The polit bureau of the CPI(ML)(Liberation) met in Delhi from 14 to 16 December to take stock of the unfolding political situation in the country and particularly in Bihar in the aftermath of the barbaric Lakshmanpur Bathe massacre.

The CPI(ML) leaders noted with indignation that two weeks after the Bathe incident, not a single key element of the BJP-backed Ranvir Sena has yet been arrested. Instead, the police and paramilitary operation now underway in the region has been directed against the revolutionary Left and activists and supporters of both CPI(ML)(Liberation) and CPI(ML)(Party Unity) are being systematically persecuted by the state. The polit bureau reiterated its demand for a quick time-bound CBI enquiry into the Ranvir Sena’s nexus with the BJP and a section of the ruling RJD in Bihar. It also appealed to all democratic and peace-loving citizens in the country to come out squarely against the fascist Ranvir Sena which has declared an open war on all notions of democracy, progress and humanity in Bihar. The Ranvir Sena, the polit bureau pointed out, is not just another private army; it is the most organised military outfit built as yet by upper-caste feudal forces which is out to facilitate the BJP’s gameplan for usurping political power by hook or crook.

Against this backdrop, the polit bureau called upon all Left, democratic and progressive forces to mount a determined offensive against the BJP in the ensuing mid-term poll. The leaders noted that the ragtag ruling coalition called the United Front has lost all credibility with sections of JD openly going over to the BJP’s fold, the Prime Minister himself seeking the blessings of the Akali Dal, the BJP’s electoral ally in Punjab and several UF leaders busy striking deals with the BJP-Samata alliance in Bihar. The leaders of CPI and CPI(M) evidently owe an answer to all Left forces in the country on this collapse of the UF.

The CPI(ML) on its part will do all it can to uphold the revolutionary Left banner and unify Left and democratic forces to engage in a serious and determined resistance against the growing threat of a saffron takeover. The polit bureau has asked the party’s state units to finalise their own organisational preparations for the ensuing mid-term poll while exploring possibilities of forging electoral understanding with other Left and democratic forces against the BJP and the Congress particularly in Bihar, Assam and Orissa.