National

Third alternative need of the hour: Karat

— Photo: Subir Roy

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and Subashini Ali during a Jan Sangharsh rally in Lucknow on Thursday.

LUCKNOW: Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat called for the formation of a third alternative and appealed to the secular and democratic forces to assist the party towards fulfilment of its objective.

Addressing the CPI(M)’s “Jan Sangharsh Rally” on the Gomti grounds here on Thursday, Mr. Karat said the formation of a new alternative was the need of the hour. However, the new alternative did not mean that the parties entered into a poll alliance and then pursued policies followed by the Congress and BJP governments, he said. In fact, programme-based polices in the interest of the common man should form the basis of governance.

Mr. Karat said a dialogue would be initiated with other secular democratic parties and expressed hope that the new political formation would be conceptualised. He said the concept of a third alternative would be discussed at the upcoming national convention of the party in Coimbatore.

With specific reference to Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Karat hinted that the CPI(M) would have no truck with those parties which appealed to the people on the basis of caste.

Though the CPI(M) leader considered the Congress a secular party, he said the BJP’s victory in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (where the Congress was in power) elections had impacted the party.

Mr. Karat was hopeful that with the strength of the CPI(M) and other Left parties increasing, and with the support of the secular parties, it would be able face the BJP. He said the outcome would be seen in the next Lok Sabha elections. The BJP would lose the elections in the same manner as it had lost the UP Assembly polls in 2007.

Mr. Karat slammed the BJP and the RSS for the attack on CPI(M) workers in Kerala and the party’s Central Committee office in New Delhi, and said his party would not be cowed down by these intimidatory tactics.

Stating that the BJP pursued a “communal agenda” aimed at dividing the people, Mr. Karat condemned the attack on CPI(M) headquarters on March 9 in which five Central Committee members were injured. He said since the 2006 Assembly elections in Kerala, 12 CPI(M) workers had been killed by the RSS and the BJP workers in the State.

Reiterating his party’s stand on the India-U.S. nuclear deal, Mr. Karat said as long as the CPI(M) supported the UPA government it would oppose the agreement and not allow the government to have its way . He said the proposed deal had been opposed by the majority of the members of Parliament. Mr. Karat said there was no place for policies influenced by U.S. imperialism and India should follow an independent foreign policy.

Emphasising the need to strengthen the Public Distribution System, he said there should be a common ration card instead of a BPL card. The CPI(M) leader supported the enactment of a law to protect the interest of workers in the unorganised sector.

He said the Left parties would stage a dharna in front of Parliament on March 18 to register their protest against the rise in prices of essential commodities.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Subhashini Ali said the credit for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) should go to the party. Ms. Ali said time was up for caste politics in U.P.

A resolution demanded the effective implementation of the rural employment guarantee programme and payment of sugarcane dues to the farmers. It also demanded that privatisation measures be revoked and farmers be paid remunerative price for their produce.

Corrections and clarifications

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu