CALCUTTA, May 4: In the backdrop of the debacle of socialism In the Soviet Union and other eastern European nations, the three day International seminar on "Contemporary World Situation and Validity of Marxism' begins here tomorrow in which 20 communists parties from different parts of the world are scheduled to participate, reports PTI

The seminar, being looked upon In political | circles here as part of the CPI (M) s current i exercise to bring all the like-minded commu-1 nist parties on a common international plat | form after the setback of socialism would, ] however, be shorn of much of Its colour in view | of the non-participation of the two major parties — Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Russian Communist Party

The Communist parties of Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam have confirmed their par Uclpatjon.

CPI (M) sources said that the CPC and the Russian Communist Party were among the 30 invites, but they could not attend the seminar

The West Bengal Information Minister and CPI (M) leader. Buddhadedb Bhattcharjee, at a recent press conference, had refused to make any comment on their non-participatton and said. “We cannot explain why the CPC and the Russian Communist Party did not confirm par ticipatlon "

Incidentally, the CPI (Ml has party-to-party relation with the CPC and a number of CPI( M) delegation visited China in the past few years

Besides, the communist parties of Vietnam, Cuba and Korea, leaders from the Communist Party of Great Britain, the neo-Communist Parly of Great Britain, the Democratic Front of The Philippines, the Socialist Party of Australia, the Communist Party of France, the Portuguese Communist Party, the South African Communist Party, the Socialist Party of Turkey, the Workers Party of Belgium, the Workers Party of Bangladesh, the Communist Party of Nepal, (UML) and the Communist Party of Brazil are among those participating tn

the seminar.

The programme would start with the gar landing of Karl Marx's statue at Esplanade and conclude on May 7 with a public reception to the foreign delegates at the Netaji Indoor stadium.

The CPI-M would be represented by the West Bengal Chief Minister and veteran Marxist leader. Jyotl Basu and the party General Secretary. Harkishen Singh Surteet, besides P Ramachandran and Sttarm Yecnurt two other politburo members of the CPI-M.

The General Secretary of the CPI. I nd raj it Oupjn and M Farooqi. another veteran leader, would from the CPI delegate to the seminar.

The CPI ML and the two major partners of the ruling left front, the Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party were not Invited to the seminar.

Bhaskar Nandi, a politburo member of the CPI-ML (provisional central committee) led by the veteran Naxalite leader Santosh Rana, while commenting on their exclusion, said that

the CPI-ML had no regrets. His party refused to admit that socialism had suffered a setback after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Socialist, be explained, had ceased to exist in the Soviet Union for decades as It had pursued policies of state capitalism, over-centralisation, aggression tn Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan and so on.

The Naxalite leader said that the CPI-ML would, however, be keenly Interested in the views to be presented by Cuba, which was passing through a crisis.

On the CPI-M's decision to Invite thia International seminar of those communist parties which had been adhering to Marxism and defending the socialist cause, the State Secretary of the Forward Bloc. Ashok Ghose claimed that his party was a true follower of Marxism and Leninism. We may have some differences with the CPI-M on many issues but the party (CPI-M) should have avoided showing this kind of sectarian attitude," he said.