approach to Naxalbari peasant uprising and trying to work under the limits defined by the ruling syatem, the CPI(M)- led Left Front consisting of CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP could not continue in power for long. Congress unleashed fascist rule in the 1970s to eliminate the CPI(ML) which was formed in continuation to the Naxalbari uprising, and to suppress the Left Front parties. But following the withdrawal of the emergency rule imposed by Indira Gandhi government, in the general elections in 1977, the CPI(M) led Left Front came to power with thumping majority in Bengal and continued in power for 34 years.

3.14. But  it refused to use this power to put forward an alternative to Congress policies and to develop the class struggle with an all India pespective. It degenerated to implement the policies of the central government. Except for left slogan-mongering, it embraced ruling class positions in practice. When the neo-liberal policies were imposed by the Congress government in 1991, the LF governments in the states of Bengal, Kerala and Tripura tried to implement them competing with other state governments, announcing that ‘there is no alternative to it’,. At a time when the popular governments which came to power in Venezuela, Bolivia etc. in Latin America were trying to go for nationalization of MNCs and for pro-people policies taking anti-imperialist stand, these LF governments in India were competing to implement the neo-liberal policies to the extent of suppressing the people’s resistance against displacement in Singur and Nandigram W. Bengal. These policies isolated them from the people and in 2011 both in Bengal and Kerala they lost the elections. Moreover the record of these governments, instead of enthusing the masses, damaged the image of the left movement in the country as a whole.

3.15. When the people were looking forward for an alternative to neo-liberal policies pursued by the Congress and BJP led governments, when the BJP led NDA was defeated and Congress led UPA was in minority after 2004 general elections, instead of utilizing their presence in the parliament to fight for independent left positions, the LF parties propped up the  thoroughly anti-national, anti-people UPA government for almost five years and voted for all its anti people  policies, in the name of keeping BJP out of power. Their claims about weakening the communal forces in this way was proved hollow as, not only the Sangh Parivar, all other hues of communal forces gained further foothold during the UPA rule, as it was pursuing a policy of naked communal appeasement. During this period the caste forces also gained further foothold and the suppression of the dalits and other oppressed sections intensified. While supporting UPA govt. in the name of opposing communalism, the LF parties were concealing the class base and economic agenda of the communal forces, and the relation between imperialist globalisation and spread of communalism.  By pursuing these opportunist policies, from apologists of neocolonisation, the CPI(M) and its allies have further degenerated to collaborators or executioners of neo-colonial policies.  So, even though these LF parties led by CPI(M) is contesting the elections with left slogans  uniting CPI(ML) Liberation like forces who have degenerated to revisionist path and propagating a post election third front, it cannot become an alternative to ruling class alternatives. In the post election scene it may once again support the Congress led forces in the name of opposing modi led fascist forces.

3.16. The CPI(Maoist) is claiming the heritage of the Naxalbari uprising, but is pursuing the anarchist path of reducing all activities to armed squad actions. Through this  sectarian practice  it is providing an alibi to the central and state governments to attack the Marxist-Leninist forces and all people’s movements dubbing them as ‘Maoist’ or terrorist. Even after the set backs it suffered in AP and in other states, it is now joining hands with the NGOs, with parochial forces, regional parties with chauvinist agendas etc. Its ‘boycott election’ slogan is more of a hoax to hoodwink the masses.  It is neither put into practice by taking a political campaign for it, nor it is having the mass base or capability for doing it. At the time of elections it take opportunist positions supporting Congress in AP in 2004, JMM in jharkhand in last two elections and TMC in 2011. The CPI(ML) is contesting the elections representing the revolutionary heritage of the nine decades of the communist movement, exposing all ruling class parties,struggling against the opportunist line of CPI(M) led LF forces and anarchist line of the CPI(Maoist) with the slogan: Rally for People’s Alternative against all Ruling Class Alternatives, striving to unite all genuine left and democratic forces in the Democratic People’s Forum based on its anti-imperialist ten point program.

Rally for Anti-Imperialist People’s  Alternative

4.1. The CPIML) is putting forward this draft Election Manifesto before the people much in advance so that a discussion on it can take place at all levels. Through this process it expects to incorporate all positive suggestions put forward, so that it becomes a People’s Manifesto, a manifesto for the People’s Alternative. Through this process the CPI(ML) expects to bring togother the left and democratic forces who agree with the basic orientation of the Manifesto in the People’s Alternative. A vigorous countrywide political campaign against the various ruling class alternatives is required with the perspective of making the debate during election political. In this way the CPI(ML) shall fight against the attempts of the vested interests and the ruling class parties to make the election  a theatre of the absurd, in order to help the candidates with maximum money, liquor, muzzle, caste and communal power to get elected. The CPI(ML) calls for uncompromising struggle to transform the election in to a serious political campaign fighting against all manipulations of the ruling class parties and vested interests who are behind them. It considers the election a part of the ever intensifying class struggle taking place in the country including the numerous mass upsurges against the neo-liberal policies. The CPI(ML) is playing active role in all these struggles and is trying to build aplatform of these people’s movements at state and all India level.

4.2. The present election campaign should be seriously waged as a continuation of these struggles taking place against the neo-liberal policies imposed by the central and state governments. The imperialist globaization was imposed along with liberalization and privatization in 1991 to integrate the economy of the country in every aspect with the international finance capital system. It opened up the natural and human resources to the MNCsand Corporate houses’ loot. For facilitating this, in the name of infra-structural development based on public-private partnership (PPP), construction of many Expressways, Business Corridors etc are opened up. Under all these projects millions of families are displaced, forcing many to migrate to urban slums. In the name of export promotion and liberalization all natural resources: water, mines, rivers, etc are sought to be transferred to MNCs and Corporates. Special Economic Zones like havens for Corporate loot are opened. Even private ports are promoted in large numbers. Against the imposition of these policies and displacement of millions numerous spontaneous struggles are taking place across the country and CPI(ML) and class/ mass organizations led by it are active in many of them.

