Left will make Centre change policies: Karat

Kolkata, May 28: Taking strength from electoral victories in West Bengal and Kerala, the Left parties will intensify their struggle to change the 'faulty' policies of the UPA government and give a new direction to other states for an 'alternative' political arrangement, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today said.

''After the victories in West Bengal and Kerala, we will intensify the movement to make the UPA government change its faulty policies.

We pledge that we will continue to fight for the cause of the common people,'' he said while addressing a victory congregration of the ruling Left Front at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

Mr Karat said the party's two-day Polit Bureau meeting, which ended here today, had already decided to work towards bringing in a change in the policies at the Centre.

''Two years ago the Left parties had brought in a change at the Centre - there was a paradigm shift -- now it will be our task to change the policies of the Government, '' he said.

The CPI(M) leader said victories in both the states had strengthened the Left parties and would ''enthuse the toiling masses'' elsewhere in the country and the policies being implemented in three Left-ruled states would ''show a new direction to other states for an alternative arrangement''.

The congregation was attended by the Polit Bureau members besides the Cabinet and state ministers.

Declaring that the Left parties were not satisfied with the two years' performance of the Congress-led government, veteran leader Jyoti Basu called for strengthening the party's frontal organisations to mount pressure on the Centre. ''The UPA government has left unfulfilled a number of promises in the Common Minimum Programme(CMP). We are not happy at it. We have to mobilise the people by strengthening our organisations in various spheres of society,'' he said.

Alleging that the UPA government was bowing to US pressure, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the Left parties would continue to oppose it. ''The Government is repeatedly succumbing to US pressure. Is America to decide what will be our policies in economy and foreign affairs? We will never accept such a situation,'' he said.

In an apparent reference to the overall political situation and the contradiction between capitalism and Marxism, Mr Bhattacharjee said the Left parties in the country were treading an altogether new path and based on experience, they would have to make way.

''There is nobody to show us an ideal way to move ahead. We are following a new way on the basis of experience,'' he said.

Mr Bhattacharjee said his government had many tasks to fulfil in various areas and generation of employment would be its top priority.

In its move for the state's development, the government would strike a balance between agriculture and industry by sustaining the agricultural success and giving a momentum to industrialisation, he said.

Describing the Left victory as 'historic,' Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar stressed the need for a platform of non-communal democratic forces for a sustained movement at the ground level to forge a third alternative.

''The non-communal and democratic people of the country are looking for a third alternative. Our victories in West Bengal and Kerala will play a historic role in consolidating the process towards that end,'' he said.

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandana said the victories would enable the Left parties to put more pressure on the UPA government to work in favour of the common people.

''One of our appeals to the people was to strengthen the Left.

Fron now onwards we will have a stronger presence in the national political scenario,'' he said.

Commenting on political stability in Kerala, Mr Achutanandan said the ruling Left Democratic Front(LDF) would emulate West Bengal in this regard.

UNI