KANNUR: CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that all the left and secular democratic forces should unite to isolate and defeat the BJP. He also said that it was up to the Congress party to decide for itself whether to stand up for the secular and democratic character of India. He was speaking after inaugurating the 23rd party congress of the CPM.

"The struggle for a people's alternative must be strengthened by building a broad front of secular forces. Left unity must be strengthened to meet the challenges. The Congress and some regional parties must end their internal strife and prepare for the fight against the BJP. We have seen that the shaky attitude and compromise approach have paved the way for the fallout from such parties to communal forces. All political parties promoting secularism should seize the opportunity. The CPM and the Left Democratic Front in Kerala, which are implementing pro-people policies instead of the neo-liberal agenda, uncompromisingly uphold secularism and see everyone as equal regardless of caste, creed or gender. As a result, Kerala continues to rank high in the world on the Social Development Index. The CPM will make every effort to build a strong Communist Party, a strong Left Unity and thereby a Left Democratic Front," Yechury said.

"Since the BJP came to power for the second time, the communal agenda of the RSS has been intensified. Neoliberal reforms are strengthened by the communal-corporate alliance. The public property of the country is being plundered. Dictatorship is imposed. The RSS is trying to establish a unitary state by abolishing the federal structure. The BJP government also failed in dealing with the Covid pandemic. Instead of bringing relief to the people, they are raising the prices of petroleum products day by day, creating inflation and imposing an extra burden on the people. They cannot be isolated by elections alone. This requires continuous efforts at the political, ideological, cultural and social levels. The most important of these is to increase the CPM's independent strength and capacity for political intervention," Yechury added.