The 13^th National Party Congress has affirmed that: "Continuing to build and perfect the Vietnamese socialist rule of law State of the people, by the people and for the people, led by the Party is the central task of the political reform". However, some people argue that this policy is inconsistent with rules and practice. This is such a wrong argument that needs to be resolutely rejected, especially at the time that the entire Party, people and army are actively preparing for the elections of the 15^th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2021 – 2026 term.

Vietnam is one of the countries with early forms of state in the world, as can be seen in the feudal states founded as early as after the success of Ngo Quyen’s insurrection in 938. Through historical ups and downs, the feudal dynasties left many good traditional values and national identities, but due to their improper movements, they have become outdated and lost their legitimacy. Since the August Revolution in 1945, under the leadership of the Party, the State was built in the direction that: "All powers belong to the people". The state apparatuses from the central to the grassroots levels have been increasingly perfected. People brought into play their "authority", together with the State, overcame difficulties and challenges, and gained great achievements in the resistance wars, as well as in the renovation of old society and building a new society. People’s material and spiritual lives have been increasingly improved, as stated by the General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: “Our country has never had such status, potentiality, position and prestige like today". Nevertheless, hostile and reactionary forces distorted that: building the state of the people, by the people, and for the people is to repeat the "old" theory of a super-class, non-class, and all people’s state of the bourgeois scholars from the nineteenth century. Others argue that: according to Marxism-Leninism, the state is an instrument of the ruling class, there is no state of the people, by the people, for the people. Most of them try to promote the building of a state with separation of powers following the style of bourgeois democracy, etc. In essence, these are outdated views that are incompatible with social progress and need to be refuted because:

The State of the people, by the people, and for the people is the result of the evolution in accordance with law. Applying materialistic dialectics to historical research, K. Marx considered society a part of the nature and found the law on the suitability between forces of production and relations of production; the dialectical relationship between the base and the superstructure; class and class struggle; state and social revolution, etc. He asserted that: "I consider the development of socio-economic forms as a natural and historical process". Accordingly, when the conflict between production forces and production relations reaches its peak, social revolution will take place, paving the way for production forces to get rid of the "chains" of outdated production relations, then comes a new socio-economic form represented by a new class, establishing a state and a social regime on the basis of a new and more progressive socio-economy. In the socialist stage, the building of the state of the people, by the people, for the people under the leadership of the Communist Party is in accordance with the law and Marxist-Leninist theory. Reality shows that, after the Russian October Revolution in 1917, the Soviet Union and a number of countries (including Vietnam) established a socialist state of the people, by the people, for the people, under the leadership of the Communist Party and have become a powerful system, threatening the survival of capitalism worldwide. Unfortunately, in the last years of the twentieth century, due to many reasons, the socialist model in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries collapsed. At that time, Vietnam and some other countries have applied and developed Marxism-Leninism in accordance with the practice, undertaking a comprehensive renovation of the country and obtained many great achievements. The national construction platform in the period of transition to socialism (Supplement and development in 2011) clearly states that: "The struggle of the people for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress, despite facing many difficulties and challenges, will gain new progresses. According to the law of evolution of history, humans will inevitably advance to socialism”.

The state of the people, by the people, for the people is the historical choice of Vietnam. After the invasion (in 1858), the French colonialists turned our country into their colony. Our people were oppressed and cruelly exploited; their lives were miserable and destitute; they were not allowed to decide even their own issues. That situation triggered French resistance movements everywhere. However, due to inappropriate lines, methods, and targets, they were all bloody suppressed. Facing the urgent need of reality, the Communist Party of Vietnam - the pioneer team of the Vietnamese working class, was born, led by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, gathered and led our people to win the August Revolution in 1945, established the first worker – peasant’s State in Southeast Asia. Since then, Vietnamese people from all walks of life have always believed in the leadership of the Party, the management and administration of the State, united, unified to create the synergy and score great feats, ushering in the era of national independence and socialism.

Building a state of the people, by the people, for the people is the aspiration of our people, in accordance with the reality of our country. It can be said that the biggest aspiration of every Vietnamese people before 1945 was independence, freedom, and happiness. In response to that wish, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) was born. On January 6, 1946, each Vietnamese citizen aged 18 and above was allowed to vote for the deputies of the National Assembly - the most powerful agency of the new State. But for some decades later, the French colonialists and then the American imperialists invaded our country (1946 - 1975). With the determination that: "We would rather sacrifice everything than lose our country and become slaves”, the Party and State gathered, and led our people stay united in the two resistance wars and made up the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu (May 7, 1954) and the Great Spring Victory (April 30, 1975). Entering the era of national construction and defence, especially since the renovation to date, the state power have been increasingly transferred to the people: “The Socialist Republic of Vietnam State is a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people, ... all state power belongs to the people whose representative is the alliance between the workers, the peasants and the intellectuals. State power is unified, with assignment, coordination and control among state apparatuses in the exercise of legislative, executive and judicial powers”.

In fact, members of the state apparatuses from central to grassroots levels are directly or indirectly (through representatives) elected by the people and dismissed when they are no longer credited. All activities of the state are aimed for the goal of: rich people, strong, democratic, equal and civilised country. There is hardly a country that launches the emulation movement of "The entire country joins hands for the poor, leaving no one behind". Recently, our country’s rates of hunger eradication and poverty reduction, the millennium goals have all been met and exceeded target. In order to limit the negative effects of the Covid -19 pandemic and natural disasters in the central provinces in 2020, the State has spent hundreds of trillion VND to support the people losing their jobs and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters. , etc. The administrative reform, building an "integrity, creative" e-Government, digital transformation, etc. have made it easier for the people to directly interact with the Government, and in turn, the Government operates and serves the people better and better. Everyone is allowed to contribute their ideas to the documents on leadership lines submitted to the Party Congress, as well as in the process of building, amending and supplementing the Constitution and laws. Our people are increasingly promoting their roles and responsibilities in inspecting and supervising the political system, detecting and denouncing violations of organisations and individuals, contributing to maintaining discipline and strengthening the law. The investigation and adjudication of legal violations are done in an exact, transparent and equal manner "without restricted area", have consolidated people's confidence in the Party, the State and the regime.

Building the state of the people, by the people, for the people, under the leadership of the Party is the movement and development that are in accordance with the rules and social progress which have been verified by Vietnam’s practice. All allegations contrary to this line should be identified and refuted.

VAN THANH