The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held its meeting from January 17-19, 2025 at Kolkata. It has issued the following statement:
Ceasefire in Gaza
The Central Committee welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is coming into effect from January 19. For more than fifteen months, there has been a genocidal war waged by Israel against the Palestinian people of Gaza, which resulted in over 46,000 deaths and over 1,20,000 injured.
It is important now to ensure that after the first phase of the ceasefire lasting six weeks, the ceasefire is extended till peace and a political settlement is restored. The government of India should work diplomatically to ensure that peace is established and steps are taken for the formation of an independent Palestinian State.
Bills for Simultaneous Elections
The Central Committee took note of the two legislations introduced by the Modi government in Parliament to bring about simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. The first is the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, which proposes amendments to three existing clauses and introduction of a new clause in the Constitution. One of the amendments states that if the Lok Sabha is dissolved before the end of its full term, elections will be held for the next Lok Sabha only for the period of the unexpired term. This means that if the Lok Sabha is dissolved after three years of its term, the next election will only be for a Lok Sabha for a two-year term. A similar amendment is proposed with regard to the term of the state legislatures. If a state assembly is dissolved mid-term, then elections will be held only for the remaining part of the term. This goes against the basic scheme of parliamentary democracy set out in the Constitution. This truncation of the tenure of a state assembly has serious implications for federalism and the rights of elected state legislators.
The two Bills have been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further scrutiny and consideration.
The CPI(M) has already campaigned against the `One Nation, One Election’ system. The Constitution Amendment Bill must be opposed by all those who value democracy and federalism.
Mosque-Temple Disputes
In violation of the Places of Worship Act 1991, petitions questioning the character of various mosques and allegation that temples existed beneath them have been filed in local courts and requesting for surveys to be conducted. This has happened in Sambhal in western Uttar Pradesh, where the court ordered a survey on the very same day the petition was filed. Subsequent events, which led to protests and the death of five young Muslim men showed how the state government and the district authorities were carrying forward the agenda of the Hindutva forces. Subsequently, in Ajmer, a local court entertained a petition for a survey of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
The Supreme Court, hearing a challenge to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 by some petitioners of Hindu organisations, has put a stay on all litigations and surveys going on in the lower courts.
The Central Committee urged the Supreme Court to uphold the validity of the Places of Worship Act and direct that it will be enforced without any laxity on any attempt to raise disputes on religious places of worship.
UGC Draft Regulations
The Central Committee strongly opposed the Draft University Grants Commission Regulations 2025, which is a direct assault on the rights of states on the question of selecting Vice Chancellors in state-run universities. The guideline gives the Governor-cum-Chancellor the power to appoint a three-member Selection Committee in which the Chancellor’s nominee will also be the Chairperson. The state government will have no say in who is being appointed in the Selection Committee. At one stroke, through these guidelines, the Centre can appoint Vice Chancellors of its choice in all state-run universities through the Governors-cum-Chancellors. Already we have seen how Governors are arbitrarily using the Chancellor position to bypass all norms and impose Vice Chancellors, who have affinity to the BJP-RSS camp. This is a dangerous provision, which must be opposed. If the Draft is given final shape, it will be necessary for the concerned non-BJP state governments to challenge these Regulations in the Supreme Court.
Draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing
This policy framework is an attempt to bring back aspects of the three farm laws which were withdrawn due to the farmers’ agitation. The Draft proposes the establishment of private wholesale markets, direct farm gate purchases by corporate processors and exporters, replacement of traditional market yards with corporate control, warehousing and silos and introducing a unified state-wide market fee and trading license system. The Draft proposes that big corporates can purchase produce directly from farmers bypassing APMC market yards.
The Central Committee extended its full support to the agitation launched by the Kisan Sabha and Samyukta Kisan Morcha against the Draft Policy. It called upon all its Party units to mobilise people against this policy.
EC Rules
The Election Commission unilaterally announced changes to the Elections Rules that deprive political parties, candidates and concerned citizen’s access to electronic records, including video and other digital trails. This retrograde step of the EC is yet another assault on the fairness of the electoral process.
The Central Committee calls upon the Election Commission to convene a meeting of all political parties to discuss the matter and to take corrective steps.
Party Congress Preparations
The Central Committee discussed the `Draft Political Resolution’ to be placed before the 24th Party Congress to be held in Madurai from April 2 to 6, 2025. The Central Committee finalized the Draft Political Resolution. This will be released for discussion in the Party at all levels on February 1, 2025.
The Central Committee decided to meet on March 22-23 for finalizing the `Draft Organisational Report’ for the Party Congress.