4.3. Under imperialist globalization, the petroleum and all other core sectors were opened up for Corporate loot. The Krishna Godavari Basin was transferred to Reliance through which it has become virtually the owner of it, and forced the government to hike the natural gas price at well-head to an unheard of $8.4. The CPI(ML) has united like minded forces and has launched a campaign to Throw out Reliance from KG Basin, to Repeal New Petroleum Licensing Policy and to Nationalize KG Basin. Similarly the mining mafia, Reddy Brothers, has devastated vast areas of Karnataka by looting and exporting iron ore. The CPI(ML) led a struggle leading to its exposure and temporary closure. Now CPI(ML) has launched a movement with the demands: Confiscate all wealth of mining mafias and Nationalize  Bellary-Hospet iron ore mines. In other states also it is engaged in launching similar movements.

4.4. The UPA government has opened the retail trade to FDIs, MNCs and Corporates making many millions engaged in this sector devastated. CPI(ML) has started struggle against it in a number of states uniting the traders and workers. In all the Expressways constructed under PPP, tolls are collected enhancing the rates of passenger and goods traffic. Against these many spontaneous struggles are taking place and CPI(ML) is actively participating in many of these. Against the Nuke Deal signed with the US imperialists and the nuclear plants initiated at a number of places like Jaitapur in maharashtra, Chutka in MP, Farukkabad in Haryana and at other places the people’s resistance is mounting and CPI(ML) has taken initiative to form a People’s Initiative against Nuclear Power to coordinate these struggles. Against the devastation of nature under imperialist dictated development policies which is leading to catastrophes as the latest one in Uttarakhand, CPI(ML) with like minded forces have organized a Save Western Ghat Movement calling for implementing Gadgil Committee Report. It is campaihning for a sustainable development paradigm.

4.5. Against price rise, unemployment, increasing corruption and other consequences of the neo-liberal policies Party is active in numerous struggles. Similarly against commercialization of education, healthcare, housing etc also party and mass organizations are struggling. Against attacks on dalits and all forms of caste based opprssion many struggles are waged. Under the initiative of Party and like minded organizations the Caste Annihilation Movement is launched hich is spreading its activities fast. Against communalization under the banner of DPF a mass rally of thousands was organized at Ahmedabad on 7^th November, 2012, before the assembly elections in Gujarat. The All India Krantikari Adivasi Mahasabha has organized many campaigns for adivasi rights to land and forests. Against attacks on women many campaigns and struggles were organized. The successful convening of the Ninth Party Congress which called for an all out movement against neo-colonization in all fields and to strive for countrywide mass upsurges against the ruling syatem has paved the way for intensifying all these struggles and to unite the Marxist-Leninist forces at their van.

4.6. During the last four years’ of UPA rule witneesed frantic speeding up of neo-liberal policies opening the country to further to FDIs, FIIs, MNCs and Corporates. Forest, real estate, mining, coal mafias ere given open licence to loot. Corruption became more rampant in all fields. Against these people have become increasingly angry. Numerous spontaneous struggles and upsurges are taking place voicing their protest. Day by day the resistance struggles against the anti-people policies are getting strengthened.  It calls for a polarization of anti-imperialist, national, democratic and genuinely secular, anti-caste forces in the true tradition of the great heritage of the two centuries of anti-British freedom struggle and anti-feudal movements, and more than six decades of numerous struggles by the vast masses of the exploited and oppressed against the anti-people central and state governments in which tens of millions of people participated heroically and tens of thousands of great fighters sacrificed their lives.  Such a people’s alternative shall symbolize the great aspirations of these heroic fighters for people’s democracy and socialism, repeatedly asserted from the days of the 1857 First War of Independence, martyrdom of comrades of the Gadar movement, of Bhagat Singh and his colleagues, and of comrades who fought from the early days of the working class movement. It shall uphold the heritage of great Telengana and Naxalbari like struggles. The CPI(ML) appeals to all left and democratic forces to utilize the election campaign to uphold these great traditions, to expose and weaken the comprador and social democratic forces and to mobilise and strengthen the anti-imperialist  people’s alternative.

Program  of the Anti-Imperialist People’s Alternative.

5.1. All the political parties that are ruling or have ruled at the centre or in the states ranging from Congress and BJP to regional parties and the CPI(M) led Left Front either jointly or individually are implementing neoliberal policies with their own interpretatations. In other words, these parties and the fronts already floated or going to be floated by them are nothing but different shades of the neo-liberal political spectrum composed of communal, casteist and corrupt forces.  Their programs or manifestos are ruling class alternatives intended to serve the present anti-people, pro-corporate reactionary ruling system. In this context, the CPI (ML)’s manifesto for the 16^th Lok Sabha elections seeks to advance a People’s Alternative composed of a comprehensive political, economic, social and cultural perspective providing basic orientation to bring together the revolutionary left, and patriotic, secular, democratic forces under the banner of  Democratic People’s Forum (DPF) both at the central and state levels in the struggle against all ruling class parties and alliances as well as against the reformist, social democratic forces, during and after the elections. The CPI(ML) appeals to the left masses, workers, landless-poor peasants and agricultural workers, women, youth, students and all other anti-imperialist, anti-ruling class patriotic, secular, democratic forces and sections to vote for this program and to get mobilized to continue the country wide struggles for realizing this program as elucidated below.

1.Immediate Constitutional Tasks

 5.1.1. An essential condition for building up people’s alternative against all ruling class   alternatives is that the basic weaknesses and limitations of the Indian Constitution, which are on account of its inherent colonial legacy which got further strengthened under more than six decades of neo-colonisation, have to be rectified. Therefore, one of the principal tasks of the next Lok Sabha and a people’s government if it is formed under the initiative of CPI (ML) shall be to appropriately amend it to make it capable of protecting people’s interests. Presently, the legislature, executive, and judiciary, the three components of the parliamentary system, are subjected to the hegemony of finance capital under neocolonisation. They are displaying increasing symptoms of decay such as growing autocratic tendencies and corruption. The parliament, which is enshrined in the Constitution as the supreme body representing people’s will, has become a rubber stamp of the executive.  Hence it shall be transformed as the genuine representative body of the Indian people.

