KOZHIKODE: With barely a day left for serious discussions on amendments to its constitution, the CPM is grappling with the proposal to fix an age-limit to the office-bearers of the party, mainly the central committee and Politburo members.Even Politburo member and ideological think-tank of the party, Sitaram Yechuri wasn’t sure of any such decision coming out of the party congress here this time. His answer to a pointed question on the issue was, “if the proposal comes up for discussion, a decision will be taken”.Obviously, an amendment to the constitution of the party is essential to impose such a limitation of age to the central committee members. It all depends on the organisational report to be presented and the amendments to be mooted on the penultimate day of the party congress.The overwhelming impression prevailing among most of the delegates and the senior leaders of the party is that the proposal to introduce an age-limit to party leaders wouldn’t be accepted by the congress. General secretary of the party Prakash Karat himself had made it abundantly clear on the second day of the party congress that age couldn’t be taken as a criterion to measure a party leader’s vibrancy.“There are party leaders in their eighties who function with greater vigour and energy than those aged sixty”.Most of the delegates feel that the imposition of an age-limit to party office-bearers would amount to fixing a retirement age to their political life. According to available indications, the proposal, if at all comes up for voting, will be rejected by the delegates.Most of the delegates from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh who are the seniormost among the leaders are all set to oppose the move.Talking to this reporter, some of them pointed out that EMS, Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Jyothi Basu and M K Pandhe, who were the architects of the communist movement in the country, had continued to serve the party until their death or till they chose to keep themselves away from active politics.Incidentally, the Kerala comrades among the delegates, most of whom are inclined to toe the “official Kerala line” have a different agenda - remove V S Achuthanandan from the central committee and check his re-entry into the Politburo.Age, obviously, is not on the side of the dynamic CPM leader. But he is likely to survive this attempt to send him on “compulsory retirement” also, going by the mood of the Politburo members and a majority of the delegates attending the CPM party congress here.
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