UDF convener blames CPI(M) for BJP's 'growth'

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 15. The UDF convener, Mr. K. Sankaranarayanan, has alleged that the blind anti- Congressism of the CPI(M) and other Left parties is helping the BJP, which has virtually no base in Kerala, to grow in strength.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr. Sankaranarayanan said the anti-Congress(I) postures of the Left parties, including the CPI(M), had always found them in league with the BJP. Recalling the 1989 experiment of the BJP and the Left parties supporting the V. P. Singh Government, Mr. Sankaranarayanan said the CPI and the CPI(M) were implementing the same policy in the State. In reply to a question, he said the CPI(M) and the LDF would be solely responsible for any poll debut the BJP made in the State.

Mr. Sankaranarayanan said the Congress(I) was the only party which had the political strength to take on the BJP. ``We are opposed to the BJP at all levels. This is our party's basic tenet, decision and policy. The CPI(M) does not have the strength to take on the BJP at the national level. Besides, it cannot distort its history of having supported the BJP in pursuance of its anti-Congress postures,'' he added. The Congress(I) would not accept BJP support even if it was offered in the 17,000-odd panchayat constituencies in the State.

In reply to a question relating to the Kerala Congress(M)'s electoral alliance with the BJP in Kottayam district, Mr. Sankaranarayanan said: ``The UDF was opposed to the BJP. It would not recognise any such ties its constituents were to strike with that party. When it was pointed out that KC(M) leaders had justified the alliance because the BJP was a national party, the UDF convener said such arguments were flimsy. There was no denying the fact that the BJP was a national party, but that does not warrant a change in our position. A panchayat ward can be in no way compared to the country,'' he said.

Mr. Sankaranarayanan made fun of LDF's policy documents for referring to national and international issues instead of the issues relating to local bodies. He said there was no basis for the LDF allegation that there were similarities in the economic policies of the BJP and the Congress(I). ``We have opposed some aspects of the BJP's economic policy. Like the CPI(M), we have also accepted some aspects of it,'' he retorted.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Supreme Court directive for panel meet
Next     : Minority backlash against Cong(I) certain: CPI