5.1.2..As a legacy from colonial days, the  parliament  is forced  to endorse decisions taken by the executive on matters  regarding  adoption of basic economic policies and international relations,as in the case of introduction of neo-liberal policies from the 1980s and in becoming member of WTO, etc.  The Constitution shall be amended so as to ensure  prior consultation with and ratification by parliament on all decisions concerning all basic economic, political and international issues.  Power should be vested with the people to recall the elected representatives at the central, state and local levels through referendum, if they are found as corrupt or involved in anti-people and/or anti-state activities .  The present administrative system is becoming more and more bureaucratic, authoritarian and anti-people. Appropriate steps shall be initiated  to transform it in to a people-oriented administration. Fundamental overhauling of the administrative, police and judicial system of the country in conformity with the people’s alternative is an urgent task. The present policy of treating defence as a holy cow above parliamentary scrutiny shall be ended; it shall be brought under complete civilian control and all accounts pertaining to defence shall be subjected to parliamentary auditing.

5.1.3.India being a country of continental size  and diversities composed of different nationalities and sub-nationalities, the understanding during the independence struggle was that it shall be a federal India with due respect to the right of self-determination of  different nationalities, which alone can ensure people’s unity. However, though the word federal was inscribed in the Preamble of the   Constitution, in course of time, federal principles were relegated to the background. To facilitate the pan-Indian plunder of the ruling classes,  in effect, the federal concepts are replaced with unitary structure through various legal and administrative steps including the  deployment of army in vast areas and imposition of draconian black laws such as AFSPA, UAPA, etc. Problems of Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern States shall be politically settled by the people’s government, recognizing their right of self-determination. Today, the UPA government has further accelerated this unitary trend by deploying military to more areas ,  extending AFSPA and through administrative steps such as National Counter Terrorism Centre. All these unitary and authoritarian steps shall be annuled.

5.1.4.India shall be turned in to a genuine federal country through devolution of more power to the Panchayats at different levels and to the states.  Urgent steps to create  genuine federal structure shall form essential part of the people’s alternative.  Except  foreign affairs, defence, currency, international trade, national public utilities and central planning,  all  other tasks should be vested with the states and local governments.  The local bodies with gram panchayat as the base should be entrusted with the task of micro-level planning pertaining to agriculture, agro-based, small and medium industries, housing, healthcare, school education, panchayat courts and ecological protection. Constitutional devolution of powers to states and local bodies, along with appropriate democratic and administrative structures at the grass root level including police and judicial functions for effective decentralization of power should be carried out.

2.Administrative Reforms

5.2.1. Under neo-liberal policiies, the bureaucratic concentration and centralization together with the rapidly growing inter-personal and inter-regional inequalities and uneven development are intertwined with the profit orientation in all fields of human activity.  On the other hand, the entire orientation of the people’s alternative put forward here, with its basic reorganization of national production including goods and services, need-based distribution of the national products among the people, and altering the consumption pattern in an equitable and sustainable manner, calls for its inseparable linking up with the broadest possible participation of the people at all levels of administration.

5.2.2. This is possible only through a genuine multi-layered decentralization and devolution of administrative power to the lowest levels such that unity of people organised in work-based committees should be capable of wielding real power in their habitat, surroundings and neighbourhoods, eliminating the present bureaucratic stranglehold everywhere. Instead of the hitherto sham and reformist moves taken by ruling classes in this regard like their much published ‘Panchayati Raj’, which in effect have only led to  decentralization of corruption down to the panchayat levels, amendments in the existing Constitutional framework are urgently needed to achieve this. It should start with the total removal of all forms of bureaucratic control of the elective bodies from down below, and vesting power fully in the elcted bodies.

5.2.3.The increasing uneven development among the states and within different regions of the states has given rise to demands for separate state like Telegana, Viidarbha, Gurkhaland etc. Even some of the problems which are left overs of the 1956 states’ reorganization are also not settled till today. The consecutive governments are trying to suppress these movements instead of finding political solution to them. The people’s government shall appoint a commision to study these problems including the people’s demands on these questions and resolve them as early as possible. It shall appoint an inter state council to study all inter state problems including the sharing of river water and other naturl resources and to find immediate solutions for them.

4.Linking Development with Democracy

5.4.1.The whole concept of development evolved along with capitalist modernity and industrialism revolves around the entire process of capital accumulation. Accordingly, unhindered capital accumulation with its ruthless plunder of people and nature has been acknowledged as the driving force behind development. This mainstream development paradigm has never acknowledged people as the focus and primary agent of development. Since expansion of people’s democratic and political rights are considered as a barrier for capital accumulation, the capitalist-imperialist ruling classes and their ideologues always explained the curtailment of avenues of democracy as a necessary sacrifice for development. With the transformation of industrial capitalism into finance capitalism which subjected every social, economic and political sphere for unfettered financial speculation, the bourgeois democratic space began to shrink further.

5.4.2..The erstwhile socialist experiments including that in Soviet Union and China made attempts to reorient the process of development from the perspective of the working class and broad sections of the toiling people. But such attempts became unsuccessful due to the inability to accomplish a paradigmatic shift in development and infuse new qualitative content in it as against the one being evolved by industrial capitalism. Hence ultimately these efforts failed to expand the realm of democracy in a sustainable manner.

