Yet another Betrayal

For several months, the CPI (M) had been spearheading a campaign inside and outside the parliament to "warn the country" against the Indo-US nuclear deal. However, after the Prime Minister made his statement in Parliament the leaders of CPI (M) have declared that all their concerns have been addressed. This raises the question — what really was their concern in the first place.

It is to be noted that the opposition of CPI (M) has not really been to the Indo-US alliance as a matter of principle. It has been to the US attempts in “shifting the goal posts”. Shifting the goalposts is the newest of the catch phrases being used to refer to the attempts by the US House of Representatives to change the specifics of the agreement signed by the US and India in July 2005. The CPI (M) was only opposing changes to this deal, from which one can only draw the conclusion that CPI (M) supports the deal that was signed in July 2005. This has been confirmed by the CPI (M) accepting the speech of Manmohan Singh.

CPI (M) was the first to push for a resolution in Parliament that would reflect ‘the sense of the house’. The ‘sense of the house’ is a non binding resolution that would indicate that the Indian parliament would not agree to any changes in the terms of the agreement signed in July 2005. The BJP led NDA alliance, as well as the Samajwadi Party and some other parties had enthusiastically supported the CPI(M) proposal for a resolution; while the CPI had supported the Congress Party’s proposal for just a discussion followed by a statement by the Prime Minister. When the Congress President Sonia Gandhi warned that if ‘the sense of the house’ resolution was brought to Parliament, the UPA government would fall, the CPI(M) immediately backed down.

Once the CPI (M) backed down, the centre of attention was captured by the tear jerker statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in which he swore to “defend the national interest with the last drop of my blood”. Then the people had to witness on TV the spectacle of ‘visibly moved leaders’ of the CPI (M), declaring that the PM has “reassured” all Indians that our national interests will be protected.

This entire episode looks like a scene from a Bollywood film. We could laugh it off, except that the Indo-US alliance is something very real, and extremely dangerous. It is wrought with catastrophic consequences not only for the Indian and other peoples of this sub-continent, but for all the peoples of Asia and the world. And it is this alliance that has been affirmed by the parliamentary communists.

From the standpoint of the working class and all other anti-imperialist forces, the main issue is not the so-called shifting of goalposts on the nuclear deal. The main issue is the Indo-US alliance which is against their interests and increases the threat of war in the region. The nuclear deal is part of the Indo-US strategic alliance. This strategic alliance is directed against the peoples of India and other countries of Asia, including China.

The Indo-US alliance is an imperialist alliance in the interests of the big monopoly bourgeoisie of the US and India, to coordinate their respective moves to expand their spheres of influence and domination, to intensify the exploitation and plunder of the land and labour of India and of other countries. It is an alliance for spreading wars and using force to export multi-party democracy and suppress nations in the name of curbing terrorism. It is an alliance for spreading communal propaganda and racial profiling against Muslims in the name of targeting fundamentalism. In its essential quality, it is not different from the Anglo-American alliance or the US-Israel alliance directed against the Palestinian, Arab and other peoples.

When Manmohan Singh talks about ‘national interests’, what he means is the interests of the imperialist bourgeoisie of India. This is the man who in 1991 spearheaded the program of capitalist reforms, to fatten the big business houses and pave the way for pursuing the goal of building India as one of the big imperialist global powers. He is a favorite ideologue of the imperialist interests. He is not a friend, but a determined enemy of the anti-imperialist forces.

What does it mean for the CPI (M) leadership to declare that it is “visibly moved” by the emotional speech of Manmohan Singh in defence of ‘national interests’? It means that the CPI (M) leaders are not championing the cause of the anti-imperialist struggle. They are betraying the anti-imperialist forces, who expect all communists to oppose imperialism as a matter of principle.

The world is witnessing the growing unity in action among peoples against US imperialism and its fascist and racist offensive in the name of fighting ‘Islamic terrorists’. Far from spearheading the mass upsurge against imperialism, the leaders of CPI (M) are participating in an inter-imperialist struggle. One of their important concerns is that the Indo-US alliance must not block efforts to also build alliances with Russia, China and other powers, that is become a roadblock to a multi-polar imperialist world. But the most important logic that is defining CPI (M)’s foreign policy is that it should defend the “national interests” of India that is of the Indian bourgeoisie. This is the reason that the CPI(M) has been pushing the slogan of an “independent foreign policy”, as against an anti-imperialist foreign policy.

The Indian bourgeoisie is an imperialist bourgeoisie, which is actively working with the gang of biggest imperialist powers of the world. It is building a strategic alliance with the US to serve its own imperialist pursuit. This imperialist striving of the Indian bourgeoisie is being presented to the working class and people as ‘national interests’. The CPI (M) and the ‘Left Front’ are contributing to this deception.

The anti imperialist forces of India wanted the communists in parliament to make a clear statement to the country —what is the content of the Indo –US alliance. What is the aims of the Indian imperialist bourgeoisie in this alliance. What is the aim of the US imperialist bourgeoisie in this alliance? Whom is this alliance directed against? Why should the Indian people oppose this alliance? Why are other parties supporting this alliance. CPI (M) and its Left Front partners did not do this.

The task of communists is to raise the consciousness of the working class and broad masses of people using all forums including parliament. It is certainly not to defend the “national interests” of the Indian imperialist bourgeoisie as CPI (M) has done.