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Yechury is new chief of CPI-M, vows to strengthen party
Visakhapatnam, April 19
Senior leader Sitaram
Yechury was unanimously elected the new general secretary of the
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Sunday -- the last day of
the party's 21st Congress here. He resolved to strengthen the party to
meet the challenges faced by the country and the organisation.
At
the meeting of the new Central Committee (CC) on the last day of the
party's 21st Congress, outgoing general secretary Prakash Karat proposed
Yechury's name and S. Ramchandran Pillai seconded it.
The 91-member CC, the highest executive body of the party, unanimously approved Yechury's installation as the party chief.
The
election of 62-year-old Yechury came after Pillai, who was reportedly
in the fray for the top party post, withdrew thereby ensuring that the
party continued its tradition of electing its leader unanimously.
Prakash
Karat, who headed the party for a decade, later made the formal
announcement in front of the media at the end of the six-day conclave.
Yechury,
who termed the new task as challenging, introduced the 16-member
politburo. Yechury, who has been serving as the politburo member of the
party since 1992, is the fifth general secretary of the 50-year-old
party.
He faces the onerous task of giving a new lease of life
to the party, whose strength in the Lok Sabha was reduced to
single-digit in last year's general elections.
Addressing the
media, Yechury described the 21st Congress as the congress for the
future of the party, India and Left unity. He said the strength of the
party lay in its collective functioning.
Referring to the new
tactical line and the political resolution adopted at the conclave, he
admitted that it will not be possible for the party to implement them
without strengthening itself organisationally.
The new general
secretary said the party would hold organisational plenum before the end
of 2015 to strengthen the party to face the challenges.
Claiming
that CPI-M is the only party which can protect the interests of the
vast millions of working people, he said it would work with other Left
and democratic forces to oppose "the Narendra Modi government's
neo-liberal economic policies and communalism".
"Our job is to
overthrow the present class rule in order to bring people's democracy,"
he said while calling for uniting the struggles against the new economic
policies and social repression.
"What we have today is not only a
government headed by communal forces but a government which is more
aggressively pursuing the agenda of neo-liberal economic policies," he
said.
He added: "The Modi government has unleashed a new trimurti
-- communalism, neo-liberal economic policies and erosion of democratic
practices. We must ensure that this trimurti unleashed by it doesn't
convert into a trishul that will pierce the heart of India."
Contending
that the crisis in capitalism has deepened and continues to deepen, the
communist leader said there is no solution for people except by
strengthening the struggle of socialism.
"People ask what is the
future of communism and socialism. There is only one answer... if there
is any future of human civilization, it lies in socialism," he
asserted.
He said the situation, both internationally and
nationally, was ripe for the advancement of people's struggle but the
party could utilise it only by strengthening its organisational and
political capacity.
"Return from this party congress with resolve
and conviction that we shall fight, we shall win," Yechury said amid
cheers by the delegates.
The CC also elected a new politburo.
Four new politburo members are Mohammed Saleem, Subhashini Ali, Hannan
Mollah and G. Ramakrishnan.
Subhashini Ali is the second woman in the politburo after Brinda Karat.
The
politburo members are Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, S.
Ramchandran Pillai, Biman Basu, Manik Sarkar, Pinyarayi Vijayan, B.V.
Raghavulu, K. Balakrishnan, M.A. Baby, S.K. Mishra, A.K. Padmanabhan,
Mohammed Saleem, Subhashini Ali, Hannan Mollah and G. Ramakrishnan.
Earlier, the Congress elected the new CC.
Veteran leaders V.S. Achuthanandan, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Nirupam Sen were dropped from the body.
Apart from 91 members, the CC has five special invitees and five permanent invitees.
Visakhapatnam, April 19
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Sunday unanimously elected Sitaram Yechury as the new general secretary of the party.
At
the meeting of the new Central Committee (CC) on the last day of the
party's 21st Congress, outgoing general secretary Prakash Karat proposed
Yechury's name and S. Ramchandran Pillai seconded it. The 91-member CC
unanimously approved it.
The election of 62-year-old Yechury came
after Pillai, who was reportedly in the fray for the top party post,
withdrew, ensuring that the party continued its tradition of electing
its leader unanimously.
Prakash Karat later made the formal
announcement before the media. Yechury, who termed the new task as
challenging, introduced the 16-member politburo.
The four new politburo members are Mohammed Saleem, Subhashini Ali, Hannan Mollah and G. Ramakrishnan.
Subhashini Ali is the second woman in the politburo after Brinda Karat.
The
politburo members are Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, S.
Ramchandran Pillai, Biman Basu, Manik Sarkar, Pinyarayi Vijayan, B.V.
Raghavulu, K. Balakrishnan, M.A. Baby, S.K. Mishra, A.K. Padmanabhan,
Mohammed Saleem, Subhashini Ali, Hannan Mollah and G. Ramakrishnan.
Earlier,
the Congress elected the new CC. It approved the names finalised by the
outgoing politburo on Saturday night. This was followed by the election
of the new politburo and the general secretary by the CC.
Apart from 91 members, the CC has five special invitees and five permanent invitees.