Sexist language of politicians also to blame for increase in crime against women: Brinda Karat (India TV Exclusive)

New Delhi: Brinda Karat is known for her plain speak on crucial socio-economic and political issues. She is the first woman member of CPI(M)'s all powerful Polit Bureau. In an exclusive interview with www.indiatvnews.com , Brinda karat held political parties responsible for the growing Naxalism in the country. She believes that Naxalism has been used for electoral gains in lieu of money by most of the political parties including Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress that , according to her, won last assembly elections with the help of Maoists. Brinda rues the fact that both Congress and BJP have become corporate parties. She blasted Arun jaitley for terming help to poor as populism. She blames the unchecked opening of almost all sectors for foreign investment responsible for falling Rupee.Brinda held the son-preference culture in India along with sexist remarks made by politicians responsible for increasing incidents of crime against women.Here goes full text of the interview:Q: After withdrawing support from UPA govt, you have lost ground in your strongholds. Your tally has gone down drastically in parliament. You lost West Bengal and Kerala assembly elections. So do you think withdrawing support from UPA was perhaps a mistake on your part?Brinda Karat: Not in the least. In fact, I don't think withdrawal of support to the UPA govt because of its blatantly pro-American policy had anything to do with our electoral setbacks in West Bengal and Kerala. As you know, prior to the Lok Sabha elections and prior to the withdrawal of support from UPA, there was a series of elections like panchayat elections that made it clear that there was serious erosion in our support base. There were mainly state level factors although, of course, national level factors also play a very important role. But I don't think withdrawal of support was the trigger for what happened although the national situation developing at that time did give the UPA an advantage.Q: So Why has the CPI(M)'s stake gone down in West Bengal and Kerala?Brinda Karat: I think You are talking about the past. This was four years ago. Certainly in Kerala, we expect a good turnaround. Our party has been taking up many important issues in Kerala and there is a very small gap between LDF and UDF and we have certainly covered that gap and we'll be doing very well in the Lok Sabha elections. In West Bengal also, considering different aspects of why we lost west Bengal, one of them being the across the board opportunistic alliance of all political forces in West Bengal with one point programme of defeating the CPI(M),from the Maoist to the BJP under the leadership of TMC. This was an unprecedented situation that any government had to face. And the fact that the left still got 42 percent of the vote, in spite of all opposition unity against CPI(M), shows that our mass base is still very much there. There have, of course, been a setback in certain areas and I think the efforts of the party to explain our position to the people, to rebuild and re-forge our relations with the people, in which the links have been broken in some areas, I think we are on the road to recovery in West Bengal. Q: In terms of ideology, CPI (M) is one of pillars of Indian democracy but you have failed to create a niche for yourself in Hindi heartland, be it UP, Bihar, MP or Rajasthan. Is it because people rejected your ideology or is it, as some people, because of your obsession with BJP? Some people say that since you are so obsessed with preventing BJP from coming to power, the energy that you could have used for building you support base in these areas got diverted.Brinda Karat: There is a contradiction in your question. On one hand, you are saying we were obsessed with Congress and on the other hand, you are saying that we are obsessed with BJP. As far as Hindi heartland is concerned, it has nothing to do with being obsessed with one or other. The fact of the matter is that the universal mobilization of poor people in the Hindi heartland was fragmented by the blatant caste politics which was played out by almost all political parties in the Hindi heartland from the late 1960s through the 1970s and onwards post-Mandal. So we have seen the kind of very sectarian caste based mobilization for politics and for political purposes in this part of India and which both BJP and Congress apart from some other regional formations have led that, in fact. It is true that although we do have a mass base among important areas in north India, we have not really been able to translate that into the kind of electoral politics which would liked to have seen although we have made some what a breakthrough in Rajasthan in many areas. In Himachal also, we have done quite well. In some other areas like Bihar and Jharkhand , we have been fighting on very critical issues . So I think it's not as grim as you are suggesting. And our fight against BJP is a very fundamental fight for the principals of unity of our country and against the use of religion as a political instrument to gain power. We are opposed to the BJP because the BJP is just a front organization of RSS and we know the RSS is ‘Rashtriya Sarvanash samiti' as far as Indian unity is concerned.Q: Politics in India is gradually becoming ‘personality' centric and the political pundits say that your problem is that you are not encouraging individuals, even in states, around whom people could rally. Do you think its time to do a rethink on this?Brinda Karat: I think you are entirely wrong. I don't think you need to project a person spending thousands and crores of Rupees like Mr Narendra Modi's PR agency is doing today. Modi has employed some Israeli PR agency which is projecting Narendra Modi as the new avtar who is going to solve India's problems. We don't need to do that. Did we project Jyoti Basu? No, his work projected him. Did we have to project EMS Namboodripad? No, his work, his vision, his sacrifice projected him. After all, Buddha Deb Bhattacharya led our party to its highest victory in 2004. Did we have to project him? No. So leaders emerge from struggle and we don't believe in ‘neta' based politics. We believe in ‘Niti' based politics. And for that we need a collective leadership. And I think that is the actual model that we should have in Indian politics. We don't believe in dynastic politics, we don't believe in individual based politics and we definitely don't believe in PR agencies. Q: In West Bengal, it is said that your cadre has failed to capitalize on mistakes