For Left, Shekhawat out of race for presidency

New Delhi, May 26 (UNI) The CPI(M) today hinted that there is no chance of Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat fitting in the their consensus creteria, while stressing that for the Left individuals do not matter but the impeccable secular credentials of the presidential candidate are paramount.

''Why do you want me to say it... Everyone knows about..( Shekhawat's RSS background),'' CPI(M) General Secretary said in response to a query whether Mr Shekhawat could fit in their creteria for the presidential candidate.

On the conclusion of the party's two-day Polit Bureau meet, Mr Karat also claimed that the combined efforts of the UPA, Left and other secular allies would yield the '' most suitable canddiate for the next president, who would have a political background and firm secular credentials''.

In an obvious reference to the surfacing of two more names in the race -- Mr N D Tiwari and Mr Shivraj Patil -- the Left leader said the Polit Bureau decided to explore all options to slect the most suitable candidate in consultaiton with the UPA and other parties.

The CPI(M) leader also made it clear that the Polit Bureau had yet not deliberated on the nominee for the Vice-President post, elections for which also fall by September end.

His comment came in respone to a specific query whether the Left was going in for an 'understanding' with the UPA that they would support the Congress presidential candidate and the former should honour their claim for the post of Vice-Pesident.

Mr Karat, however, parried questions relating to External Affairs Minister Pranabh Mukherjee and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee being the frontrunners for the presidency. ''I cannot embarass them.

They dont want to be dragged into the race.'' On the reported move of DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for extracting the post of the Vice-President, he said,'' I don't know. Nobody( from the DMK side) has talked to me.'' He did not come out with a clear reply on whether the Left would consider fielding its own condidate in case the consensus zeroed in on the same.

While summing up on the Presidential polls issue, Mr Karat said,'' Now you cannot extract from the issue any more,''adding that'' we have yet not reached a stage where we can identify the candidate''.

On the three-year performance of the UPA government, the CPI(M) Polit Bereau termed the rising price rise and inflation its '' biggest failure'', calling for immediate remedial measures, mainly the banning of forward trading and fixing central stock limits for wheat and raids on blackmarketeers and hoarders.

The party, while reacting sharply to US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns' statement at over 90 per cent of the India-US civil nuclear deal had been accomplished, took great exception to the government telling nothing to them.

''We want the Manmohan Singh government not go ahead with the 123 Agreement,'' he said.

Responding to a specific query how the party proposed to deal with the political situation in the wake of the declining base of the Congress and the UPA not fullfiling the commitments in the CMP, he said, '' The issue wil be dealt with after the Presidential polls.'' The Left party also took great exception to what it called '' oppression let loose by the Congress government in Andhra pradesh against the people struggling for home sites and land. ''As many as 8000 cases have been registered against our cadres and over 900 people have been put behind bars there.'' On Punjab developments, the party asked the people to rebuff the extremists on both sides.

UNI