Date:06/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/06/stories/2009010660640300.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Forward Bloc calls for greater unity among Left parties

Special Correspondent

Against communal and religious fundamentalist forces

Call to intensify struggle against UPA’s ‘disastrous’ economic policies
‘Kerala and West Bengal will resist discriminatory policies of the Centre’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) has called for greater unity among the Left parties to thwart the designs of the communal and religious fundamentalist forces.

Forward Bloc national secretary and West Bengal Agriculture Minister Naren Dey and national secretary G. Devarajan told a news conference here on Monday that the Left parties should work with greater unity and intensify their struggle against the ‘disastrous’ economic policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. This, he said, would be possible only if the CPI(M), the largest Left party, took the initiative to bring about such unity throughout the country. The practice of individual Left parties striking alliances with different parties in different States would not help this process, they said.

Mr. Dey, who was here to inaugurate the State convention of the All India Youth League (AIYL), said the Kerala and West Bengal governments would together to resist the discriminatory policies of the Union government towards the two States. Kerala Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran would visit Bengal as part of this initiative to explore areas of cooperation between the two sides, he added.

Asked whether the Forward Bloc was happy with the performance of the LDF government in Kerala, he replied that his information was that it was doing much despite the hostile attitude of the Union government. The Centre must stop its step-motherly attitude towards Kerala and West Bengal. On coordination between Left parties at the national level, he said there was constant consultation among the four Left parties.