By IANS
New Delhi : Caught in an uneasy truce with the Congress party over the India-US nuclear deal and economic policies, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Sunday said it was eager to form a “third alternative”, prompting the Congress to scoff at the idea.
Addressing a press conference here, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said his party was ready to forge a “third alternative” of parties with a common policy, distinct from those of the Congress and the BJP.
“The Left parties and (particularly) the CPI-M have a responsibility for initiating the process of formation of a third alternative. We do not want a situation where there is a Congress-led combination and a BJP-led combination. Neither do we agree with the policies pursued by these two parties,” said Karat.
While releasing the draft political resolution ahead of the party’s 19th congress in Coimbatore from March 29, Karat said, “The party will continue to adopt tactics for isolating and defeating the BJP.
“It will not enter into any alliance or united front with the Congress,” he added.
For emergence of a third political force, parties not aligned with the Congress and the BJP will have to reach an understanding with the Left on economic policies, which have to be different from those of the two leading parties, said Karat.
Additionally, the third alternative will also lay more emphasis on the social sector and be committed to the national sovereignty with an independent foreign policy, said Karat, who was flanked by his politburo colleagues including Sitaram Yechury.
Karat said the CPI-M “differentiates between the BJP and the Congress, considering the latter as a secular bourgeois party though it often vacillates when communal forces take the offensive”.
He said the third alternative should not be reduced to a mere electoral alliance, though the CPI-M would continue to have electoral adjustments and alliances wherever required.
The CPI-M and three other Left parties have supported the Congress-led UPA government from outside.
Karat’s remarks provoked the Congress to ask if his party would be able to revive a third front without support from the BJP.
Congress spokesperson Mohan Prakash told IANS, “Till now, there have been two ‘third fronts’ – the National Front and the United Front. The National Front was supported by the BJP and the United Front by the Congress.
“The non-Congress and non-BJP parties presently mooting the idea of yet another third front have in the past either supported the BJP or have run their government with the BJP’s support,” pointed out Prakash.
Karat criticised the UPA government on price rise. “The price-rise of essential commodities is eroding the livelihood of the people. Successive hikes in fuel prices have contributed to inflationary pressures in the economy,” he said.
“There must not be any upward revision of fuel prices. There has been an unusual rise in the rice prices,” said Karat. adding that the government has remained oblivious to the “pitiable conditions of people”.
“The soaring land prices, real estate speculation and the entry of foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate have put house sites and housing out of the reach of the poor,” he said.
The CPI-M draft political resolution also lamented the growing rate of unemployment, saying it “has increased from 6.1 percent in 1993-94 to 8.3 percent in 2004-05”.
“Impoverishment and unemployment in the rural areas is leading to large-scale migration of men and women to cities where they are subjected to terrible exploitation,” the CPI-M resolution said.
Reiterating its opposition to the nuclear deal, the CPI-M draft resolution said, “The party has opposed the implementation of the Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement given the harmful provisions of the Hyde Act and its implications for foreign policy and security matters.
“The CPI-M is opposed to the UPA government’s departure from the framework of the Common Minimum Programme on foreign policy,” it said.
“The CPI-M stands for an independent foreign policy and this requires that India does not enter into a strategic alliance with the US.
“There has been a spurt of terrorist attacks around the country,” the CPI-M resolution on internal security scenario.
“The CPI-M condemns the Maoist-Naxalites who are resorting to terrorist actions and violence against political opponents. The Maoists cannot be treated in any manner as a Left force as they actually harm the movement,” it said.