Elections 2019: Defeating BJP Is Top Priority, Says CPI(M)

New Delhi: Defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and defending the secular fabric of India are the priorities of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which released its election manifesto here on Thursday for the upcoming general elections.

Calling the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the “most crucial elections in the history of independent India, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said: “What is at stake here is the very future of the secular democratic republic of India, as defined by our Constitution. Therefore, it is imperative that in these general elections, the BJP and its allies are defeated.”

CPI(M) Polit Bureau members Brinda Karat, Prakash Karat, Nilotpal Basu, Hannan Mollah, Subhashini Ali and S Ramachandran Pillai along with Yechury released the manifesto at the party headquarters in Delhi.

“Secondly, the strength of the CPI(M) and the Left must be increased in the Lok Sabha,” said Yechury.

The third priority is to ensure that an alternative secular government is formed at the Centre after the elections. “And this secular government not only should defend our constitutional republic which is under severe attack but consolidate it, and build a better India for Indian people”. 

But, as Yechury pointed out, “This building a better India for Indian people requires a radical shift in policy directions.”

And for that radical shift in policy, if pressure has to be put “in addition to the people’s movements and struggles that we’ve led outside Parliament,” if that pressure is to put inside Parliament, on the floor of the House, the strength of the Left is very crucial.” He said we need to build a better India for Indian people through alternative policies.

Yechury said what the CPI(M) was offering are alternative policies for development that are pro-people — and against the BJP’s “policies of encouraging loot and crony capitalism, sharpening communal polarisation, and helping the obscene levels of economic inequality.”

To begin with, this alternative policy will ensure that farmers get sufficient prices for their produce to relieve the agrarian distress in the country, and that workers are paid higher minimum wages of at least Rs 18,000. 

Yechury cited the Rafale scam, the recent handing over of five airports to Adani, and the crisis of the non-performing assets (NPA) as examples of BJP’s corruption.

“India has no dearth or shortage of resources. There are sufficient resources to provide employment, healthcare, education, etc. There are more than available resources to provide decent livelihoods to all,” said Yechury.

In a first for any political party in the country, the CPI(M) also released the audio version of its Manifesto — keeping in mind the needs of the disadvantaged and the most marginalised sections.

Along with the manifesto, the party released a series of booklets on various aspects of the country and economy—such as jobs, education, agriculture, etc.— in over the past five years of the “disastrous” rule of Modi.

Here are the 15 highlights of an alternative policy platform that the CPI(M) has proposed in its manifesto:

1) Protect the secular principle and democratic rights enshrined in the Constitution.

2) Enforce farmers’ right to sell their produce at a Minimum Support Price, which is at least 50 per cent higher than the total cost of production.

3) Statutory minimum wage for workers of not less than Rs. 18,000 per month; wages linked to Consumer Price Index.

4) Universal public distribution system with provision of 35 kg of foodgrains per family, or, 7 kg per individual at a maximum price of Rs. 2 per kg.

5) Right to free health care; end private insurance led healthcare; public expenditure on health to be raised to 5 per cent of GDP.

6) Implement one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies; take comprehensive steps to end violence against women and children.

7) Major expansion of public educational system – schools and higher education – with quality upgradation; public expenditure on education to be 6 per cent of GDP; end communalisation of education system and ensure its democratic character.

8) Right to work as a Constitutional right; provision of unemployment allowance for jobless.

9) Old age pension with minimum monthly pension which is not less than half the minimum wage, or, Rs. 6,000 per month, whichever is higher, for all citizens.

10) Halt privatisation of public sector enterprises and rollback privatisation in defence, energy and railways and basic services.

11) Reservation in jobs & education in private sector for Scheduled Castess & Scheduled Tribes.

12) Raise taxes on rich and corporate profits; restore wealth tax for the super rich and introduce inheritance tax; restore long term capital gains tax.

13) Reform the electoral system by introduction of proportional representation with partial list system; scrap electoral bonds; state funding in kind for electoral expenses.

14) Digital Rights:

i) Recognise digital infrastructure as public infrastructure and to be used for public good.

ii) Stop bulk surveillance by state agencies under Section 69. There should be clear provisions and judicial supervision of any surveillance that violates citizens privacy.

iii) Enact data privacy laws that protect the people against appropriation/misuse of users private data for commercial use

iv) Curb monopolies that use either telecom such as Jio/Airtel/Vodafone or internet service platforms such as Google, Facebook, etc.

15) Transgender Rights:

Passing the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill 2014, to uphold the rights of all transgender persons and removing the lacunae present in the current  Transgender Persons Bill 2018 ; a comprehensive anti-discriminatory bill covering LGBT; reservation in education institutions; ensuring horizontal reservation in employment; ensuring crimes against LGBT persons are treated on par with crimes against non-LGBT persons.