December 23, 2024
The leaders of the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc met in New Delhi on December 22, 2024. They have issued the following statement after the meeting:
Amit Shah should Resign
The meeting noted that consequent to the disrespectful and derogatory comments on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar by the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, in the Rajya Sabha, there has been widespread anger and protests across the country. However, neither Amit Shah nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi are willing to own up the responsibility and take remedial action.
The Left parties, therefore, decided to continue with the ongoing protests and have decided to jointly organize a protest day on December 30. The nationwide protest day will demand the resignation of Amit Shah as the Home Minister.
Simultaneous Elections: Assault on Democracy and Federalism
The Left parties unequivocally opposed the `One Nation, One Election’ proposal, which has now been introduced through two Bills including a Constitutional amendment Bill in Parliament. The proposed amendments to the Constitution are a direct assault on the federal structure and the rights of State legislatures and the people who elect them. It is a recipe for centralization and truncating the will of the people by arbitrary reduction of the five-year term of legislatures.
The Left parties will conduct a countrywide campaign against the `One Nation, One Election’ scheme.
The Left parties also demanded the withdrawal of the amendment to the Conduct of Election Rules whereby the right of public inspection of electronic documents such as CCTV camera and video footage is annulled.
United Left Intervention
The meeting decided to step up Left intervention on political and people’s issues in the coming days. For this, regular meetings of the Left parties will be held to project the Left policies and promote joint actions.
Sd/-
D Raja
General Secretary, CPI
Prakash Karat
Co-ordinator, Polit Bureau, CPI(M)
Dipankar Bhattacharya
General Secretary, CPI(ML) Liberation
Manoj Bhattacharya
General Secretary, RSP
G. Devarajan
General Secretary, AIFB