Withered Rectification Campaign of CPM
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
National Information Services
The Polit Bureau and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), is all set to discuss the implementation of “rectification process” for the PB and the CC. Similar exercise involving the state committees, district committees and the lower committees is also to be done. The time frame for the implementation of the up-dated 1996 rectification document is end of June 2010 according to the CPI (M) official publication, “The Marxist, January–March 2010” issue. The rectification is meant to unify and strengthen the Party on correct principles. How far the objective could be achieved and how far the campaign peculated down below the cadre in its true spirit is yet to be known. Document on the rectification campaign was prepared by the Central Committee in October 2009 consequent to the poor performance of the party in the 15th general elections. As against 42 parliament seats won in 2004, the CPM could manage to win just 16 in 2009. Meanwhile the West Bengal Unit too had a setback in the municipal elections.
After India's Independence, a series of events like Sino-Soviet split and Sino-Indian war led to the split in the Communist Party of India, in 1964. The breakaway Communist Party of India (Marxist) emerged stronger both in terms of membership and performance in the Indian Elections. Thus the Communist Party of India, encouraged by Lenin and founded on 17 October 1920 by MN Roy in Tashkent faced the first ever split. Even after the party split, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party cadres remained unified in the All India Trade Union Congress. After the short-lived coexistence the trade union wing also split. The parting of ways either in the party or in the trade union was however on ideological issues, though personalities were involved.
The issue whether to support Congress or not bedeviled the undivided Communist Party right from the year of independence, 1947. Around the time of independence the CPI was sending confusing signals-from left to centrist to right. General Secretary Joshi was advocating unity with the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. By the end of 1947, P.C. Joshi found himself in the minority. His line was challenged by radicals like B.T. Ranadive. In 1948, Joshi who advocated collaboration with Congress was sidelined, and Ranadive became the General Secretary. To herald in the Indian revolution, Telangana Armed Struggle was one the main pillar of Ranadive strategy.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has a glorious record in conducting class and mass struggles. The CPI (M) is the biggest contingent of the Left. It is heading Left-led governments in three states. Not-withstanding the fact that the 35 year CPIM rule in West Bengal has been threatened by Mamata Banerjee in the recently concluded Municipal Elections, it still continues to be a force to reckon-with. But certainly party cannot take it for granted!
According to “The Marxist”, to achieve its revolutionary goals, it is necessary for the Marxist Communist Party to overcome its political and ideological weaknesses and organizational shortcomings. In a class divided society the ruling classes control the State and their ideology dominates society. The CC feels that in such a society, as it existed now, the Communist Party becomes a continuous target for the penetration of alien ideologies. Rectification has to be a continuous process and not a one-off effort in order to protect the revolutionary character of the Party.
At the start of 1950s, the CPI was bitterly divided over the manner in which political power in India should be captured. The militants advocated the 'Chinese path', or capture of power through violent means and the other group was for the 'Indian path' or capture power within the constraints of Indian Constitution. Ch. Rajeswara Rao, who advocated Chinese Path, did not sail with CPIM after the split. Makineni Basavapunnaiah who advocated Chinese Path along with Rajeswara Rao, became a politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) after the split in 1964. There were no personal interests involved in their choosing either CPI or CPM. However, Sundarayya in his letter to the party Polit Bureau and Central Committee Members in August 1975 offering his resignation as party General Secretary criticized Basavapunnayya for limiting his role to giving advice and opinion but actually not fighting for his line.
Puchalapalli Sundarayya was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and a leader of the peasant revolt in the Telengana Rebellion. Fired by Communist ideals and egalitarian values, he changed his name from Sundararami Reddy by dropping his caste suffix, reddy. He was so dedicated to the up-liftment of the poor and downtrodden that he and his spouse chose not to have children, for the purpose of social service. In 1936, Sundarayya became a member of the Central Committee of the undivided Communist Party of India. He went underground between 1948 and 1952. He was re-elected to the Central Committee in 1952. He was also elected to the Polit Bureau, the highest forum in the Party. When the Party leadership was in favor of supporting the Government at the time of the Sino-Indian War, Sundarayya resigned his positions protesting against the policies of the dominant leadership of the Party. He was arrested and imprisoned during November 1962 at the time of India-China border war. After the split Sundarayya was elected as its General Secretary. Sundarayya continuously remained Party’s General Secretary till 1976. In that year, which fell during the Emergency, he resigned from the General Secretary Ship and Polit bureau membership, for what he called the 'revisionist habits' acquired by the Party.
