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ADULATION: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee congratulating Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar at a function organised by the Left Front in West Bengal in Kolkata on Thursday. KOLKATA: The six-day 19th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that begins in Coimbatore on Saturday will explore “an alternative path” in national politics for which the base of the Left forces needs to be consolidated, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Thursday. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) “spells disaster for the country” whereas the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) “is proving ineffective.” “In such a situation there is need for exploring an alternative path in national politics which can only be forged through a political struggle,” Mr. Bhattacharjee added. His views were echoed by his colleague in the CPI(M) Polit Bureau and counterpart in Tripura, Manik Sarkar, who said “the entire country is looking forward to an alternative path in politics.” “Both the NDA and the UPA have failed the people. The policies of the UPA government have led to widespread disaffection. Prices [of essential commodities] have spiralled, farmers have been committing suicide, factories are closing down and unemployment rising. “It is in such a situation that an alternative path in national politics is imperative,” the Tripura Chief Minister said. They were speaking at a public reception accorded by the West Bengal Left Front to Mr. Sarkar on the victory of the Left Front in the Tripura Assembly elections held on February 23. Biman Bose, chairman of the Left Front Committee in West Bengal, presided. Both the leaders pointed out that the Congress “had failed to learn from its mistakes in the past” and it was this that had led to the party’s debacles in the recent Assembly elections. © Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu |