Left’s manifesto shows it’s still stuck in Jurassic Age

The manifesto of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was on predictable lines with its pronounced anti-capitalist tirades. Across the country the Right, the Centre and Left parties had shed the anti-capitalism baggage on the valid contention that a passion for higher growth can be justified on the grounds of redistribution of the dividends of growth for an inclusive agenda. But the Left is still not able to come to terms with nourishing and strengthening entrepreneurial forces in the real sectors of the economy and is content to live in a Jurassic Age. It is out of sync with the biting realities of the contemporary trope. This is amply and annoyingly demonstrated in its 48-page red-book manifesto of the national poll to the 16th Lok Sabha.

To claim that the manifesto calls for reinforcing the CPI(M) and Left representation in the Lower House for beefing up the “secular-democratic foundations and strengthen a pro-people alternative” is to presume that other parties do not have similar credentials! This claim runs contrary to the past experience of democratic governance. Neither the Congress nor the BJP, either by itself or in coalition, over the last 18 years, had jeopardised national harmony or resorted to anti-people policies. As a coalition partner with the UPA I, the Left’s obstructionist policies and ostrich-like attitude on civil nuclear cooperation with the United States were denounced by the public in the 2009 elections. Little wonder that its numbers in Parliament drastically shrunk.

The CPI(M) criticism of the UPA’s failures — unrelenting rise in the prices of food and other essential commodities, less than one per cent annual growth in employment, misuse of the country’s natural resources, the spectrum debacle, humongous tax concessions to corporate houses, forgoing taxes to the tune of Rs21 lakh crore between 2009-2013, and mindless pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies — were all familiar refrain. Some of these genuine charges have been highlighted by other parties, including the Right. It had led to pandemonium in Parliament for which the country suffered. The CPI(M) also castigates the BJP by tracing the telecom and coal block allocation scams to the NDA regime!

Another ludicrous assertion of the manifesto is that the economic policies of the UPA had led to transfer of resources from the people to the rich, with India’s billionaires (owning assets of Rs5,000 crore and above) now rising to 56 from just 13 in 2003! Industrialists and information technology entrepreneurs had amassed wealth by leveraging their competitive and comparative advantages in a combative world, and also provided employment. They also undertook several novel initiatives and philanthropic activities as part of their Corporate Social Responsibilties. The least one should understand is that without wealth there can hardly be any resources for poverty alleviation. The passion for growth for any business lies in the desire to care and share with others the resultant gains. When countries like China and Russia have moved away from the rigid doctrines of Communism, why is the Left still stuck in the rut?

The author is a freelance journalist based in Delhi