Sundarayya in his resignation pointed out among others, about CPM joint actions with Jana Sangh; Polit Bureau’s failure to concretize party’s tactical line; Trade Union wing’s functioning bypassing the party; non-seriousness on agrarian resolution in practice; ignoring building of secret part of party’s organization; PB not functioning as a collective body (Members like Basavapunnayya not actually carrying out responsibilities) and his differences with Ranadive; CPM Polit Bureau without homogeneous political and organizational outlook and so on. He even felt like demanding of holding party congress to decide the political line and elect a new CC, PB and General Secretary. Such was the commitment of leadership of his caliber. Had the Party taken serious note of his anguish, there would have been no necessity of “Rectification Campaigns”. At the time of his death, he was holding party’s state Secretary Post in Andhra Pradesh and was member, Central Committee of the Party. He could have very well compromised like the present day leadership to hold on to General Secretary post irrespective of he had a say or no. But he did not do it.
Whether it was Sundarayya or Basavapunnayya or Chandra Rajeswara Rao or Moturi Hanumatha Rao or less known leaders like Chirravuri Laxminarayana or Manchikanti Ramakishan Rao or to that matter any of the yester years Communist Leaders, all of them either sailed or separated from one path or other on pure ideological grounds that they believed right. None of them were blamed for personal interests. None of them needed any “Rectification Campaign”. Incidentally barring the Marxist–Leninist faction in whatever form and name they function, all of them in one form or other, though followed the parliamentary line, none of them were attracted to “pure parliamentary outlook and electoral opportunism”. They sacrificed all that they inherited. Today’s party leadership and cadre instead of sacrificing prefer to amass wealth through parliamentary outlook and electoral opportunism!
The 19th CPM Party Congress held during March 29 to April 3, 2008 at Coimbatore called for a rectification campaign against wrong trends in the Party. It had directed the Central Committee to update the rectification campaign document of 1996 for this purpose. Though certain problems pointed out in the 1996 document were taken up for correction and implementation in the past 12-14 years, desired results could not be achieved. Another weakness in the earlier campaign was that the rectification process was not adopted from the top, from the PB and the CC.
Factors cited in the 1996 document are still relevant today. Some of the factors have got further consolidated and their impact has deepened. For instance, two decades have passed since liberalization and the adoption of neo-liberal policies. There is no doubt that alien values and ideas are affecting CPM Party leaders and cadres much more than before according to CC of CPIM. Along with the concentration of wealth, the creation of business-politician nexus at all levels is intertwining between corporate and business interests and the political system. CC observed that the role of money power has increased to an unprecedented level in politics, particularly in elections and CPIM cadre is no exception to it.
The association with bourgeois parties at various levels, particularly through electoral understandings has been continuing during the past 12-14 years since the 1996 rectification document. With the rise of the business-political nexus, there is a corresponding rise in use of money and other bourgeois practices. These have corrosive effect on CPM cadres.
At present forty per cent of the Party membership is constituted by those who have joined the Party after 2001. The majority of these new entrants are still to acquire the basic outlook of the Party and they are yet to be grounded in the class and mass struggles. Such a situation leads to all sorts of feudal, bourgeois and petty bourgeois trends emerging within the Party.
An analysis of the class composition of the Party shows that 75 per cent of the membership comes from the working class, poor peasants and agricultural workers. But, the party top leadership noted that, in the leading committees of the Party only around 30 per cent belong to these classes. 70 per cent come from the middle classes and other sections. This provided the basis for alien class influences. The replies of the state committees to the questionnaire from the Polit Bureau revealed that there has been a growth in the wrong trends within the Party. Further new problems like violation of communist norms have also arisen.
