'Statehood no solution to Telangana problems'

• CPM leader Yechury says people of same language needn't be separated
• Blames Congress for causing T crisis and not taking any stance on it
• CPM not keen on Third Front; Need for alternative political force
• Capital punishment can't curb rapes; Delivery of justice should be improved

N Viswanath

Tirupati: "Separate statehood is not the solution for Telangana, and the ruling Congress party is only responsible for this crisis. I was also one of the victims of Telangana backwardness," CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury. In an exclusive interview to The Hans India, he shared his views on several issues. Excerpts:

Why is CPM against Telangana State? CPM is not only against formation of separate State of Telangana, but it also opposed the formation of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand States. But it could not stop their formation. After many struggles, the existing Andhra Pradesh was formed on a linguistic basis. Before taking a final decision on the criteria of forming States, several issues like population, caste, region and tribes were discussed. But the final decision was the linguistic basis.

Then, why so many Hindi-speaking States? Yes it's true. There are several demands from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and other States to reorganise the States on linguistic basis now. At present, there are 28 demands in our country. There should not be one more division within the same language. The Congress should own responsibility for this crisis.

But Marxism upheld the right to secede and right to self-determination? According to Marxism, the right to self-determination and right to secede are valid on the basis of nationality only. Language is part of the basic foundation of nationality. This principle is not applicable to split within the single nation, and that too within a language. Marxism stressed the right to self determination on the basis of nationality as a whole, but it did not back division within the nationality.

Does it mean the T issue is irrelevant? The backwardness of Telangana region is genuine. In fact, I don't think separate statehood will bring about development. It is just a utopia. Any development is possible only with proper and concrete planning and commitment. We have examples from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and smaller States of North East.

Isn't CPM's policy decision against the people of Telangana? I don't think so. It is the party's political decision. Already the party's decision was clarified to the Union government three years ago. But no decision was taken by the Congress so far. At least it should resolve the issue now. How do you describe the political situation at present? The UPA-II is in intensive care unit and is on life support system. As long as the two drips � BSP and SP � continue, the UPA-II will be in power. It has been misusing constitutional bodies like CBI and CAG for its own interests. I don't think mid-term polls or early polls will happen. What about the Third Front? We are not interested in the formation of a Third Front. But there is certainly a need for an alternative political force to amend the existing economic policies so as to bring bright future to the common people. What is your party's view on new economic policies? New economic policies introduced in 1990s brought wealth to a few but affected the livelihood of 80 per cent of total population. India was divided into two categories � Shining India and Suffering India. The rich were made richer, which is Shining India. The living standards of 80 per cent of population were declined making them poorer, which is Suffering India. The gap between these two Indias is increasing day-by-day.

What is your party's stand on capital punishment to rapists? Laws need to be strengthened. But capital punishment is not at all a solution. People should have faith, respect and fear of laws. All political parties need to bring awareness on gender equality in their agenda. Three out of four registered cases are not investigated and many cases remain unregistered. Delivery of justice is very poor. The Law Commission recommendations made 26 years ago stressed the need for five judges for every one lakh population. At that time, the judges' ratio was 1.2 for one lakh population. Even now, it is a mere 1.6. The ongoing atrocities against women are a serious problem. The consumer culture with reforms and prevalence of feudal culture brought a peculiar 'cocktail mixed' culture. Woman is being portrayed as commodity. Change should come from grassroots level like a cultural revolution. This is only the permanent solution.