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No difference of opinion within CPI(M) over K-Rail: Sitaram Yechury
Kerala is witnessing a fierce protest over the CPI(M) government’s big ticket ( ₹63, 491 crore) project to connect Kasaragod in the north and Thiruvananthapuram in the south to reduce the current travel time of 12 hours to just four
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday denied reports that the party’s central leadership and the Kerala unit differ on the proposed K- Rail project in the southern state.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a party congress in Kannur in north Kerala, he said the organisation takes all decisions after extensive consultations at different levels and there is no difference of opinion on the K- Rail project.
“We have made it clear a number of times that there is no difference of opinion on K-Rail. Why do you always ask about this? If you want, I can say that in any other language you need,” he retorted when media persons asked about reports that a section of the party was worried about the ongoing agitation against the project and the government’s move to ignore it.
The state is witnessing a fierce protest over the government’s big ticket ( ₹63, 491 crore) project to connect north Kerala’s Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram in the south to reduce the current travel time of 12 hours to just four. Though the Union government is yet to give a green signal for the project, the state government has started laying survey stones, triggering widespread protests.
Party insiders said many delegates from West Bengal reminded the state unit about its bitter experience in Nandigram and Singur (two proposed big projects under the then CPI(M) regime that were shelved in 2007-08 following widespread violence), which eventually led to the uninterrupted reign of the Left front in Bengal.
Leaders from Maharashtra too pointed out the party’s different stand on the Mumbai-Ahmadabad bullet train and K-Rail projects. The CPI(M) is in the forefront of the protest against the bullet train project claiming that it will only cater to the rich; leaders from Maharashtra are irked that this duplicity of the party position on K-rail is difficult for them to come to terms with.
Many young leaders who spoke at the Kerala congregation asked the central leadership to follow on the footprints of the Aam Adami Party, which is in power in two states and vigorously planning to expand its base in other states. They said parties like AAP are taking the space of Left and secular forces, and the CPI(M) will have to strive hard to expand its base.
Ties with Congress
Party insiders further said that there was an intense discussion at the congress on the party’s possible ties with primary opposition party Congress to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party. A majority of those who spoke on the draft political resolution from Kerala opposed any kind of alliance with the Congress. They pointed out the latest instance of Congress leadership barring party leaders from attending the debate at the congress.
But many from the West Bengal cadre reiterated that an alliance without Congress will be a futile exercise, adding that the Congress still is an all-India entity with 24 per cent vote share, and it will be suicidal to keep the party out of the alternative.
“We can’t sacrifice the whole party just to satisfy the Kerala unit. We agree it is the only state where the party is in power and its major opponent is Congress, but at the same time state leaders should see the larger picture and increasing threat from Sangh Parivar [the RSS] outfits. An alternative without Congress will be a futile exercise,” said a central committee member of the CPI(M).
