Alliance with Trinamool will damage Cong.: CPI(M)

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 14. The CPI(M) today warned the Congress against any alliance with the Trinamool-BJP combine in West Bengal `as the so-called grand alliance would cause irretrievable damage to the party (Congress) at national level'.

The political developments in West Bengal was one of the main items on the agenda of the two-day meeting of the CPI(M) Politburo, which ended on Thursday.

Taking a view that the Left front has nothing to worry, it said, ``a polarisation in which the Left rallies all the secular- democratic forces, and on the other side, the Trinamool-BJP alliance with the Congress as a minor partner would not harm the Left Front but damage the Congress at the all-India level''.

Briefing reporters, the CPI(M) general secretary, Mr. Harkishan Singh Surjeet, the green signal given by the Congress high command to go ahead with discussions with the Trinamool Congress to explore possibility of a morcha against the Left Front has led to a great deal of confusion in the rank and file of Congress party.

The go ahead given by the Congress leadership was contrary to the party's stand to fight communalism, he said. Mr. Surjeet was at pains to emphasise that the CPI(M) continued to make a distinction between the BJP and the Congress. Though there is no difference in the class character of both the parties, ideologically Congress was not a communal outfit.

Asked if he intends to meet the Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, to discuss the Bengal developments, Mr. Surjeet shot back ``why should I?. They are fully aware of what they are doing''.

The Politburo expressed serious concern over the steps taken by the Centre in pursuit of the agenda of economic reforms. The party said the slash in food subsides, hike in prices of foodgrains, kerosene and cooking gas would hit the poor. The party has called for a nation-wide protest on April 17 demanding rollback of the price hikes.

The Export-Import (EXIM) policy, which has done away with quantitative restrictions on imports of 714 items, denationalisation of coal-mining sector and withdrawal of income- tax notice on seven foreign investment companies were among other economic measures cited by the Politburo as index of the Vajpayee Government serving interests of MNCs.

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