5.4.3.However, the ideological-political advancement of the socialist forces and national liberation movements during the immediate postwar years compelled imperialism to impose temporary restraints on unhindered financial speculation through state intervention and the paradigm of welfare state with its social democratic functions even in neocolonial countries. The ‘import-substitution’, state led development and growth of public sector during this period went hand in hand with the attainment of certain minimum democratic rights by the people.

5.4. 4.But the ideological-political setbacks suffered by the socialist and progressive forces since the 1960s enabled the crisis-ridden finance capital to launch neoliberalism from 1970s that required the neoliberal state to abdicate its developmental and welfare functions and an abject contraction in the apparent democratic space that prevailed during the quarter century following second world war. Today, the de-industrialization and casualisation of the workforce on the one hand and the horrific financial speculation and plunder of nature leading to unprecedented wealth concentration, pauperisation of the masses and ecological crisis on the other have completely denied all the hard earned democratic and political rights to the people. It has made the very sustenance of workers and oppressed people difficult. Under neoliberalism, any talk on democracy for the people, and welfare or workers’ democratic rights is treated as obstacle to development. Therefore, under neoliberalism democracy and development are treated as contradictory categories.

5.4.5.In this context, the CPI(ML) puts forward a people-oriented development perspective that is capable of expanding and nurturing genuine democracy for the people, assimilating lessons from all hitherto experiments in history including that in erstwhile socialist countries, and in conformity with the concrete realities of India. In general, it is the fundamental task of the anti-imperialist people’s alternative to concentrate on fundamental transformation in the social, economic, political and cultural realms of India which alone can bring about a development that is pro-people, pro-nature and pro-women.

6. National Self-reliant Economy

5.6.1. The people’s government shall totally reject the neoliberal policies that devastate people’s life. It shall take urgent steps to build a national, self-reliant economy with the orientation of people-oriented, democratic development.

5.6.2..The people’s government shall quit IMF, WB and WTO and put an end to all forms of  reliance on imperialist capital, technology and managerial expertise and replace them with domestic resource mobilization and indigenous scientific and technical know how, which are indispensable part of this people’s initiative. Foreign market orientation of the economic policies should be replaced with self reliant domestic orientation.

5.6.3.It is not the lack of resources or scientific and technological capabilities or skilled labour that makes Indian people the most oppressed and backward. It is the comprador class character of the ruling elite who are concerned only with their share of neocolonial plunder, including their Swiss Bank deposits, responsible for it. Immediate steps shall be taken to bring back such funds deposited in foreign tax havens and  to invest them productively.

5.6.4.All avenues for operation and interferences of the freely flowing speculative finance capital, which is the hallmark of neo-colonialism under neoliberal globalization today, shall be stopped with immediate effect.

5.6.5.The globally moving imperialist capital penetrating the country in search of quick profits has nothing to do with production or employment generation. Instead, they result in intensification of speculation, corruption, ecological destruction, cultural degradation etc. The indispensable condition for any national development today is prohibition of the operation of MNCs in the country and confiscation and nationalization of their assets. Such initatives in Venezuela and other Latin American countries are proved progressive. A people’s government shall take such steps which shall release the badly needed resources for providing the basic services to the people.

5.6.6. Together with this, all imperialist debts including those to imperialist governments, neocolonial financial institutions, banks and funding agencies are to be repudiated.

5.6.7. All strategic, key and core sector industries, services, infrastructures and public utilities including petroleum, electricity and energy sources, mining, steel, communications, ports-roads-railways-airways, etc. and such other sectors which are deemed necessary by the people’s government shall be nationalized and brought under public sector. The trend towards privatization shall be reversed.

5.6.8. The corporate houses, swindlers and big mafia sections are junior partners of imperialist capital. They are engaged in the plunder of the public wealth and natural resources in diverse forms. They are stumbling blocks in the path of self-reliant national development. Nationalisation of their assets in agriculture, industry and service sectors, along with bringing back all their deposits in foreign tax havens is indispensable for strengthening people oriented development.

5.6.9.The flourishing corruption and scams under neoliberalism are products of the capital oriented economic policy and the state-corporate nexus. The confiscation of the wealth of the elite classes accumulated through corrupt practices shall serve elimination of the avenues of corruption from the top. The people’s government shall unearth and confiscate all black money including those connected with religious and spiritual institutions.

5.6.10.The people’s government shall abolish all tax exemptions to all elite classes and corporates. It shall strengthen progressive taxation on the corporate and rich sections on the basis of their taxable capacities; increase the marginal rate of corporate/income taxation on the super-rich to above 50 percent of their profit/earnings. It shall abolish indirect taxation on necessaries and essential items such as food and fuel used by the vast majority of people.It shall pursue a policy of stable prices especially regarding goods and assets used by the common people, as inflation and price rise are a tax on the people. It shall control money circulation by completely prohibiting all forms of speculation, real estate and money-spinning businesses and through appropriate monetary policies; It shall establish price stability in the interests of workers, peasants and other toiling masses.

7.Agrarian Policy

5.7.1.The people’s government shall Implement radical land reforms based on the principle of land to the tiller, by fixing a ceiling of five acres of fertile irrigated land or equivalent un-irrigated land to a family fully dependent on agriculture, and by fixing  a ceiling of two acres for a family whose means of livelihood is not mainly agriculture.  It shall clearly identify and earmark all forest lands, ecologically sensitive wet lands, mangroves and other lands required for ecological conservation, the land required for public spaces and public purposes, lands indispensable for water shed areas of irrigation and electric projects, and land necessary for public works and needs such as education, health, people’s recreation and industrial sites.  All lands in excess of this, shall be distributed to landless peasants and agricultural worker’s families. It shall eliminate still surviving feudal remnants, landlordism and illegal occupations by land mafia. Co-operative and collective farming shall be encouraged along with providing all assistance for developing agriculture. It shall give particular attention for all avenues of organic farming and sustainable irrigation projects including rain harvesting. It shall stop bio-fuel cultivation and replace export-oriented cash crop agriculture with special orientation towards food self-sufficiency It shall link agricultural development with employment generating agro-industries.

