Karat condemns joint Naval exercise with US, Japan, Australia

Chennai, Sept 4: Senior CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat today condemned the joint Naval exercise to be conducted off Bay of Bengal by India, US, Australia and Japan.

In a brief interaction with reporters at the airport here on his arrival from New Delhi, he said the CPI(M) had strongly opposed the arrival of US warship Nimitz, which was used during the US war on Iraq. Watch Video

Mr Karat said, south India, especially Chennai, was an important place and the Bay of Bengal was an important area. ''Conducting joint Naval exercise in this region will pose serious security threats,'' he added.

He said he had come here to address a public meeting organised by the Left parties to condemn the joint Naval exercise and also flag off a protest march from Chennai to Visakhapatnam tomorrow on the issue.

UNI