Manufacturing Parliamentary Approval to Race Ahead
With Capitalist Reforms and Imperialist Agenda!
Statement
of the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar
Party of India, 26 July, 2008
The
televised spectacle of the debate and vote of confidence in Parliament on 21st
and 22nd July has once again exposed the ugly face of Indian
democracy. In this representative democracy parliamentarians speak in the
name of "aam admi",
while they pursue their narrow self interests and those of their corporate
capitalist patrons. The vote of confidence showed that the outcome is not
decided by the debate in parliament. It showed very starkly that the
result had already been decided while the debate was a mere charade.
The
events reveal that the Indian capitalist class, headed by the Tatas, Reliance and other monopoly corporate houses, is the
one making the decision. The capitalists want the UPA government to
survive and have ensured this result. The bourgeoisie considered it
worthwhile to invest several hundred crores of rupees
to make sure that "Singh is king". Parliamentary approval was
manufactured through whatever means at hand, including bribery, blackmail and
kidnapping.
The
capitalists of India and the world are happy that the Congress Party has won
new supporters in place of the communist and left bloc. They are egging
on the Congress Party to push through the nuclear deal and strategic
partnership with the United States and accelerate the capitalist reform
program. Their rising expectations are reflected in the upturn in the
Indian stock markets.
The
capitalist corporations are looking forward to the increased private profits
that can be reaped from nuclear industry and trade. They are looking
forward to the passage of several pending Bills in the parliament. One is
to privatise workers' pension funds. There are
bills to liberalise foreign investment in banking,
insurance and multi-brand retail sectors. There are also amendments to labour laws, to permit employers to super-exploit
workers.
The
bourgeoisie has managed to strengthen its position, both internationally and
within the country. The Parliament has once again served the bourgeoisie
to legitimise its rule and the course on which it is
leading the country.
An
important conclusion to draw is that Parliament is not an instrument of the
people's will. It is an instrument of the will of the bourgeois
class. It is an institution to legitimise what
is decided by a small minority in society – the capitalist class headed by the
corporate houses, the Indian millionaires and billionaires.
People
must not forget the context in which the Manmohan
government was formed. In 2004, mass resistance to the so-called second
generation of capitalist reforms, spearheaded by the Vajpayee regime, had grown
wider and deeper. Workers and peasants were on the streets against the liberalisation and privatisation
program. The BJP claimed that India was shining, but the broad masses of
people rejected this slogan. It was in such a context that the
bourgeoisie backed the Congress Party to form the government with the promise
of making India shine for all, by implementing capitalist reforms with a
"human face".
The
formation of the UPA government and its so-called Common Minimum Programme were moves to pacify the masses, by once again
sowing illusions among them that a 'middle path' is possible, that would
allegedly satisfy the bourgeoisie as well as the toiling masses. With one
section within the communist movement extending support to this 'middle path',
the bourgeoisie succeeded in temporarily pacifying and confusing the workers
and peasants.
Four
and half years after the formation of the UPA government, the so-called 'human
face' lies in shatters. The ugly inhuman character of capitalism and
market reforms is nakedly exposed for all to see. What the UPA government
has pursued is the capitalist imperialist path, same as the NDA. This
path is aimed at maximising joint exploitation and
plunder of our land and labour by Indian and foreign
corporations – and at India entering the elite club of top ten powers of the
world. This is the path of liberalisation and privatisation, to serve the globalisation
drive of the bourgeoisie. It is the path of intensifying state terror in
the name of fighting 'Islamic terrorism' and 'naxalism'.
It is the path of organising bomb blasts to create
panic and justify further attacks on human rights in the name of fighting
terrorism. It is not possible to stay on this path and at the same time
satisfy the needs of the workers and peasants.
While
the confidence vote in favour of the UPA gives it
another 4-8 months of life, the future in 2009 and beyond remains a big
question mark. The bourgeoisie has cause to worry. Not only are
both Congress Party and BJP discredited in the eyes of the majority of
people. The entire system of parliamentary democracy faces a crisis of
credibility. A lot depends on what the communists decide to do in this
situation.
For
communists to have any credibility among the people, it is essential to fight
uncompromisingly against the liberalisation and privatisation program, and for a new economic orientation
of fulfilling the needs of the toiling masses. Communists must exploit
the credibility crisis of bourgeois democracy, to boldly put forth a vision and
program of radical overhauling of the political process, to make people the
decision makers. It will be treachery if communists advocate any illusory
middle path and align themselves to a parliamentary front that would stick to
the capitalist imperialist agenda of the bourgeoisie.
The
Communist Ghadar Party of India calls on all its
members and supporters, and all Indian communists and revolutionaries, to rise
to the occasion. The immediate task is to build and strengthen a
political front of lakhs of workers' unions and organisations of peasants, of women, youth, oppressed
nationalities, victimised communities and religious
minorities, and of all parties that are interested in defeating the offensive
of the bourgeoisie, in bringing the toiling masses to power and opening the
path to all-round progress.
No
compromise with the liberalisation and privatisation program!
No
compromise with the imperialist foreign policy!
No
compromise with communalism, state terrorism, and any violation of rights!