Tuesday’s all-party meeting, presided over by Rajnath Singh ahead of Parliament’s Budget Session, became a forum for CPI Rajya Sabha MP P. Santosh Kumar to voice deep apprehensions. From Kerala’s fiscal hemorrhage to threats against democracy and security missteps, CPI laid out a comprehensive indictment.
Central to their pitch: urgent relief for Kerala, shackled by borrowing curbs causing over ₹21,000 crore in losses this fiscal. ‘States like ours need a bespoke financial lifeline now,’ Kumar pleaded, highlighting the perils of fiscal federalism under strain.
Democracy’s health was next. CPI decried the SIR exercise as a voter-purging mechanism. ‘Democracy thrives when people elect leaders; here, leaders cull voters,’ he observed starkly. The Election Commission risks transformation into an exclusionary force, they cautioned.
Security operations drew ire too. Operation Kagar, CPI claimed, masks attacks on harmless tribals. Full transparency—via parliamentary presentation of its blueprint and updates—is non-negotiable for accountability.
Diplomatically, India’s silence on Trump’s belligerence, Venezuela, and Greenland betrays a fraying independent policy. CPI exhorted a firmer posture to honor our strategic autonomy.
Socio-economic demands rang clear: Implement ASHA salary enhancements without delay. Rescue MGNREGA from attrition—fix payments, boost allocations, extend workdays—to shield rural India from job scarcity and farm failures.
CPI also targeted Labour Codes as worker-hostile, the Seed Bill as agrarian poison, and sought 75:25 Centre-state funding shifts for welfare efficacy. The Budget Session, they asserted, must prioritize these to fortify democracy, union-state harmony, and citizen security.