being committed by Mamata Banerjee. There have been reports of rape and violence from the state but your cadre has not capitalized on these issues. Is it because of the fact that they are still in a state of shock after losing assembly elections or they have just given up?Brinda Karat: That is a misconception. I don't know whether you are aware that in West Bengal, there has been a reign of terror precisely because my party's activists and cadres and supporters including women have refused to give up the red flag. Forget the hundreds of our cadre killed since 2011, even in three weeks of panchayat elections, we lost 24 cadres who were brutally killed because they refused to withdraw their nominations. So there is an element of terror there. But in spite of that, I want to tell you that we are fundamentally opposed to using issues like rape for narrow political gains. It is a shame that today West Bengal has become a heaven of criminals. A state which was the safest state for women in the whole of India, has degenerated into what it is today within 2 years because of political patronage to criminals. People are seeing that and people are struggling against it and people are raising this issue. I think it will be absolutely wrong in fact to reduce it to some political ‘tu-tu, main-main' as you will see in television studios.Q: Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, says that all these crimes are being committed by CPM cadres.Brinda Karat: I don't think she is saying that. She is saying that all these crimes are a conspiracy against her government. So if a woman complains of rape then Mamta will say that this is a false case that has been brought up as a conspiracy against her govt. So when women who are victims of rape go to a thana in West Bengal, cases are not being registered. What happened in Kamduni? In Kamduni, a young girl who was a colleague of the girl who was raped and murdered, raised the question as to why is the process taking so long. Mamata Banerjee just shouted at her and told her to shut up and said – You are either CPM or Maoist. So there is no room for dissent in West Bengal. Anybody who dissents is branded as from this or that party whether that's true or not? And even if it's true, so what? Anybody can have any political affiliation and still that person can raise a very valid point. The question in West Bengal is not Mamata versus CPI(M), it's Mamata versus democracy and basic individual and human rights. Q: Let's talk about Naxalism. Naxals are killing innocent people from Bihar and Jharkhand to Orissa and recently they wiped out the top leadership of Congress in Chhattisgarh. Do you think time has come for India to take real tough measures against Naxals? Brinda Karat: Isn't India taking tough measures? And India is taking tough measures and putting so many innocent tribals in jail. Therefore my point is this. Many ruling parties in different states have had alliances with these Maoists. They have supported Maoists for narrow gains. What happened In Bengal? Mamata Banerjee who had one point mission against CPI(M) had direct and indirect alliances with the Maoists. She invited the Maoists into West Bengal. What was Nandigram? Most definitely, there was clear evidence of the alliance between Trinamool leaders and Maoists. Q: But today Mamata claims Naxalism has been contained in West Bengal. Brinda Karat: Well, The fact of the matter is that Trinamool and Maoists are in cahoots and are in alliance with each other. In last panchayat elections, many of the so called Maoists have joined TMC. So that shows what the Maoist politics is. You also see another face of Maoist politics which is extortion, which is taking money. And many parties in India whether its national party or a regional party, they have dealt with Maoists, they have given money to Maoists and got the Maoist support in elections. In Chhattisgarh, it's an open secret. In Jharkhand, it was an open secret. In West Bengal, it was an open secret in last elections. Therefore first stop the hypocrisy. Stop using Maoists and stop helping their extortionist practices by using them for your political gains. Number two, you have to deal with it politically. None of these parties, except for CPI(M), have fought them politically and ideologically. We have been fighting them politically and ideologically andthat's why in West Bengal where Naxalism took birth, for 34 years, there was no sign of it because we isolated them politically and ideologically. Thirdly, the areas where Maoists are operating, the way you are suppressing and repressing the Adivasi people in India today, taking away their land, leaving them completely vulnerable to the predatory policies of the corporate capital, who is going to be over there? And Naxalites are not there because they love tribals. Naxalites are there because of the cover of the forest. So you have to have a multi-dimensional approach to the problem. And by threatening to use the army and the military, you can't solve the problem.Q: How do you read the present political scenario in the country? Congress is taking credit for the Food security Bill. Do you think it's going to help them in upcoming general elections? Brinda karat: I leave that for you to decide. But the point that I would like to make is that the tragedy of Indian politics today is that on substantive issues the main opposition party the BJP is completely on the same page as the UPA. Look at the speeches of PM and Arun Jaitely in the parliament when they were discussing the economy. What was it? It was “ tu-tu, main-main”. But what was it about economics? They were both saying the same language from reforms, foreign capital, opening up FDI to getting more investment.In fact, Arun jaitley went even further than Congress in saying that if you help poor, it's populism. So they are both corporate parties. Their faces may be different, their party banner may be different, but essentially what is the difference in programme between Congress and BJP. And I think that is the most critical thing in the current situation today as far as the economy is concerned that both sides of the so called political divide is actually not a divide at all on fundamentals. And the fundamental approach that both of them take is that it is videshi punji (foreign capital) which is going to save India and I think that is absolutely a tragedy for Indian politics and that's why the importance of an alternative platform for advance is very critical.Q: What is your take on Rupee touching a historic low against US Dollar ?Brinda karat: It's a structural issue. Look, you follow policies which are not based