A poster of the CPI’s 24th Party Congress in Vijayawada surfaces in Pride Colours

It was shared on social media by the official Facebook handle of the CPI.

“Red Salute!! We recommend to have more representation of women and queer members in the party!” came a comment by a profile named Queer Malayali under the Facebook post.

Time to raise the issue: Kerala Minister K Rajan

South First spoke to CPI leader and a minister in Kerala government, K Rajan, who shared the poster on his personal Facebook page. According to Rajan, progressive people of the world have taken up the cause of gender and sexual minorities.

“Our Party Congress categorically states that equality of human beings, despite differences in race, religion, caste, class as well as gender, is of paramount importance. It is high time political parties have such an agenda and it needs to be placed before the general public as well,” Rajan said.

 He also opined that for CPI, which just recently concluded its state conference, the poster was merely a continuity of its struggles for social justice and equality.

Reaction from the Queer Community

Sheetal Shyam, an actor and a transgender activist, welcomed the move by the oldest communist party in the country. “I am very happy seeing the poster as we are including a community that was marginalised for so long,” she told South First. 

She said the poster was a positive sign. “If you look at the theme of the conference as well as the hashtags that are carried with the post, which includes terms like gender equality and LGBTQ rights, I am sure those are intended to address the diversity among the people.” 

She also noted that the state committee of All India Students Federation (AISF), the student wing of CPI, has people like Nadira Mehrin, who is a transgender, and hoped for such decisions from other parties in the state.  

Muhammed Unais, a queer activist from Kollam, noted that mainstream parties never used to extend solidarity to the people from the queer community. But things are changing. 

“In recent times parties have started taking up our issues. We know in Parliament Shashi Tharoor tried to introduce a private bill regarding marriage equality, but it was ridiculed and rejected by MPs of the BJP. Rahul Gandhi has raised the issues of the queer community in his social media handles,” Unais told South First.

“My friends in CPI and AIYF have already started sharing the poster, so I believe this will reach a large number of people. In the coming days, such kinds of debate and solidarity must increase,” he added. 

Cuban Family Code 2022

The CPI’s move is in line with the shift in the policies of the global left, including the Cuban referendum that took place on 25 September.

The referendum in communist-ruled Cuba was to seek approval for amendments to the Cuban constitution. In the referendum, same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption were legalised.

The referendum, in which 3.9 million people voted, saw 66.9 percent ratifying the decision. The popular mandate also gave rise to a new ‘Family Code’ that put forth numerous progressive legislations, which include same-sex marriage, civil unions, allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, etc.