Congress Splits Over Tactics

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Mrs Gandhi She enlit the narty after failino The tensions within the Indian Congress Party reached breaking point last week with an organisational split in the party ranks.

Strain has been increasing since the electoral defeat last March which ended the Gandhi dictatorship.

After failing to gain control of the party apparatus, Gandhi called a meeting to declare her faction the 'real Indian National Already a third of the Working Committee (the party's highest policy-making body) was in support of the former Prime Minister, and this is probably an accurate reflection of her support throughout the party.

Build party

At the meeting Gandhi announced that she had been 'elected' President, but only 'for a while', and that she would build up the party with the slogan Forward to Socialism' Both groups which claim to be the 'real' Congress have now expelled each other. These moves open up the possibility of a major realignment of the dominant political parties.

The last major split within the Congress took place in 1969. again engineered by Landowning 13e: 01255 : actions same adiance .. ...•==E =: industrial ....- = question of conflicts, despite a sissen practices of the Garin eadership.

..:905 lay in a disagree=.: as o which tactics come se apphed to preserve =i develop bourgeois rule. The suits of Gandhi's * zere clearly seen in = = working class policies :: == 'Emergency' dictators==:9-5-77.

Many of the forces which i55: sha: struggle in 1969 are === := be found in three of = :ve parties which form ==-ing Janata coalition.

Tre Janata has been under seize internal pressure since :: = office, and sections = nell seek to renew their istration with the Congress a led by Brahamananda Redis Mass opposition The coalition was swept I:: power last March by the = 20 apposition to the Ga=i: dictatorship.

I: sever offered any se::us programme to resolve = economic and social Fissiers of the workers and pisaris. and its present Fences shuitle in pathetic edison from the encourzE==e=: of imperialist invest===: and aid. to attempts at sunshing a stronger native 55=I:3512.

The zovemment has now 1: is: moved to abolish the Too ani hated Maintenmace :: Internal Security Act, acy =ter: has ensured the Fate suma:. if less fragrantly itera powers with the C===i Picredure Code.

I== MISA was consistentagainst union =tes Ei srie leaders, By DAVID WHITFIELD as hostile to the interests of the working class as its Congress predecessor.

The thousands of workers who have moved into strike action in attempts to regain the living standards slashed by the dictatorship, have met with betrayal and repression.

As this movement has gathered strength, landless peasants have come into violent conflict with the big landowners, as they have tried to implement the long-promised land reform measures themselves by seizing land to save themselves from starvation.

Dramatic growth

In this turbulent situation there has been a dramatic growth of support for the radical parties of the peasantry, and those groups struggling for regional autonomy or independence as a solution to the misery imposed by the international dominance of capitalism.

The same developments have had a major impact on the parties of the working-class.

The Socialist Party of George Fernandes has found itsel: not only compromised = ine ageasngly obvious anti-working class character of the Janata coalition in which it participates, but also squeezed into insignificance by faction struggles within the coalition.

Huge fall

The fate of these class collaborators has been paralleled by the huge fall in support for the pro-Moscow Communist Party of India, the CP(I).

The CP(I) provided the most outspoken backing for the Gandhi dictatorship, and even now continues to hail the fallen dictator as the leader of the 'progressive bourgeoisie', though its pronouncements have become less frequent and more cautious.

There have been mass resignations from the party's base, especially in the states of Gujurat and West Bengal, where they have taken the form of defections to the Communist Party (Marxist).

Denounced link

In West Bengal the CP(I)'s youth organisation has denounced any link with either faction of the Congress and may well fuse with the CP(M)'s youth organisation.

The CP(M) consistently struggled against the dictatorship, but its reluctance to mobilise the independent strength of the working class is as determined as that of the CP(I).

