Following India’s military operation, Operation Sindoor, and the subsequent ceasefire agreement, the CPI(ML) has issued several statements. Here are the statements issued by CPI(ML) during this critical period:
Opt for deescalation and diplomacy, avoid another India-Pakistan war
The Government of India and Indian Armed Forces have informed the country about the demolition of nine terror-training camps across Pakistan past midnight in the early hours of 7 May. The Indian authorities have attributed the operation to credible intelligence inputs and have described it as a precise and restrained response carried out with a calibrated and non-escalatory approach. Pakistan however talks of civilian casualties including women and children. In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, there are already reports of cross-border firing and several civilian deaths in Jammu and Kashmir.
Clearly there are alarming signs of yet another Indo-Pak war looming large. All efforts must be made to prevent a war between the two nuclear-powered neighbours and explore the whole range of non-military diplomatic options to curb terrorism and deescalate tension.
The Government of India has also announced an extensive exercise of mock drills in more than two hundred centres across the country. The last time mock drills had happened on such a big scale was in 1971 when India and Pakistan had actually been involved in a major war. While mock drills are techniques of bolstering security by spreading public alertness, we must make sure that such drills do not vitiate India's internal climate and create a jingoistic clamour for war.
The name Operation Sindoor ostensibly invokes the agenda of justice for the women who have lost their husbands in the terror attack in Pahalgam. Justice for the victim families calls upon us to respect their voices, their call for maintaining peace and harmony and their concerns about the multiple lapses that enabled the terrorists to carry out the heinous attack. Action must be taken against the troll army and influential political voices who are indulging in hate-mongering against courageous women like Himanshi Narwal and Shaila Negi.
In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and now Operation Sindoor, internet is flooded with claims, counterclaims and fake news. While checking the flow of fake news and misinformation, the right to freedom of expression and dissent must not be suppressed. The fabricated charges against Bhojpuri folk singer Neha Singh Rathore, Lucknow University professor and political satirist Madri Kakoti, dugital news channel 4PM network and now the 'disappearance' of the YouTube channel of journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai point to a new phase of heightened attacks on dissent by terming it anti-national.
We call upon the government of India to stop this policy of suppression and appeal to all justice-loving Indians to stay firm and united against all kinds of terror, hate and repression and continue to uphold peace, harmony and democracy. We also call upon the government of Pakistan to stop the terror camps in Pakistan, and appeal to the people of Pakistan to raise their voice against terror and war. Across the India-Pakistan border, let us say a loud no to another India-Pakistan war and mount pressure for bilateral deescalation of tension.
- Issued by CPI(ML) Central Committee on May 07, 2025
Truth is Under Siege - Resist the Gag on Independent Media
We express our deepest concern and strongest condemnation over the Indian government’s intensifying assault on independent journalism. The arbitrary blocking of access to respected media platforms such as The Wire, Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat and Free Press Kashmir, and the targeted censorship of individual journalists like Anuradha Bhasin reflects a dangerous erosion of democratic freedoms and constitutional rights.
At a time when fake news and jingoistic propaganda dominate the mainstream airwaves, it is the voices committed to factual reporting that are being silenced, vilified, and attacked.
It is also alarming that the Central Government has reportedly issued arbitrary orders to X (formerly Twitter) to block nearly 8,000 accounts, including those belonging to journalists, activists, media houses, academics, and ordinary citizens. This mass digital censorship, conducted without any explanation or legal transparency is a blatant violation of the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
The freedom of press and expression cannot be sacrificed at the altar of jingoism.
We also strongly condemn the orchestrated targeting of voices calling for de-escalation and peace.
We appeal to all justice-loving Indians to stand firm and united against this throttling of voices of sanity.
- issued by Central Committee, CPI(ML) on May 9, 2025
On India Pakistan Ceasefire Agreement
So, India under Modi now needs 'a long night of American mediation' to agree to a ceasefire after three days of growing concern in the country about the consequences of a full-scale India-Pakistan military conflict. The news of a ceasefire was broken by Trump and his officials before being corroborated by India and Pakistan.
Wish the two regimes listened to their own people and did not leave room for American intervention. Shame on the dominant media in India and Pakistan which were busy whipping up war hysteria, spreading fake news to claim victory and celebrate and sell war as entertainment.
The ceasefire should be used as the first step towards complete de-escalation. Both India and Pakistan should withdraw the announcements made in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and restore full diplomatic relations between the two neighbours. The perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack must be brought to justice and measures taken to ensure lasting peace and promote friendship and cooperation in the region.
The Modi regime must withdraw the various arbitrary measures taken over the last few days in the name of national security and guarantee the constitutional rights of citizens and media platforms who raised questions about the multiple lapses that enabled the Pahalgam terror attack, rejected hate and jingoism and insisted on peace and justice.
- Issued by Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML) on 10 May 2025
The PM's silences remain louder than his assertions.
Twenty days after the horrific Pahalgam terror attack and the loss of twenty-six precious lives we still do not know when the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Trump and his administration have told the whole world that the ceasefire was the result of 'a long night of American mediation' and that India and Pakistan would negotiate on a range of issues at a neutral venue.
By keeping quiet on these claims, the PM has failed to assure the people against American or third party intervention in the bilateral affairs concerning India and Pakistan. Equally disturbing is the PM's conspicuous silence about the abusive trolling and hate mongering directed against Pahalgam victims like Himanshi Narwal and now the Foreign Secretary, and his family and the blatant lies propagated by Indian television channels.
We need an urgent parliament session for the government to answer these pressing questions.
- Issued by Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML) on 12 May 2025
