Ongole: The Communist Party of India’s 28th state conference concluded on Monday after a two-day deliberation at the Comrade Poola Subbaiah Auditorium in SGVS Kalyana Mandapam here. The conference began on Sunday with CPI State Secretary K Ramakrishna inaugurating the proceedings.

National leaders, including CPI National General Secretary D Raja, National Secretary K Narayana, and Telangana State Secretary and MLA Kunnamneni Sambasiva Rao, addressed the gathering as chief guests on the second day.

D Raja expressed serious concerns about the state of democracy in the country, alleging that the BJP government is ‘trampling the constitution underfoot’ and attempting to replace constitutional principles with their ideology. He questioned the alleged removal of the Vice President of India on political grounds and accused the BJP of compromising the Election Commission to sustain power through vote manipulation. He criticised Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan for aligning with the BJP’s communal agenda while neglecting public issues. He emphasised that only strengthening left-wing parties can preserve democracy and protect secular constitutional values.

K Narayana questioned Prime Minister Modi’s silence on Trump’s policies that harm India’s interests, alleging that the BJP governs according to RSS directives and aims to hand over national wealth to corporate forces. He challenged the state coalition government to reveal what funds they secured by partnering with the BJP, noting that the state remains debt-ridden after one year.

State Secretary Ramakrishna called for intensified statewide movements for housing rights, demanding three cents in rural areas and two cents in urban areas with Rs 5 lakh construction assistance. He urged party workers to stand with people wherever there’s dissent and contest all local body election seats to strengthen the party at the grassroots level.

In a press meet held earlier on Monday, Raja announced INDIA alliance candidate for Vice President Justice Sudarshan Reddy will defend constitutional rights. He condemned insulting Ambedkar’s Constitution and politicising the Banihal terrorist attack. He warned that the Modi-Trump friendship endangers the nation, suggesting that Trump uses Modi as a pawn due to strong Russia-India economic ties. He expressed concern over RSS attempts to damage national unity and alleged misuse of ED and IT raids to intimidate opposition parties. He criticised compromising the Election Commission’s independence, citing Bihar’s voting rights crisis affecting lakhs of citizens.

As part of their state meet, the CPI leaders announced plans for massive protest rallies on September 1st against vote theft in Bihar and will hold its 25th national conference in Chandigarh from September 21-25.