While the CP(I) remain in the popular front state government of Kerala, the CP (M) used its absolute majority in West Bengal to institute a 'left-front' government with the Janata. and has made a tacle series 3: B.eS.OT1 :" set.... "

But this agreement appears to be breaking up under pressure from the rank and file membership: there was no such alliance in the recent state elections in Tripura where the CP(M) won a sweeping majority.

Neither party has yet declared its intentions for the February elections in five states, including Karmataka where the Janata government has imposed direct rule from Delhi, claiming that the fighting within the Congress had made the state government ineffective.

Complete chaos

But nothing reveals more sharply the development in the political situation than the regrouping of the Naxalites, who were thrown into complete political and organisational chaos during the emergency, with sections supporting Gandhi while the regime imprisoned and killed members and sympathisers in a concerted campaign.

The socalled Centre: ard onin doubt attempt to resurrect the CP(M-L) in the image of its ancestor as a peasant-based guerilla movement.

As the Indian workers and peasants are drawn daily into increasing conflict with the formidable array of Stalinist and other forces striving for their political controls, Callaghan has arrived to combine a relaxing tourist trip with some business designed to aid the Indian and British bourgeoisie, and betray the international working class just a little further.

British Labour MPs such as Foot and Lee were notorious for their eulogies of the Gandhi regime, and Callaghan even sent her a telegram of commiseration on her electoral defeat!

His visit is to include an interview with this architect of oppression, a step not yet taken by any visiting diplomat since legal proceedings were instituted against her.

But Callaghan 5 bedece is cats and like bene The British PM will also be attempting to enforce further trade restrictions such as have already been imposed by the protectionist policies of the EEC on the Indian textile The economic interests of British capital and the British state are vital for the continued life of the Indian bourgeoisie.

In addition to the heavy investment of British based multi-national companies, government aid for 1977-8 is to total £144 million-an increase of 30% over last year and one quarter of all bilateral aid provided by the British government, which is the largest single donor of aid to the Indian State.

Major advance

This imperialist intervention is central to the oppression of the Indian masses. A major advance in the fight for 2:0let-1 revolution 37 = ma: =: Bats: *es 00025 .... =33: ::.325 ---It now seems certain that the Italian Communist Party is on the point of sliding one stage further into the slime of class collaboration.

Since last July Italy has had an undeclared coalition government, the ruling minority Christian Democratic cabinet being supported in office by the CP and other parties in exchange for an agreement on the government's programme.

This agreement is now on the point of breakdown essentially because the working class is saying louder and louder that the government's programme unacceptable.

The CP and trade union leaders, therefore, see . their leadership of the working class threatened unless they can wrest what appears to be d 'concession' from the Christian Democrats.

Convince workers

The only ways in which they can now hope to convince workers that it is furthering their interests is by demanding a formal place in the government.

This grand popular front coalition has been the official aim of the CP since Italy's last general election in June 1976.

Now, however, is the first time that its leaders have been seen to push for seats in the Cabinet as an immediate objective.

Now is also the first time that some of the Christian Democratic leaders who have so far been publicly hostile seem to be changing their minds.

In open dass coalition governmeni including the CP would se the first of its kind I a NATO country since ine formation of the antiCommunist alliance in 1948.

German loans

Until very recently, however, it has been vetoed by imperialism as a whole, especially by Nixon, Wilson and Brandt (who has arranged German loans to meet the more pressing needs of the Italian ruling class).

Carter and Callaghan, however, appear to have agreed to a more flexible approach and the improvement in Italy's balance of payments (the result of the country's deep slump) has freed Italy from its financial dependence on Schmidt.

The expectations of the capitalists and the CP leaders in the 'historic compromise' government cannot be very high.

It would be explicitly committed to government austerity measures, wage cuts and measures to force speedup in order to restore Italian capitalism's catastrophically low rate of profit.

As the CP and Christian Democrat leaders deliberate on how best to force the working class to accept the sacrifices required by capita!. the union leaders have p::ponel the threatened genera stie S=251:33

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SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 11 January, 1978

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