Left slams Punjab govt, welcomes PM's remarks

New Delhi, Feb 7 (UNI) The Left parties today slammed the Congress rule in Punjab for ''breeding agrarian distress, farmers' suicide and burgeoning unemployment'', even as they endorsed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's caution on the return of militancy if communal forces were voted to power in the state.

The Congress' stand of land acquisition and other World Bank-dictated policies had not only ruined agriculture, but also made lives of the lower middle class, the employees and the poor sections quite miserable in Punjab, once number one state in the country, top leaders of the CPI and the CPI(M) told UNI.

Cautioning people of Punjab against voting the fascist and disruptive forces to power, Dr Singh while wrapping his tour at Chandigarh yesterday, said the Assembly polls were not an ordinary event, as their outcome would determine the future of the country as well as the border state.

The Prime Minister also emphasised that every effort should be made to prevent the revival of terrorism.

CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, who also toured Punjab constituencies yesterday, chose not to comment on Dr Singh's election speech, but said the Prime Minister might be indicating that victory of the Akali Dal-BJP combine might lead to worsening of the communal situation.

''We are cautioning the people against voting communal and disruptive forces to power, but we are also against the policies that had been adopted by the Congress during its five-year rule,'' he said.

CPI Genenral Secretary A B Bardhan said ''The Prime Minister has rightly diagnosed the disease affecting Punjab. But unfortunately he has not identified the evil that afflicts the state.'' Besides, it was no secret that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had been competing with Akali Dal to assert his Panthik credentials that bred communalism, religious extremism and ultimately created a situation conducive for the return of terrorism, the veteran Communist and freedom fighter said.

CPI National Secretary Shamim Faizi said despite the Congress ''blatantly and shamelessly'' implementing the policies dictated by the World Bank, the state economy was in ruins, agriculture was in shambles and farmers were commiting suicides due to indebtedness.

''By destroying agriculture, one cannot bring back prosperity.

Unbridled acquisition of land in the name of industrialisation has created new problems, which will further bring down the economic growth,'' Mr Faizi said.

If the Prime Minister really wanted Punjab to re-assert its previous position, the policies needed drastic changes, the CPI leaders added.

CPI(M) senior leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Nilotpal Basu said the Communist parties had made great sacrifices in fighting terrorism in the state. ''But terrorism is not a mere law and order problem.'' Mr Basu said the farmers are in a great distress...they don't get remunerative price for their produce while the expenses they bear are sky rocketing every day. ''We are contesting elections to ensure that the Akali-Dal-BJP combine does not stage a comeback... we have warned the people that if the combination comes back, the lives of farmers, the workers, the employees and the commonman will become more difficult.'' People of Punjab would definitely vote for secularism, national unity and pro-people development, the Left hoped and added that terrorism flourished in the absence of these values.

UNI