CPI demands White Paper on flood relief, allocation of funds

Speakers at the 25th National Congress of the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Tuesday demanded White Paper on flood-relief measures, fund allocation and disaster management steps.

Delegates deliberated on the pressing challenges confronting Punjab, the nation and the wider world. CPI general secretary D Raja said India was facing serious threats to democracy, secularism, social justice and other fundamental values.

Senior leaders, including Amarjeet Kaur (national secretary), former MP Nagendra Nath Ojha, PM Murthy, Comrade Hardev Singh Arshi, Mohammad Salim, Devi Kumari Sarhali Kalan and Comrade Danesh, along with state-level office-bearers, presided over various sessions. Delegates debated resolutions in depth, adopting significant ones.

One resolution criticised the Centre and the Punjab Government for “negligence” in maintaining irrigation and drainage systems. The delegates said the Centre’s relief package of Rs 1,600 crore was an “insult” to the people, noting that actual losses exceed Rs 25,000 crore. The CPI also demanded an expanded package to be released immediately, with at least Rs 1 lakh in direct relief to every affected family, including landless labourers and small traders, not just farmers. Another resolution dismissed government claims of GST reforms as “hollow”, arguing that the BJP’s economic policies had “worsened inequality, burdening the middle and lower-income classes while benefiting corporates and favoured tycoons”.

A resolution on Palestine accused the US of backing Israeli genocide in Gaza, and urged the Centre to vote consistently in support of Palestine at the UN.