Tuesday, April 12 2005 09:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The first woman to get elected to the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM)'s Politburo, Brinda Karat said women along with social groups like Dalits, Adivasis and minorities were central to the party's political agenda.

"Women are central to the political agenda. Dalits are central to the political agenda. As far as social groups are concerned, Adivasis are. And along with that, the whole attack on minority weights, the whole danger of communalism," Karat told reporters after her election to the party Politburo.

When asked if she considered it a big day for women's movement in the party, she recalled the contributions made by "legendary women leaders" of the Communist party who have "actually created history".

"Godavari Parlekar, Susheela Gopalan, Vimal Ranade, Annab Mukherjee, Ahalya Rangalekar. These are the women who have actually cleared the path and created history, by joining the Communist movement at a young age, by taking the ideals forward and attracting large sections of women into the movement," Karat said.

Downplaying her election to the powerful Politburo of the party, she stressed upon the collective efforts of men and women in the Communist movement in the country.

"It's all a collective thing in our party. It's not that women are in a separate compartment or that I am only interested in so-called women issues," she said.

To a query, she said that it was a misconception that the party had not taken up the social issues. "Whether it is West Bengal, Tripura, Kerala, now Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, there is the greatest mobilisation of social issues and issues of social reform have been actually led by the Communists," Karat said.