5.7.2.The people’s government shall take over and distribute all surplus lands, government land, land belonging to mutts/trusts, and land held by religious and caste organizations and trusts after fixing a land ceiling for such agencies. It shall take over the plantations, farms, etc. held by MNCs, corporate houses and land mafia and shall be brought under workers’ control. It shall take over lands owned by NRIs, bureaucrats, high income sections, industrialists, big traders, etc., and distribute them among the peasantry.

5.7.3.The people’s government shall resolve the serious problems confronted by  adivasi/tribal sections who constotute 8 to 10 % of the country’s population. It shall strictly implement all existing laws and promulgate new laws for the protection of their land including the establishment of adivasi autonomous councils in all tribal-majority areas, and eliminate all forms of exploitation against them. It shall protect land, culture and languages of all tribal people through appropriate legal and administrative steps.

5.7.4.The people’s government shall defeat all neoliberal moves to reverse even existing land ceiling acts and to promote land concentration in corporate and mafia hands.  It shall strictly stop conversion of prime agricultural land for SE2s, tourism zones, townships, airports and industrial sites. It shall issue pattas to land already distributed or in possession of landless peasants and agricultural workers, cancel all debts of peasant families owning up to 5 acres of irrigated or 10 acres of un-irrigated land, and of landless peasants/agricultural workers.

5.7.5.It shall implement comprehensive agricultural workers act ensuring all welfare measures, including food, shelter and education-healthcare facilities.  It shall implement proper rural employment programs with guaranteed minimum wages. It shall empower gram panchayats and village level people’s committees to end all displacement of peasantry and defeat the involvement of corporate and real estate mafia in the country-side.

5.7.6. It shall stop corporatization of agriculture and throw out MNCs and corporate agribusinesses from the seed-fertile-pesticide sectors.  It shall eliminate corporate control over agricultural input and output prices. It shall abolish all anti-peasant import, price, and credit policies. It shall ensure all agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, credit, electricity, etc., at subsidized and affordable rates to peasants. It shall abolish all forms of usury by extending cheap credit for peasants on a priority basis from public sources through a network of rural banking. It shall provide adequate support prices for all agricultural products and ensure procurement of all agricultural surplus at remunerative prices by public sector. It shall put an end to private procurement, hoarding and speculation of agricultural products including food grains by corporate traders. 

8.Industrial and Technological Policy

5.8.1.More than two decades of imperialist globalization and liberalization and privatization policies have demolished whatever self-reliant, import-substituting, domestic-oriented and employment-generating industrialization policies were initiated  as part of the Keynesain policies implemented during post-1947 decades. The people’s government shall take urgent steps to abolish this neoliberal trend. It shall take steps to bring all key and core-sector industries and infrastructures under public sector.

5.8.2.The peopl’s government shall  evolve a national and people oriented industrial policy with adequate and proper relation among large-scale, medium and small-scale industries on the one hand and agriculture and service sectors on the other. Location of industries shall be decided based on proper planning to avoid the evils of urbanization and displacement of people from their habitats. As far as possible industries shall be diversified, decentralized and made labour-intensive as part of the national democratic development policy. It shall avoid the harmful effects of urbanization and environmental pollution.

5.8.3.It shall evolve a national , people-oriented industrial research and development policy, demolishing the present imperialist dictated, WTO led patent and intellectual property system that put all scientific and technical know how under the custody of corporate capital. All scientific, technological and research institutions in the country shall be brought under people’s democratic control and people should have free access to them.

5.8.4.The people’s alternative government shall decentralize the whole process of scientific research with adequate provisions for incorporating people’s initiatives at all levels. To facilitate such an indigenous research and development, the people’s government shall end the present dependence on imperialist research centres including the present stature of Indian Research Institutions as appendages of foreign research centres. As the so called “brain drain” like phenomena are directly correlated with lack of correspondence between country’s needs and the ongoing technological research here, as even the much trumpeted IT industry lacks domestic linkages and is purely based on outsourcing. It  shall develop appropriate linkages of industrial development and research with all sectors of the country, which are indispensable. 

5.8.5.Presently most of the ecological questions such as global warming, ozone depletion, fresh water scarcity, deforestation, desertification, extinction of species, loss of biodiversity, chemical pollution, radioactive contamination from nuclear industry and so on are directly connected with corporate greed. They have become the biggest challenges associated with development. In such a situation, the people’s government shall strive for an appropriate science and technology policy that is fully compatible with the preservation of ecology and habitat of the people.  The basic orientation of such an industrial policy shall not be to catch up with the GDP growth of any capitalist country, but to develop a basically different people oriented and sutainable development policy.

9.Energy Policy

5.9.1.The people’s government shall take up the development of an energy policy that is independent of all sorts of corporate control and in conformity with the priorities of the people’s development in all fields. As fossil fuels which form the major source of energy today are going to be depleted within a period of 50 years, and as the nuclear energy is scientifically and economically unviable, the imperialist research institutions are already focussing on the development of non-conventional forms such as solar, wind and tidal energies. In this situation, as the very nature of these new energy sources such as solar and wind power are conducive for decentralised , employment oriented and eco-friendly industrial and economic pattern, the people’s government shall give maximum attention  to them, linking this policy with the people’s  development alternative. Providing special attention to the geographical and climatic advantages of the country, it shall give special attention and take appropriate measures for solar energy like sources which will help  India to fully solve its energy problem in a self-reliant manner ending imperialist hegemony in this regard.

5.9.2.At the same time, the people’s government shall expose and repudiate the present distorted approach to energy consumption propped up by capitalist-imperialist consumer culture interpreting the level and quality of development in terms of per capita energy consumption.  The people’s development perspective shall advocate and educate the people for the development of a culture minimizing energy consumption which is ecologically sustainable and economically efficient. At the present stage of scientific development, as nuclear energy is totally untenable and unworkable, it shall reject all nuclear plants, including the newly proposed ones and strive for universal nuclear disarmament.

