Volume 38 No. 20 Organ of the SOCIALIST UNITY CENTRE OF INDIA June 1, 2005 Founder Editor-in-Chief : COMRADE SHIBDAS GHOSH Price : Rs. 2.00 STATE FUNDING OF ELECTIONS SUCI condemns horse-trading and dissolution Dangerous move to gag people’s of Assembly in Bihar Comrade Nihar Mukherjee, General Secretary, SUCI, in a statement issued today, voice in parliamentary forum strongly condemned the open indulgence of the BJP and its allies in horse-trading for anyhow The issue of parliamentary election in our the Prime Minister could not, rather did not grabbing power in Bihar. Comrade Mukherjee country surfaced recently with a few passing answer a few relevant questions, like “Why has also vehemently criticized the narrow sectarian remarks of the Prime Minister. Reportedly at a financing political parties become a major source and naked partisan manner in which the media-meet at Bangalore on February 12 last, he of generation of black income?”, or “Why cannot Congress-led UPA government with the elaborated his call for “collective mobilization of any single party say that it can deal with the support of the CPI(M)-CPI dissolved the Bihar the will of the nation and a broad national problem by itself?”, “Doesn’t the malady then lie Assembly. consensus” to fight corruption under a national in the system itself?”, “How will the Prime This highly undemocratic act, said agenda. To him, state funding of elections should Minister propose to rout it from the system?”. We Comrade Mukherjee, once again brought to the be on that national agenda as one of the vital bring in this note for a brief discussion on these fore the extent to which all these bourgeois issues, with a need for a national consensus to questions that the Prime Minister has left political parties while canting the canons of ensure greater transparency in financing of unanswered. Incidentally the remarks came in the democracy can go to flout and trample even the political parties and spending on elections. He wake of the Chief Election Commissioner T.S. barest precepts of democratic norms and argued, “Financing political parties is a major Krishna Murthy suggesting a comprehensive principles in their bid to satisfy lust for pelf source of generation of black income in our case for electoral reforms, in his July 5, 2004 and power. It is, therefore, high time for the country. No single party can say that it can deal letter to the Prime Minister. Even the issue of people of the country to rise up against the with the problem by itself” and so the need for a state funding was nothing new. anti-people forces and expose their murky national consensus. In June 1998, the BJP-led NDA Government game, exhorted Comrade Mukherjee. Obviously, in the short span of a media-meet, Contd. on page 2 SUCI attends 14th International Communist Seminar in Brussels The 14th International the first day on this theme, Comrade by the US imperialism, were moved in which all the leaders of the Communist Seminar was held Mukherjee dealing with the and adopted in the Seminar. participant parties were invited on recently in Brussels, Belgium from ‘Current experiences of joint work Particularly the general resolution the dais. May 2 to 4, 2005. Communist and among Communist and Workers’ was elaborately discussed, with Below, we reproduce a synopsis Workers’ parties of different parties : their internationalist tasks’ participants suggesting amendments of the speech delivered by Comrade countries, numbering as high as as under the main theme. He and modifications. Manik Mukherjee. fifty, participated in the Seminar, presented a comprehensive paper This assembly of Communist while fourteen others were present highlighting the main points on the and Workers’ parties of different Comrade President and Comrades, as observers. Fiftysix other subject, that our party, the SUCI, countries decided that next year in I, on behalf of my party, organizations who could not make it has been emphasizing upon in the 2006, the Seminar will deliberate Socialist Unity Centre of India, to the Seminar because of visa and light of the invaluable teachings of on the theme of “Influence of wish all success of this Brussels such other problems, had sent Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the Communist International in International Communist Seminar messages or papers and expressed Founder General Secretary of SUCI different countries”. The present 2005. I also congratulate the their solidarity. Comrade Manik and one of the foremost Marxist Seminar also made an appeal to Workers’ Party of Belgium, PTB Mukherjee, Staff Member and thinkers of the era. The discussion build up a massive anti-imperialist for including the vital topic of Deputy, International Affairs, SUCI, continued on the second day, while movement throughout the world. It experiences and tasks of joint work represented our party, the SUCI at a 50-point general resolution and was further decided to publish of communist and workers’ parties the Seminar. The main theme for others including one resolution on polemical papers on website twice a of different countries, to be discussion in the Seminar was set as Socialist Korea ( North Korea) and year and to undertake research work discussed in the Seminar. “Internationalist Experiences and another on Socialist Cuba, in the for that purpose. By the end of the Second World Tasks of Communists in the last case particularly highlighting Prior to commencement of the War, the imperialists-capitalists Struggle against Imperialism”. the valiant fight Cuba is conducting Seminar, the Communist Party of faced insurmountable recession and Comrade Manik Mukherjee and a against the threat, intimidation and Belgium (PTB) organized a irresolvable contradictions and number of other speakers spoke on intrigue of world imperialism, led programme of May Day celebration, Contd. on page 4 PAGE TWO JUNE 1, 2005 PROLETARIAN ERA No state funding, only mass movement is the brake to black money in election Contd. from page 1 the state funding issue for a brief even during counting, assumed looks paltry in the face of vulgar constituted a multi-party study, though we feel that we may alarming proportions all over the extravagance of candidates of one parliamentary committee under the need to take up discussions on other country, not excluding the states and all the parliamentary parties, chairmanship of Indrajit Gupta of occasions to show how in the name run by the so-called lefts like national or regional. Mind that, CPI to look into the question of of smoothening or developing CPI(M). This way the total spending by the party itself is kept state funding of elections. The other election processes, the other reforms electioneering process is thus beyond the purview of this ceiling, members of the committee were suggested will only pave way for mutilated and distorted, fast and obviously leaving a loophole to from CPI(M), Congress(I), BJP, hindering genuine representative increasingly. And in the manner it circumvent the law, and a scope, as Shiv Sena, AIADMK and Samata force of people, the force that fight degraded, it has also become well, for black money to flood the Party. The committee recommended for them from taking part in gradually virtually impossible for electioneering process. Then again, partial state funding of only the parliamentary forum at all. genuine representative of people to in addition to the usual heads of recognised national or State Here, we should submit first win an election battle and get expenses on campaign, which were political parties and their candidates that the question of reforms has elected to the legislative forum. The already sky-high, there are liberal in elections. It further indicated that come up parallel to gradual capitalist system thus takes to a cash handouts to local musclemen, the ultimate aim should be that all deterioration of the electioneering technique of effectively film or TV stars or ‘celebrities’ from legitimate expenses of political process, virtually since disenfranchising common people, other fields to stage crowd-pulling parties are funded by the state. It independence and establishment of while offering them franchise and show business. virtually amounted to the fact that the capitalist rule in the country. while chanting alluring slogans of The question that comes up the committee members who made The ruling capitalist class has democracy. The 14th Lok Sabha naturally in people’s mind, as it did the recommendations were always tried to use and control this election of the last year was not during this last instance of election themselves the beneficiaries. means to their end. They thus just the latest, it represented the is : wherefrom this huge sum of (Frontline, February 13-26,1999) wanted to ensure that such political worst of its kind hitherto money is coming and why , to be Avowedly the aim of state forces be in power that will serve experienced by the people. spent in such a bane exercise of funding was to discourage political them the best and help maintain the Electioneering has thus been electing this or that political party, parties from seeking any external prevailing capitalist rule. However, simply an interplay of money, mafia all of which have proved their funding from private contributors immediately after the independence, and a major and influential section uselessness in giving people the (except a nominal membership fee) the Congress, the party in power as of the media, sponsored, steered and minimum relief amidst the all-out to run their affairs, carry out the then most trusted representative blessed by the monopolists- crisis of this society. People know it political programmes and conduct of the ruling class, enjoyed some capitalists. It is anything other than from their daily experience, but are election campaigns. As popular support, rather in legacy of a reflection of people’s opinion and not always sure of the answer.