CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat. | Photo credit: G. Moorthy
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) President Brinda Karat on Friday said the Communists fought the elections to reflect the struggles, rights and voices of the people in the Parliament, Assemblies and local bodies.
At a public meeting at Purasawalkam in Chennai, Ms Karat claimed that parliamentary democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule at the Center has been changed to “corporate democracy”. She said that through various trusts, companies transferred thousands of crores to the BJP as donations.
“They are following a give and take policy. If corporations give money, Modi government will give them licenses. If corporations give more money, Modi government will give them national assets. If corporations give even more money, Modi government would even give them parliament,” she claimed.
Ms. Karat recalled that in 1918, Communist leader Singaravelar formed the first trade union in India, the Madras Trade Union. “Today we see the legacy of this culture. The Chennai Central Party Committee contributed nearly ₹ 20 crore to party funds through voluntary contributions of hard-earned money from common people, bank and insurance employees and workers. This is the culture of communists,” she said.
She strongly condemned Israel and the United States (US) for starting a war against Iran. “The war against Iran, especially at the time of Eid, by the US Zionist and imperialist regime was unprecedented and highly condemnable,” she said.
She also criticized the Center for being “silent” on the issue. She said that this was not the policy of the Government of India earlier and also criticized the Union Government for not allowing the issue to be discussed in Parliament. Ms. Karat recalled that the Indian Parliament passed a unanimous resolution expressing concern over the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister.
According to her, the BJP government is waging an ideological war by trying to implement the RSS ideology. Ms Karat also slammed the Center for introducing four labor codes, saying they were against labor rights that had been won over several decades of hard struggles. She also criticized the Center for moving the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2019 in Parliament, which she said would take away the rights of the community.
Published – 21 March 2026 01:12 IST
