CPI leader AB Bardhan (right) speaks to reporters in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, July 6: The Communist Party of India (CPI), which will organise its 21st congress in Bihar next year, along with Left and like-minded parties, would launch a weeklong nationwide agitation on the issues of price rise, corruption and Lokpal.

“The sky-rocketing prices, particularly those of petroleum products, gas and kerosene, have adversely affected the common man’s life. We will be starting a weeklong agitation from July 15 during which we will hold meetings and demonstrate in front of central government offices and installations to exert pressure on the government on these issues,” CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said.

Bardhan, who was in the state capital to take part in the state executive council meeting, said the party’s 21st five-day national congress would be organised in Bihar from March 21 to 25 next year for which Rs 1 crore would be collected.

About 1,000 delegates, visitors and intellectuals like doctors, professors, lawyers, engineers would participate in the congress, the CPI leader said, before adding that all the general secretaries of CPM, Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), CPI(ML) would take part in a rally to be organised at Gandhi Maidan on the first day of the congress.

On the issues of land acquisition and black money, he said: “The Supreme Court has taken strong exception to the land acquisition by the state government and constituted a special investigation team headed by former apex court judge Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy. This a censure against the Centre which has not come out with the list of those who stashed black money in foreign banks.”

The archaic and colonial land acquisition act of 1894, Bardhan said, should be repealed and the government should come out with a new legislation with a pro farmer, pro food production oriented policy which prescribes barren land for industrial use.

Advocating that the Prime Minister should be brought under the ambit of Lokpal, Bardhan, accompanied by national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan, said to tame the spreading tentacles of corruption, there is an urgent need of having a strong and effective Lokpal which must be presented in the upcoming monsoon session so that it can be discussed in the House and the standing committee apart from creating awareness among the masses.

The bill must get through the House in the winter session of Parliament.