Veteran communist and founding national general secretary of CPI-ML (Redstar) K.N. Ramachandran has said the Opposition parties have been focused on the wrong target of BJP and not its ideological parent RSS and its Manuvadi Hindutva ideology.

The party veteran and outgoing general secretary recalled that several intellectuals who were part of a lecture series in connection with the Left party’s 12th party congress held in Kozhikode, Kerala, recently had voiced concern at the Opposition not attacking the RSS and its core ideology.

“Many including (authors) Shamsul Islam, Ram Punyani, and Bhagat Singh’s nephew Jagmohan Singh had pointed out that BJP is being criticised, but not RSS,” Ramachandran said in an interview with Malayalam online portal Truecopy Think.

“Even Rahul Gandhi is targeting the BJP and not RSS. The entire focus is on (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. Neither RSS nor its core ideology of Manuvadi Hindutva is being targeted,” Ramachandran said, alluding to Opposition parties not aiming at the right target.

The CPI-ML (Redstar), he said, has however been distributing booklets and uploading online articles on the real danger of Manuvadi Hindutva “since the idea needs to percolate down to the common man.”

He recalled that the main slogan of the party congress held from September 24-29 in Kozhikode was, “Defeat Manuvadi RSS and neo-fascism”.

Ramachandran noted that sending the right message down to the masses is key to countering the Hindutva ideology that the RSS has managed to percolate down to the indigenous and oppressed classes, quite like right-wing politics that has taken over much of the world.

“In India, the Modi government is penetrating into the Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC communities. Some call this subaltern Hindutva. But the fact of the matter is they are trying to attract them (Dalit, Adivasis and OBCs) into their ideology and has been successful to a certain extent,” he said.

The party veteran recalled how the RSS had employed the same tactic in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the state election. “They tried this in UP to lure the same communities that were oppressed (by the Manuvadi Hindutva) for so long. Even Dalits voted for the BJP in UP in spite of their girl children being assaulted,” he noted, citing the manner in which the RSS has been appropriating marginalised and indigenous communities that are otherwise victims of caste-based oppression.

He admitted that the far Left parties like the original CPI-ML split into several factions after 1972 after years of making several mistakes without realising the Indian reality. “We made a lot of mistakes in addressing the Indian reality since we mechanically followed the Chinese path. As a result, we were unable to build the party or make an ideological push to organise the people which led to several backlashes that eventually split the party in 1972.”

But today, with the RSS galloping to their target of converting India into a Hindu Rashtra it is time for all Left-secular-progressive parties to join hands. “If they win 2024 elections, they are in the process of declaring Hindu Rashtra,” he warned.

“In the party congress’s resolution, we have highlighted how the Modi government has strengthened fascist forces and hence were headed to a dangerous situation. So, to prevent that all secular forces have to unite,” he said.

But he cautioned that a unified opposition strong enough to take on the RSS and BJP would not be possible minus the Congress. “Only the CPM in Kerala would say that a united front is possible without Congress. They don’t see India beyond Kerala. You cannot defeat BJP without forming an alliance with even regional parties. But the Left parties have a definite role in such an alliance,” he said, calling for a secular-progressive alliance ahead of the 2024 general elections.