UP State Conference
Communist Against Communalism
The sixth UP State party conference was held between 5 and 7 June at the Shaheed Nasiruddin Hall in Lakhimpur Kheri. As comrade Vinod Mishra pointed out in his inaugural speech, in UP this was the district where our movement had started many years ago. Overcoming many setbacks our party continued its march and at present it is working in more than half of the districts in the state. Now that we are encountering new problems in the new situation, it is all the more necessary to rediscover one’s roots and learn from past mistakes to carry the movement forward, the General Secretary said. Here lay the importance of the UP state comrades assembling here on this occasion, he pointed out.
From Comrade Mishra’s Speech "... the BJP had promised to establish a Bhay-Mukt regime here, but the entire administration is in the grip of mafia goons and they have been allotted handsome berths in the ministry itself. Democratic rights are being curbed. Dalits are facing police atrocities and religious jingoism is the order of the day. All this makes it necessary for the entire opposition to get united. He commented that some parties, which had claimed to provide an alternative to the BJP in the state while paying lip service to anti-Brahmanism, had ultimately extended their hand to this very enemy No. 1. By opposing the Dalit Act, Mulayam Singh Yadav also did the same. Therefore, the responsibility to provide a democratic alternative to the BJP now rests on the shoulder of the Left and we, the CPI(ML) comrades, must boldly come forward to meet this challenge... " |
The conference was attended by 166 delegates (146 men and 20 women) and 24 guests and observers. It saw lively discussions and debates on the draft Political-Organisational Resolutions, which had been sent to district and lower level party organisations, and on the Secretary’s Report (elaborating these resolutions) which was placed in the house. The conference decided that joint activities should be taken up with left and democratic forces against the attacks of communal fascism. For this we should work for a democratic front against the communalism and revivalism of the Hindutva brigade. In particular, we should develop close relations with the BSP rank and file and strive for joint activities on social, economic and political issues of the toiling masses.
Discussions were held on different mass organisations, particularly the peasant and student organisations. Regarding the former, the need for systematic social investigation to comprehend the changes in the agrarian situation was stressed. Party leaders’ direct role in building peasant movement and organisation was also emphasized. On the question of party building, the stress was laid on making the district committees ideologically consolidated and politically active and on organising the ranks in party branches.
The conference adopted a number of political resolutions, e.g., against the revival of the Mandir issue by the BJP; condemning the atrocities on women, dalits and other weaker sections; against the communalisation and privatisation of educational institutions and the attacks on their autonomy; and so on.
The conference elected a 17- member state committee, which in its turn re-elected comrade Akhilendra Pratap Singh as the state secretary. A 3- member advisory committee was also constituted.