10.Transportation Policy

5.10.1.Developing and strengthening public transport system affordable to the broad masses of toiling people should form the core of a people’s transportation policy. Proliferation of private vehicles and the growth of a road lobby in unholy alliance with the politician-bureaucratic – corporate- contractor nexus shall be ended through appropriate measures.

5.10.2.In view of the geographical diversities of the country, instead of relying heavily on any one particular mode of transport, an integrated transportation policy composed of road, rail and water transport, both coastal and inland, has to be adopted. Along with this the neoliberal policy of constructing infrastructures including road, rail, ports, etc. on BOT/PPP basis that allows corporates to indefinitely and unscrouplessly carry on their plunder of the people shall be reversed by the people’s government.

11.Domestic Trade

5.11.1.For providing employment and livelihood, the importance of retail trade in India is second only to agriculture. Around 95 percent of the retail trade in the country is in the informal/unorganized sector that provides direct employment to about 5 crores of  people upon whom another 10 crore people depend for their sustenance. However, global retail MNCs and corporate speculative traders with the connivance of comprador Indian rulers have identified Indian retail sector as an inexhaustible source of plunder. Except the corporate greed, no political or economic justification has been put forward by vested interests for opening up the retail sector to MNCs.

5.11.2.Hence, protecting the retail sector from imperialist invasion by banning FDI in retail trade and ensuring the livelihood of a large section of the people is an urgent task. Such a step is also important to maintain the essential relationships and linkages among agriculture, industry and trade from the perspective of a national, self-reliant democratic development.

5.11.3.The people’s government shall progressively introduce cooperatives and local outlets under local bodies along with the universal Public Distribution System to ensure all essential goods for the masses of people.

12.Social Services and Public Distribution

5.12.1.The peope’s government shall ensure the right to food, clothing, housing, education, healthcare and employment for all by incorporating it as fundamental right in the Constitution and taking appropriate steps for its implementation.

5.12.2.The neoliberal approach of cutting subsidies for food and fuel should be ended and the public distribution system shall be strengthened and expanded further by extending statutory rationing not only for food items, but for all essential commodities. The people’s government shall implement urban land ceiling and taxation of urban property.

5.12.3.It shall reverse all policies of commercialization and corporatization of education forthwith.  Develop and implement national, scientific, secular, democratic education policy, starting with community schools. It shall romote and develop all national languages. It shall ensure universal free education in the mother tongue up to the secondary level.  Private agencies including religious and caste organizations and other reactionary forces shall be totally excluded from the field of public education.

5.12.4.Ensure universal and affordable primary health facilities for all. Domination of pharmaceutical MNCs in the country’s health sphere shall be abolished. Medical profession shall be democratised by evolving an integrated medical system drawing the positive aspects from various traditions. Corporatisation of medical education and using of Indian people as guinea pigs by MNCs with the connivance of the ruling classes shall be abolished.

5.12.5.Housing based on a minimum 500 sq.ft. house shall be ensured to all with water supply, electricity/gas connection and sanitation. Demolition of the slums shall be stopped till all slum-dwellers are provided with the above minimum housing nearer to their place of work. A maximum ceiling for building of family houses shall be introduced progressively.

13.Employment and Trade Union Rights

5.13.1.The people’s government shall strive for strictly implementing six-hour work and five-day week in all sectors and establishments and ensure employment for all. It shall abolish contract labour system and ‘hire and fire’ policy.   In case of unemployment,  compulsory unemployment allowance shall be provided equal to the statutory minimum wage enforced by the people’s government.

5.13.2.It shall ensure statutory pension and retirement benefits including provident funds to ensure a safe retirement life. It shall ensure that the pension-provident funds shall be managed by the government. Corporate thugs shall be kicked out from its   management.

5.13.3.It shall abolish all inequalities including gender-bias towards women in the work places.  It shall ensure equal pay for equal work.  It shall ensure democratic and trade union rights, the right to form trade unions and to strike for all workers.

5.13.4.It shall abolish all forms of bonded labour and child labour practices. It shall rehabilitate all bonded labourers and child labourers shall be sent to schools with their total expenses met from public exchequer.

14.Equality for women

5.14.1.The people’s government shall guarantee equality of women in all fields and abolish all forms of gender inequality based on patriarchy.  It shall ensure right of women for inheritance of property including land.   As the Indian women are facing ever-mounting patriarchal oppression in diverse forms, the urgent task of the people’s government shall be to eliminate all sorts of violence, exploitation and oppression of women within the family and at workplace.

5.14.2.It shall abolish prostitution including child prostitution and ensure their rehabilitation.  It shall end commodification of women and sex tourism.

5.14.3.It shall implement a uniform civil law for marriage and strictly implement anti-dowry law with people’s participation. It shall ensure the right to all to select their mates without interference from caste, religion and other obscurantist forces.

5.14.4.Implement 50 percent reservation for women in all elected bodies up to Lok Sabha, in the judiciary, police and in administration.

5.14.5.It shall ensure full maternity benefits to all women including six months’ leave with full wage/salary with provision for extension if such need arises. It shall ensure community day-care facilities for all children in the pre-school stage with full guarantee for their healthcare and recreation, as inalienable tasks of the people’s government.

15.Youth Policy

5.15.1.The rapid changes under neoliberalism including those relating to employment and culture have their serious impact on the material conditions and mental make-up of youth which ultimately will have their far reaching effects for the society as a whole. Taking the specificities of the contemporary situation and the particularities of youth in to consideration, the people’s government shall develop a scientific youth policy.

5.15.2.While feudal prejudices prevent the universal involvement in sports and games, under the imperialist influence they are commodified like every other field. The people’s government shall develop a national sports policy for the country. Sports and games facilities shall be developed at all levels. It shall effectively prevent the entry of speculative and betting agencies in to the field.

