The Unity Centre Of Communist Revolutionaries Of India (Marxist-Leninist) (UCCRI-ML), founded by Comrades DV Rao and Tarimela Nagi Reddy, is fielding candidates in about 40 constituencies out of a total of 119, in the Telangana State (TS) Assembly elections due to be held on November 30. It utilizes the election to spread revolutionary politics and mass movements.
In a press release dated October 23, Vinod, the Secretary of the Organization, explained its policy, this time with a focus on the war-mongering policies of the ruling classes.
Instead of making some promises, it gave a call to “Defeat the reactionary ruling class forces which are dragging our people and country into the orbit of the US super power war strategy!”
And it appeals to people to “support the candidates of UCCRI(ML) fighting for land, democracy and independence!”
The UCCRI situated the election in the current global context:
“ The US super power, in its drive for global hegemony, is engulfing one region after another into the flames of war by inciting and stoking the various conflicts. The raging Russia-Ukraine war and the fresh conflagration in West Asia are the most recent in this list. The US is stoking the fires of war in South Asia and the Asia Pacific Region towards the same end. Pro-US super power forces are active as never before in our country aiding and abetting the US designs. The danger of war is looming over this vast region of Asia where more than 400 crore people live, including 140 crore people of our country.
In view of this grim situation, the need of the hour is to defeat the pro-US super power reactionary forces in the elections and strengthen the forces of independence, peace and development in the country.”
The UCCRI-ML upholds and practises revolutionary mass line. It does not subscribe to the parliamentary path; however, it has been using elections as a tactic to educate and organize people, by exposing the policies and practices of the ruling classes, as represented by various political parties. It seeks to educate people to shed various illusions, and to focus on real and basic issues, and on immediate tasks. The UCCRI said:
“ We will carry out an extensive political campaign to expose the reactionary policies of the ruling classes and to explain the need for the people to shed illusions and to struggle for land, democracy and independence to resolve their basic problems. We will protect, defend and extend the mass revolutionary movement through this campaign.”
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) founded and led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has been the ruling party of Telangana state (TS)ever since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh (undivided AP) into two states in 2014. The TRS, in recent past, reorganized itself as an all India party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and is also contesting elections outside Telangana, for the first time in the name of BRS. The Congress party and BJP are the major parties in the fray . The UCCRI exposed the policies of the ruling party thus:
“ The BRS which is in the electoral fray has served the big business, foreign capital and the landlord class all through its nine year tenure in the State. As far as people are concerned, the ‘welfare measures’ of the government are mere sops and do not touch even the fringe of their problems. As a result the problems faced by the people are becoming more and more severe. The BRS went out of its way to favour the big business, landlords and the rich through schemes which it had not promised. But it refused to implement many promises it made for the poor like land to the landless and poor peasants, 2 BHK housing for all the needy. Rural and urban poor had to resort to prolonged struggle to resolve these problems. The official machinery of the government harassed them through repression and tiresome litigation instead of conceding their just demands. It is the result of the anti-people attitude of the BRS government. Some last minute steps of the BRS government before elections cannot cover up this fact. People should oppose this anti-people attitude and policies of the BRS government.”
The tall claims of the ruling party that BRS is the real alternative for India was questioned in the following words:
“ The BRS has made some suggestions to adjust the Centre-State relations within the existing framework. These cannot resolve the problems born out of the Centre’s autocratic powers over the States. It has no programme for democracy for the people and for the nationalities in the country, except some suggestions to adjust existing Centre-State relations.
“ It has no programme for an independent foreign policy for the country. In fact it has not declared a foreign policy though it claims to be an all-India party. Hence people cannot expect this party to meet the demands of the people or the country. It talks of a new type of politics in the country in the place of the Congress Vs BJP type of hackneyed politics. But it is yet to declare its position on crucial questions before the people and the country as we have said above.”
The BJP is making a serious attempt to entrench itself in Telangana by wooing leaders from other parties, with a call for a ‘double-engine sarkar,’ and planned an aggressive campaign with scores of meetings by PM Modi, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath (UP CM) and other leaders. The UCCRI-ML sharply attacked the BJP in the following words:
“ Defeat BJP an autocratic party with one-nation chauvinism, Hindu religious fanaticism, and subservience to the US-super power”
“ The BJP has been the ruling party at the Centre for nine years. In addition it was running a parallel administration in the State using the autocratic powers of the Centre and the institution of the Governor. It has served the big business, foreign capital and the landlords all through its tenure. It is running a repressive regime of undeclared emergency using and beefing up all the black laws in the country. It has clamped a rule of armed forces and para- military in Jammu-Kashmir and the North-East. It is opposed to the unity and development of the various nationalities in the country and uses its one-nation chauvinism for this purpose. It is employing autocratic powers of the Centre to suppress the legitimate rights of States and even to make and unmake governments there. It is suppressing its political opponents using the coercive central agencies. It has a notorious record of inciting Hindu religious fanaticism.”
Exposing the ‘nationalist’ claims of the BJP, the UCCRI analysed:
“ Its foreign policy is one of national chauvinism, expansionism and hegemony over neighbours and subservience to the US-super power’s hegemony.
“ It is for this reason that it has joined the Quad and the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the US super power as well as its schemes for hegemony in West Asia. The Modi government is serving as the apologist of the latest US-backed Israeli war in West Asia. It shows that Modi’s preachings about this not being an age of war are empty words to cover up the real nature of his policies.
“ The “Hindu” religious fanaticism and hatred for Muslim people in the country and elsewhere has added to the reactionary and pro-US nature of its foreign policy. In a word, the BJP represents a reactionary pro-US super power force and people should defeat it in the elections.”
The Congress party that served the ruling classes for decades and indulged in worst repression in Telangana, and that was defeated in the new state of Telangana in 2014 and 2019, is making a serious bid to come back to power. The UCCRI exposed its policies, and called people not to nurse any illusions thus:
“ The Congress had been in power at the Centre as well as the State for decades at a stretch and still enjoys power in several States. It has faithfully served and continues to serve the big business, foreign capital and landlords of the country all this while. It has run repressive regimes based on undeclared and declared emergency, on the armed forces and the para-military and built up a formidable machinery of repression and black laws to support the same. It had pursued pro-imperialist foreign policies all the while including pro-US super power policies. Even while being in the opposition, it is vying with the ruling BJP in following repressive policies in every sense as well as in pursuing reactionary pro-US super power foreign policies. It is clear that it is a pro-US super power reactionary force and people should oppose it as such without nursing any illusions on it.”
Criticising the welfare schemes and freebies called as revdis by the PM, as an ‘auction where votes are purchased, using public money, by the highest bidder’, the press release said:
“ These parties are declaring a series of schemes to purchase votes using public money in the name of their Manifestoes. In fact there is veritable competition between the BRS and Congress in this respect. This flurry of competitive schemes resembles an auction where votes are purchased by the highest bidder rather than simple purchase of votes. BJP claims to oppose such schemes, but is also joining these parties in practice. The sum and essence of these schemes is to extend minor sops to the various sections of the people in order to divert their attention from their real problems and their resolution.”
An educative campaign popularizing the following demands
Elections in India, more so in Telangana, increasingly are reduced into a contest between moneybags: Hundreds of crores of rupees, per each constituency, were earlier spent by various parties in by-elections. The elections are aided and accompanied by hired campaigners, huge supply of liquor to voters for weeks together, and all undemocratic practices. They are powered by rank caste and communal politics.
The UCCRI, while shunning and exposing such practices, stresses the need to build a mass revolutionary movement led by it. It holds several street-corner meetings in each constituency, with the help of scores of mobile campaign teams, distributes lakhs of pamphlets with its politics and demands. Unlike other parties that mostly speak on their doles, UCCRI conducts a massive and educative political campaign popularizing the following demands:
- India should quit the Quad, reject the so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy and come out of the orbit of pro- US super power foreign policy. Instead it should adopt an independent foreign policy to serve the genuine national interests of the country for peace and development and to oppose war mongering under any pretext.
- Pursue independent economic policies free from the subservience to US strategy for global domination.
- Self-reliance and protection to national Industries in general and to Telugu National industry in particular.
- Improvement in the working conditions of workers and middle classes and necessary wage increase.
- Abolish landlordism and distribute land to the tiller.
- Development of an anti-feudal and anti-imperialist education and culture in general; and in particular to realize the national unity of Telugu people and an all-round development of Telugu culture and language.
- Abolish all the repressive black laws. Guarantee complete democracy for all national and democratic and revolutionary forces so that the present semi-feudal and semi-colonial political and economic system may be changed.
The Appeal to voters concludes with these words:
“This is a programme of the people and we will raise the consciousness of the people and expose anti-people and reactionary policies on this basis.
“We appeal to the people to support these demands and our candidates and vote for them in the ensuing elections to Telangana Assembly on November 30, 2023.”
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Author MA Krishna is a media person who contributed articles to countercurrents.org, including on subjects related to Telangana.
Among them are :
Grameena Pedala Sangham, Telangana State conference, is an important mile-stone ( 22/03/2023)
BJP’s Mission South and Politics of Hate in Telangana (12/09/2022)
