Left against hike in prices of petroleum products

New Delhi, May 31: The Left parties, at their meeting here tomorrow, will prepare the blue-print of a nation-wide campaign against the UPA government's proposal to raise the costs of petroleum products and its cascading impact on essential commodities, disinvestment in public sector undertakings and the agrarian crisis, among other things.

The leaders of the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc, who are to meet at the CPI(M) headquarters, will also prepare a detailed note on the UPA government's performance during its two years in office, mainly on the economic and foreign policy issues and the ''differences'' within the Left on certain counts.

In separate interviews to UNI, the Left leaders also said they were closely watching the political realignments in Uttar Pradesh politics but would formulate their strategy for the Hindi heartland after the situation becames clear. While the CPI might side with former Prime Minister V P Singh's Jan Morcha, the CPI(M) is still studying the situation.

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said, ''even as my party has yet to finalise its strategy for UP, but if the huge participation in Lucknow rally yesterday is any indication, people are disenchanted and angry against the way things are taking place there.'' ''People in UP want change,'' Mr Bardhan, the veteran Communist and freedom fighter, said adding that the CPI state unit will meet in Lucknow on June 3 and 4 to discuss and finalise its position.

The CPI veteran also made it clear for any ''viable'' front to emerge, many a step would have to be taken. He did not elaborate.

On the other hand, CPI(M) senior leader Nilotpal Basu said his party was not for the time being in favour of launching any broadside angainst the Samjawadi party and UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. ''Our focus at the moment should be to popularise our policies and programmes for which we got endorsement in the recent assembly polls,'' the CPI( M) leader said.

He said this is why his party representative was not there at the Licknow rally, which is being touted as the first tentative move at getting splinter groups of the old Janata Dal parivar together. It also witnessed coming together of Union Ministers RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Lok Janshakti party chief Ramvilas Paswan at the initiative of former Prime Minister V P Singh, who revived the Jan Morcha. Former SP MP Raj Babbar is the head of the newly-revived Jan Morcha.

But Forward Bloc General Secretary Debvrat Biswas was more categorical when he said, ''the Forward Bloc is with Mulayam's SP because if we tend to weaken him or his party, the move will help the BJP only, which the Left will never accept.'' ''Yes, UP is very important in the national poltics, it has its relevance. Besides who can forget Mulayam SP's consistant fight against communal forces? How can we ignore?.

RSP national Secretary and MP Abani Roy who attended the Lucknow rally, favoured the strengthening of the Left parties through struggles and mass movements. He said it was immaterial whose government came to power in UP as things did not change at the grassroot level.

''The moot question is whether the governments change the destiny of country's 80 per cent population?'' On the joint Left meeting tomorrow, the Left parties said they would also review the performance of the UPA government's two years in office.

Mr Biswas said they would also prepare a detailed note on it.

On the proposal to hike prices of petrol and diesel, the Left leaders made it clear if any such hike was announced in the coming days, the Government would have to face a ''well coodinated'' nationwide campaign.

After tomorrow's meeting, the Left parties will in their separate sittings, assess the government's performance. While the CPI(M) Central Committee is meeting in Hyderabad on June 7 and 8, the Forward Bloc is holding its Central Committee meeting here on June 3 and 4 for the purpose.

UNI

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