CPI-M free to devise its political strategy: Congress

New Delhi, Jan 21: Seeking to downplay the draft political resolution of the CPI(M), favouring a "third front," the Congress Party today said it was the right of every political party to form its own strategy, but secular forces should stand together to fight against the fundamentalist forces.

"They are free to devise their strategy," AICC Spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told mediapersons, while, at the same time, pointing out that the "fundamentalist forces" formed a government at the centre whenever the secular forces were divided in the past. "It will be our objective to see secular forces stay together," she added. In this context, she referred to the formation of governments with Jan Sangh-BJP participation at the Centre in the late 1970s and 90s.

Ms Natarajan said the support of the CPI(M) to the Congress-led Manmohan Singh government was on the basis of the National Common Minimum Programme (NCNP).

''The NCMP is the fundamental basis of an understanding with the Left parties. It works extremely well." She said the UPA government had performed "magnificently" and that it had fulfilled all the promises made in the NCMP which "is the only yardstick by which the relationship between the ruling UPA and the supporting Left parties is judged." Asked if the CPI(M) political resolution reflected the growing differences with the Congress, Ms Natarajan said there was already a coordination panel of UPA-Left representatives to sort out the differences.

On the continuing stand - off between the Left and the government on the Indo-US Nuclear deal, she said "We have our stand. They have their stand. We have a common mechanism to sort out the differences.

We have every hope that the mechanism will succeed in removing all roadblocks." On the political situation in Goa, where Congress-led Digambar Kamat government is in crisis, Ms Natarajan said, "there is no threat to our government. The differences of opinion with the NCP have been sorted out. " When a reporter pointed out that some ministers had expressed unhappiness over the compromise formula reached with the NCP, she said "this is an ongoing process in a democracy."

UNI