CPI chief D. Raja calls for left unity, warns of ‘fascist threat’ to Constitution

Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D. Raja on Friday said the country’s parliamentary system was “becoming redundant” and warned that the BJP-RSS combine posed a grave threat to the Constitution and India’s existence as a united federal nation.

Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the CPI’s centenary year celebrations, Mr. Raja said the party, now entering its 101st year, faced “big challenges” and needed to intensify its struggle “not just to save the party, but to save the nation”.

“The Left movement stands divided today. During British rule, we fought together against colonial forces. How long can communists remain split in the current political situation?” Mr. Raja asked, recalling that the Chandigarh Party Congress had discussed ways to strengthen the CPI and unite the Left.

He reiterated the CPI’s consistent appeal for reunification of the communist movement, saying, “When fascist forces are fracturing the country, how long can communists remain divided? We are the mother party, founded on the soil of India, and we have reached out to all sections of people.”

Mr. Raja accused the BJP of having “no respect for the Constitution” and said the ruling party never accepted the Tricolour or the constitutional framework. “The BJP-RSS combine is a threat not only to the Constitution but to the very existence of India as a nation,” he said, adding that the challenge before the CPI is on “how to save the Constitution and the country”.

The Parliament, he said, doesn’t function even for 100 days. “The BJP and its allies do not allow the Parliament to function. If the Parliament doesn’t function, democracy dies and electoral autocracy replaces it. We fought the British, French and Portuguese. Now we have to fight BJP raj,” he said.

As the party marks its 101st anniversary, Mr. Raja pledged to strengthen the CPI’s commitment to building a “classless, casteless, socialist India” and to lead the fight against communal and fascist forces. “We will be at the forefront of the struggle and ensure these forces are thrown out of power,” he declared.