Party while accepting the fact that India is a country where the parliamentary democratic system has struck deep roots and has become a basic feature of the political system, felt that, the Party can advance only by integrating the parliamentary and extra parliamentary work. However, leadership is of the opinion that as against this correct perspective of parliamentary work, the trend of parliamentary outlook and electoral opportunism which is harmful to the basic approach of the Party is on the increase. Organizing mass movements, launching struggles and building the Party is being neglected due to the parliamentary outlook.
The experience of the past decade shows that the problem has got magnified. There has been distinct increase in parliamentary opportunism among CPM cadre. Increased numbers of individual comrades resorted to revolting when refused party ticket. Andhra Pradesh saw such instances in a glaring form during the recent assembly and parliament elections which led to two state committee members having to be expelled. Earlier three MPs had to be expelled for deserting the Party. Two of them quit as they were not being re-nominated.
The penetration of alien bourgeois influences finds one manifestation in the form of parliamentary opportunism. The growth of parliamentary outlook is also connected to the desire for acquiring more material positions and a better life style. Since the salaries and perks of MPs and MLAs are much more than what cadres can get as Party functionaries, there is a hankering and desire to be in such positions observed Central Committee. In many states, the Party does not take the bulk of the salaries and allowances of MLAs. There is the problem of the elected representative not integrating his or her work with the Party and mass organizations.
The use of money, liquor and other corrupt practices has grown in the party. The money used in elections has reached an unprecedented level in states like Andhra Pradesh. Alliances with bourgeois parties for elections lead to their methods and practices being copied by some of CPM candidates and Party committees. There is also the tendency to demand that only local candidates be fielded in assembly and parliament elections. Some of them get sucked into the institutionalized corruption and malpractices. The 1996 document had noted the existence of unhealthy trends, factionalism, careerism, individualism and absence of collective functioning-all harmful to the progress of democratic centralism. Instances of comrades putting their individual interests above Party interests are there.
The party feels threatened when some leaders and cadres fail to live up to the communist standards and values as there is danger of the image of the Party getting blurred and it being seen as no different from bourgeois parties. The penetration of alien bourgeois and petty bourgeois values is manifested in a lavish lifestyle, building houses which are far above the minimum needs required, spending large amounts on weddings of children, organizing festivities on a lavish scale. There are examples of comrades who have acquired assets and incur expenses disproportionate to their known sources of income. Even when complaints are made against them, there is hesitation on the part of the Party committees to entertain them and enquire into the matter.
Earlier, members of leading committees used to seek permission from the Party for constructing houses, acquiring a car or other assets. This is not followed in most places now. There are cases of Party leaders running NGOs with no check or accountability about the funds being used. Real estate promoters, contractors and liquor contractors seek to establish connections with CPM cadre and those in elected positions. The tendency to collect big amounts of money from individuals and affluent sections, instead of mass collection, has increased especially to meet election expenses. Accounts for these are not properly maintained and submitted to the respective committees. Often the Party committees are unable to initiate action due to various reasons such as factional trends, liberalism and reluctance to antagonize an important Party cadre.
As part of rectification guidelines issued by the Central Committee, the trends of parliamentary and electoral opportunism would be exposed; principle of two or three terms for elected representatives to be adhered; regulations about proper utilization of party funds, maintenance of accounts to be regularized; and all members of the Central Committee, state committee, district committees (and zonal/area and local committees in the bigger states) should file their income and assets statement annually to the concerned party committee.
Going by the track record of CPIM functioning in Andhra Pradesh in general and particularly with reference to the developments in Red-Fort districts like Khammam, causing irreparable damage to the party, the rectification campaign is all that is needed minimum in the state. Reluctance to antagonize an important Party Cadre may one-day damage the entire cadre and hence rectification campaign is the need of the hour. (End)