on fundamentals of Indian economy but on attracting foreign capital. Your entire political and economic framework today is geared not on strengthening domestic fundamentals. You want to open up all the sectors on which the Indian economy rests. Today you want to open up the entire public sector which is the one area which is saving your economy by saving it from volatility of global markets. You want to sell it off. You want to sell it off at low prices to foreign capital. You are inviting them by saying that we'll further reduce the price. This entire approach to appease corporate and foreign capital as the basis for driving the economy of India is fundamentally flawed. It is only if you have the government taking responsibility for injecting new money into agriculture, infrastructure, and creation of jobs which is going to expand the Indian market and strengthen the manufacturing sector. What is this entire whole gold crisis? Last year in the budget, you removed gold import duty and you told people to buy as much as they can. People bought as much they could. You have allowed, in a sense, to take up so much of your foreign exchange.Q: Crime against women is increasing in this country. From Delhi Bus rape to Mumbai photojournalist rape to Asaram sexual assault case, you have so many examples. How do you read it.Brinda karat: I think there are several reasons. One reason is that the conviction rate is so low that criminals in india believe they have a license to do what they want to and to commit crimes, more so against vulnerable sections like women and young children. You can't stop these crimes unless you strengthen the law enforcement, unless security agencies could arrest the accused, and the follow up of legal cases and unless you really do have fast track courts that can punish the criminals and send out strong messages. It's not the stringency of the punishment in which there is gap. People say hang them, the problem will be solved but it will not help.Q: That's what Sushma Swaraj said in parliament.Brinda Karat: I don't agree with that at all. It's meaningless slogan. The point is you are not even getting an arrest. You are not even getting a conviction. Out of every 100 people accused, 73 walk free. So if you hang one person how will it stop 73 walking free? So therefore you have to first ensure the increase in conviction rate. Number two, politics and the political language and the political license that some leaders have in using the most sexist language against women, in blaming women for the crimes against them, in talking about their dress code, their language and the places they are visiting. Today one third of rape cases are against children. So are you going to say that a child is dressed in a particular way? So this is a shame on this country. And politicians and political parties and parliament itself should develop a code of conduct under which MPs or MLAs who make such outrageous and objectionable sexist remarks against women should face action by their peers in the parliament. There should be strong disapproval of such comments in parliament itself. And the third point is because of the strength of son-preference culture in India. Boys are brought up to believe whatever we do, we can do. So son-preference culture is so strong in India that from childhood itself boys think that this is what boys do and this is really something we need to fight. Q: What is your take specifically on Asaram sexual assault case? He seems to have got some political backing as well. He talked politics.Brinda Karat: The fact that he was not arrested after even so many days of first report being filed in this case shows the double standard in politics, it shows the double standard in our legal processes and I think it's a shame in India.Q: Coming to 2014 general elections, how do you look at the candidature of Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi for PM post? Brinda Karat: I don't look at it at all. It is for BJP and Congress to look at it. I look at it from the point of view of certain individuals representing certain policies. I don't look at ‘netas', I look at ‘nitis'. As far as my party is concerned, both of them and their policies are disastrous for India and therefore, my party is working towards a policy based alternative in the coming elections. Q: UPA II is coming to an end. How do you look at the performance of Manmohan Singh led government? There have been allegations that Manmohan Singh was not given a free hand with NAC on one hand and Sonia acting as super PM?Brinda karat: I don't look at it from that point of view at all. It's quite normal for a political party and a govt to form its own mechanism for coordination. What did we see at NDA time? Everything was being decided at Nagpur. VHP , Bajrang Dal, RSS, Vajpayee ji, Advani jee, they were all speaking in different languages. However, I do believe, this govt started without a common minimum programme. It was a govt which was an opportunist alliance of parties which had come together after a vote of confidence which was brought through black money. And therefore, each of them had their own agenda. Their agenda was not India. Their agenda was not the people of India. It was an agenda to stick to power. And if you ask me have they been successful in any manner, their only success has been to stick to power and they have done it at the cost of the Indian people. Therefore, in the coming elections, the platform of left parties including the CPI(M) is to be critical of the fundamental economic policies of the UPA govt , its record breaking corruption and its insensitivity to social inequalities that have grown in India. At the same time, we are deadly opposed to the communal platform of BJP and its allies. Q: One important question is the functioning of our bureaucracy. The common perception is that honest and independent bureaucrats are not being allowed to fuction fearlessly. You have examples of Ashok Khemka and Durga nagpal. How do you look at it?Brinda karat: It depens on the politicalparty in power. We have seen in recent history that regardless of the party in power, many honest officers have been prevented from doing their duty. What do you see in West Bengal today? You have a whole list of officers who want to get out of West Bengal today because they are being forced to work under the whims and fancies of the CM regardless of what the issues are and regardless of what the truth is. So there are so many bureaucrats who want to run away from Bengal because of the complete lack of any norms in governance and this is happening in other states also. I think it's very unfortunate.