Indian Marxist party shuts door on JVP

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 February 2008, 08:31 GMT]
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), the key ally of the ruling Congress, has not invited the JVP to its 19th Annual Meet to be held in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The boycott of the extreme Sinhala nationalist party, that has been a regular attendee of CPI-M meetings since the 1970s, comes in the wake of heightened Tamil sentiments prevailing in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu where the CPI-M looks forward to consolidating its base.

According to reports in the Indian media, the non-invitation of the JVP has been attributed as an attempt "to please the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu."

A senior politburo member of the CPI-M has reportedly said that JVP's increasingly exhibiting its Sinhalese chauvinistic nature was the reason to keep the JVP away this time.

"The JVP has always proclaimed the unitary state of Sri Lanka and opposed any kind of ceasefire with the LTTE" whereas their party stands "for a resolution of the crisis through mutual dialogue."

Since CPI-M considers Tamil Nadu a "priority state" where growth of party influence is possible, the party has been unapologetic about keeping the JVP out of their annual conclave, according to informed sources in Tamil Nadu.