Karnataka - Bangalore

Our stand on Bush visit unchanged: Bardhan

Staff Reporter

Bush represents the ugly face of aggressive U.S. imperialism, says CPI leader

ALL SMILES: General Secretary of Communist Party of India A.B. Bardhan (left) arriving for the function got up to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the party, in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The Communist Party of India will stick to its decision to protest against the visit of U.S. President George Bush in March, as "he represents the ugly face of aggressive U.S. imperialism," party General Secretary A.B. Bardhan has said.

Speaking at the 80th anniversary of the founding of CPI, organised by the Karnataka State Council, Mr. Bardhan said the CPI, which was part of the United Progressive Alliance and supported the Manmohan Singh Government from outside, preferred to follow the policy of "support and struggle" because it knew that the Congress, a bourgeois "capitalist" party, needed the help of the Left parties after the indifferent verdict of the 2004 general elections, to keep the communal Bharatiya Janata Party out.

"While the CPI supports the Congress in all the policies and programmes that are pro-people, pro-worker and for the greater common good, we have to struggle and oppose and draw the line as the Congress sometimes behaving like a party with 345 members instead of just 145," Mr. Bardhan said.

"The Communist parties will press for a resolution to be moved to facilitate discussion on this issue, and all that it signifies, and the consequences of looking to the U.S. as an ally," he said.

That was why the CPI would launch a nationwide "Bush go home" campaign during his visit, even though it was often criticised and even ridiculed for not moving with the times and coming to terms with the status of the U.S. as the new super power. It was tragic to see India easily and speedily abandoning its long-held tradition of non-alignment and independent foreign policy when even small and poor countries in South America were standing up to the U.S.

"Let them face the truth: why are Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina Venezuela and so many countries electing left parties into Government? Look at Cuba, which has stood up to the U.S. for 45 years despite sanctions and bullying."

The U.S. has different yardsticks for different nations; it picked on Iran for its nuclear weaponry ambitions, but went with France or other European countries on the same issue. It was the U.S., which constantly threatened to use its weapons and might against smaller, weaker nations that did not subscribe to its views, Mr. Bardhan said.

He came down on the Manmohan-Singh Government, which he said was increasingly taking unilateral decisions without taking Parliament into confidence. This was so even on domestic issues. "We want to know why?"

"FDI should not be allowed to take over profit-making public sector units, and we were told that no one wanted to take over the loss-making ones. We want to know why the Government should disinvest in BHEL, and they say it is in line with the policy of liberalisation and globalisation."

"The CPI believes autonomy can help even the biggest loss-making PSU turn around and become profitable. That is where our struggle comes in. So ignore the critics who think we know no better than to organise protests and strikes. We will never let up on the pressure to make pro-people programmes happen."

The CPI is not fighting "Chidambaram's policies," he said, but the policies of the Government. "We have given them a list of things that should figure in their tax policies. We say tax the Premjis, Narayana Murthy's and Ambanis, who have earned their crores using our labour. Let more of this trickle down to the labour. Golden quadrilateral, high prices do not bring economic security, but giving the common man greater purchasing power does the markets and the working class good," he said.

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