By IANS,
New Delhi : In an attempt to underplay their differences with the Left, Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh Tuesday met Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat, and said they agreed on “99 percent” of issues.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretary Amar Singh, who recently made a statement indicating that they were distancing themselves from the Left and softening towards the ruling Congress, called on Karat at the CPI-M party headquarters here.
They had an hour-long meeting with the Communist leaders, including Karat.
“It is true that we have differences over the Women’s Reservation Bill. But we have unanimity on 99 percent of the issues,” Amar Singh told reporters outside.
He added that differences over the Women’s Reservation Bill – that provides 33 percent reservation for women in parliament and legislative assemblies – could be sorted out.
According to Amar Singh, the differences between the parties on the women’s bill had been “hyped” by the media and “projected as a new development”. He had, however, publicly said his party was “hurt” over the Left parties’ support to the Women’s Reservation bill in its present form.
Although the meeting took place a day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staked claim to power in Karnataka, where it emerged as the single largest party, Left sources described the talks with the Samajwadi Party as routine.
“We have certain common issues, including the price rise and the India-US civil nuclear agreement, against which we have been protesting. The leaders discussed these issues and the agitation only,” a senior Left leader told IANS.
Amar Singh has said his party was not a “pichhlaggu” (blind follower) of the Left view on the nuclear issue, and if the government was willing to place new facts before them the party was willing to discuss the issue. He also alleged that the Communists did not reciprocate his party’s gestures and that the Left was changing policies as per their convenience.
Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh met Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A. B. Bardhan Sunday.