16.Tasks for Caste Annihilation and Secularism

5.16.1.The people’s government shall implement the first and foremost task for the caste annihilation, and implementation of  the democratic and revolutionary land reforms based on land-to-the-tiller principle, which shall help to break the backbone of the caste system.

5.16.2.It shall promote all initiatives for organizing  powerful campaigns and broad-based democratic movements for the total abolition of caste system. It shall take specific administrative steps required to stop all forms of caste based oppression, caste discrimination, untouchability, and Khap panchayats  like reactionary institutions. It shall ensure reservation based on caste as a democratic right in all fields including private sector till the social inequalities are abolished.

5.16.3.It shall abolish all religion-based discriminations, and ensure the protection of all religious minorities.  It shall take necessary steps to make the state genuinely secular. It shall take all steps necessary to stop all forms of religious intervention in political, economic or administrative matters. It shall take all necessary steps to put an end to all communal interferences in matters connected with education and culture including art, literature and media. It shall take strict action against all who indulge in unlawful activities irrespective of their religious beliefs. All victimization of the minorities in the name of action against terrorism shall be put an end to. It shall take steps against all forms of communal appeasement at all levels.

17.On Expanding People’s Culture

5.17.1.The people’s government shall initiate steps in alliance with all progressive and  democratic forces to develop and strengthen rational and scientific thinking among the people.

5.17.2.It shall put an end to all attacks on democratic cultural values, institutions, and on cultural activists by communal fascists, casteists and other reactionary forces and shall stop their interferences in education, research, art, literature and media.  It shall oppose efforts of religious fundamentalists of all hues and casteists to impose their decadent cultural values, especially the imposition of the Hindu Rashtra concept by Sangh Parivar forces by infiltrating or overpowering social, cultural and educational fields.

5.17.3.It shall oppose feudal and imperialist cultural values and efforts to turn culture itself as a realm of profit accumulation. It shall take all steps necessary to prevent the invasion of cultural field by imperialist promoted ideologies, MNCs and imperialist agencies.  Promote scientific outlook in all fields and eradicate all forms of superstitions and reactionary revivalism.

18.Protection and Expansion of Democratic Rights

5.18.1.More than two decades of neo liberal policies have snatched away all democratic rights won through numerous struggles by various sections of people including the working class and all other sections in the country. The people’s government shall resist this and the trend towards fascicization of the state machinery.  It shall stop all attacks on the existing democratic rights; protect them and shall strive to expand them. It shall stop the terrorization of the masses and their large scale harassment in the name of putting down terrorism.

5.18.2.It shall stop bureaucratization of existing bourgeois democratic institutions. It shall take all steps against the growing threats of fascicisation in all walks of life. It shall repeal all black laws enacted by central and state governments including AFSPA, ESMA etc.  It shall put an end to utilizing military, paramilitary and police forces for suppressing people of J & K and North East and people’s struggles in different parts of the country.

5.18.3.It shall take drastic steps to put an end to criminalization of politics and society at large through money, muscle, liquor power.  It shall enforce strict control over liquor trade and take all steps necessary to end alchoholism.

5.18.4.It shall introduce as an urgent task fundamental reforms to transform the police forces who are presently notorious for their anti-people character. It shall promote genuine and meaningful involvement of the people at the local and grassroots levels to take active part in the democratization of the police syatem.

5.18.5.It shall evolve and Implement democratic reforms in the entire judicial system and in the jail administration.  Provision for death penalty shall be removed from the statute book.

19.Policy on Migration and Urbanization

5.19.1.Large-scale displacement of peasantry due to corporatization of agriculture, their unparalleled migration to urban areas, mushrooming of slums and growth in the number of jobless, underemployed shelterless, pauperized slum-dwellers and all the attendant evils of urbanization are integrally linked to the neo-colonial, neoliberal development policies pursued by consecutive governments. The people’s government shall consistently try to take concrete steps to reverse this abominable trend.

5.10.2.In the meanwhile, as an immediate task, the people’s government shall implement a comprehensive rehabilitation policy ensuring food, housing, drinking water, jobs, healthcare, education, and recreation with full social security for slum dwellers. It shall make the slum dwellers entitled to an adequate share in urban property. It shall take steps to put an end to all forms of urban mafias, including the real estate speculators in land, building and urban services with people’s participation.

20.Approach towards NGOs, Self Help Groups etc.

5.20.1.As a part of the neo-colonization process initiated from 1940s, the UN agencies and various imperialist agencies have initiated numerous Non Governmental Organizations and later Self Help Groups and Micro- Finance Groups  which are now growing in number very fast with the support of the central and state governments. The UN, World Bank and other institutions on the one hand, and the central and state governments on the other, are funding many of them also. The post modernist ideas are providing the theoretical basis to these. They are taking up many people’s problems and try to seek solutions to them within the existing neo-colonial ruling system. Large number of intellectuals and youth frustrated with growing social problems, who are not satisfied with the present left movement, and who seeks employment are flockimg to them. Large number of unemployed women are attracted to SHGs and Micro-Finance Agencies also. The people’s government shall take a policy of “unity and struggle” with these agencies. While using their services in any progressive movements, the absence of a wholistic appraoch and their ‘reformist’ ideas should be struggled against. Through the alternative development paradigm put forwward here the youth and intellectuals shall be won over to the path of people’s alternative.

21.Democratization of Media

5.21.1.The media or the so called fourth estate which is intended to represent and mould public opinion has evolved as an informal institution during the bourgeois democratic revolution. However, on account of the transformation of industrial capitalism into moribund finance capitalism and its further decay under neoliberalism, along with all parliamentary institutions, the media is also being degenerated into ‘corporate media’. As is evident from the notorious Radia tapes and innumerable reports on “paid news”, corporate media is involved not only in numerous scams and corruption scandals that rock the country but also in the policy making by politician-bureaucrat-corporate nexus and even in elections.

