UPA's reply to its appraisal by Left likely on Sep 20 or 21

New Delhi, Sep 12: The UPA government has reportedly prepared a ''consolidated'' reply to the Left parties' nine-page appraisal of the Congress-led coalition and is likely to place it before the UPA-Left Coordination Committee panel meeting likely to take place after the Prime Minister returns from abroad on September 19.

''The meeting will take place after Dr Manmohan Singh's return from Havana, but the date has yet to be fixed,'' CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, who is attending the party's two-day Polit Bureau meeting in Kolkata, told UNI.

According to other Left leaders, the meeting is likely to take place on September 20 or 21. ''We learn that a consolidated reply has been prepared,'' Forward Bloc national secretary G Devrajan said.

The document has been jointly prepared by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Finance Minister P Chidambaram among others.

The Left's nine-page document reflected on what it called the government's continuous anti-economic policies, the disinvestment spree and the move to amend the labour laws including the Industrial Disputes Act and others to favour the employers.

It also talked about the government's failure to contain communal forces and the ''blatant'' pro-US tilt in foreign policy besides the pending several legislations - mainly women's reservation Bill, social security for agricultural workers and over 370 million unorganised workers.

On the Left's strategy for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the leaders said the Left parties were likely to discuss it a day before the UPA-Left Coordination panel meet.

The Left leaders said at present, the state units were meeting separately and unitedly to prepare their recommendations. ''These will soon be submitted to the party central headquarters.''

UNI