5.21.2.The people’s government is duty bound to reverse this trend with the full participation of people by unleashing democratization of the media so as to make it capable of upholding democratic and progressive public opinion and values without fear or favour.  In this context, the lessons from the experience of the ‘new social media’ are to be examined.  The peopple’s goevernment shall initiate specific administrative measures intended to curtail the hold of corporate capital on media.

22.For a Progressive Foreign Policy

5.22.1.Developing a foreign policy based on equality and fraternity among all countries is an inalienable component of a people’s government. As a first step towards this, the people’s government shall take immediate steps to get India out of all unequal economic, political, military and cultural treaties and agreements so far signed by the hitherto governments.  All treaties signed with USA, including the latest military and economic treaties, Nuclear Agreements and Indo-US Agricultural Initiative which lead to India’s strategic subservience to US imperialism shall be scrapped. Efforts shall be made together with like-minded countries to come out of the present US led neocolonial international and regional economic institutions such as IMF, WB, WTO, ADB, etc. and to replace them with appropriate democratic economic, monetary and trade arrangements and cooperation agreements.

5.22.2.The UN system, including its Security Council, was created to serve the essential political functions of neocolonialism. In the postwar decades, on account of the relatively strong ideological and political presence of the socialist countries  and progressive forces at the international level, the UN tried to put on a reformist garb. But under neoliberalism, all such reformist initiatives and institutions propped up by UN are practically defunct. It is exposed as the political arm of US led imperialism. Since efforts to reform the UN system have so far found futile, the people’s government shall take initiative,  joining hands with like mibded governments, to build necessary institutions and arrangements for facilitating fraternal international cooperation among peoples of different countries and to democratize the international relations.

5.22.3.In the same vein, it shall try to evolve regional economic and political cooperation among countries in Asia with particular attention on building friendly relations with South Asian countries including Pakistan based on equality, shedding the present posture of India, under consecutive governments, as South Asia’s big brother under its strategic subservience to US imperialism. The people’s government shall take initiative to resolve the boundary disputes with the neighbouring countries, which are left overs of the colonial period, through bi-lateral discussions. It shall fight against all forms of neocolonialism and establish unity and solidarity among oppressed countries and peoples of the world; strive for world peace, abolition of arms race and universal nuclear disarmament.

CPI (ML)’s Appeal

it was at an important juncture in the history of our country, when two decades of  Congress rule had intensified the contradictions between the ruling system and the people, and when CPI and later CPI(M) leaderships  abandoned the path of national liberation and democratic revolution and degenerated to reformist, opportunist positions, the Naxalbari uprising took place in 1967. Putting forward agrarian revolution with land to the tiller, and pledging to advance towards people’s democracy and socialism, the Communist Revolutionaries formed CPI(ML) in 1969.

Though the movements was influenced by sectarian tendencies for some time in the beginning, it has overcome these and has played a historic role in radicalizing the socio-economic-political-cultural scene, struggling  against all reactionary and reformist positions. It has a consistent legacy of many great struggles and sacrifices, a legacy of thousands of     martyr comrades and cadres who inspired the toiling millions and continue the fight for people’s democratic India.

When the imperialist globalization policies were imposed and the country was being opened to IMF-WB-WTO-MNCs and capital-market system, and when almost all prominent political parties from Congress and BJP became its executioners, and even CPI (M) led LF surrendered to it stating ‘there is no alternative’ to it, the CPI(ML) along with other communist revolutionary and democratic forces went on opposing and struggling against it from the beginning.  While launching anti-imperialist movements, it took up struggles against all reactionary policies of consecutive governments. In some states it developed agrarian movements with land to the tiller slogan besides struggling for the rights of all oppressed classes and sections.

The CP(ML) is uncompromisingly exposing the degeneration of CPI (M)–led Left Front’s ruling class positions and the sectarian and anarchist lie of the CPI(Maoist) and trying to unite all Communist forces under the banner of CPI(ML), developing activities all over India and pursuing militant mass line.  During the two terms of UPA government, it has led numerous struggles against its anti-national and anti-people policies, fighting bitterly against surrendering the country to strategic subservience to US imperialism.  Along with its efforts to develop anti-imperialist movements uniting the Marxist-Leninist parties at International level against US imperialism and its allies in solidarity with the Iraqi, Afghan, Palestinian and other peoples, CPI (ML) is always in the forefront to develop resistance to UPA government’s moves including signing many agreements enslaving the country to US masters and other reactionary policies which have devastated people’s lives.  In a number of states the Party and class/mass organizations are continuously waging struggles against the UPA government’s and state governments’ anti-people policies. Besides, the party and the landless peasants-agricultural workers organizations led by it have launched many struggles for land, against displacement and against the mining mafias.

The CPI (ML) is contesting the Lok Sabha elections fielding a number of candidates in most of the states based on this Election Manifesto. It calls for building the Anti-imperialist People’s Alternative based on it against all ruling class alternatives. At a time when the neo-colonial stranglehold, communal and fascist onslaughts and influence of caste politics are intensifying day by day, when imperialism, especially US imperialism, is engaged in accelerating its efforts to impose hegemony in all fields, building such an alternative uniting all genuine left, patriotic, democratic, secular forces has great significance. 

The CPI (ML) appeals to the working class, the landless-poor peasants and agricultural workers, to all other toiling masses and the patriotic democratic secular forces to rally for building this People’s Alternative.

The CPI (ML) appeals to the people of the country, to the toiling masses, to all patriotic democratic secular forces to exercise their right to vote in support of the Election Manifesto put forward by the Party, to vote for the candidates fielded by the party and the DPF candidates supported by the party based on this orientation. Come forward, let us  vigorously utilize the election to fight the ruling system and to initiate the building of the People’s  Alternative.

Central Committee

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)

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