Third alternative need of the hour: CPI
New Delhi, Jan 23 (UNI) Painting a grim picture of the national economic and political scenario, the CPI today made a strong case for a non-Congress, non-BJP third alternative and asked the UNPA and other regional parties to launch common struggles on price rise, agrarian crisis and the UPA government's insistence on new liberal capitalist path.
"There is a strong possibility of revival of the third alternative if it is programme based as both the UPA and the BJP represent the same class interests and the same approach to the foreign policy," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told newspersons here.
Releasing the draft political resolution for the 20th party Congress being held in Hyderabad from March 23 to 27, Mr Bardhan said the formation of the third front was necessary to prevent the BJP from staging a comeback at the national political scenario.
Party floor leaders in Parliament- Gurudas Dasgupta, D Raja and party senior leaders Shamim Faizi and S Sudhakar Reddy- were also present at the release of the 56-page political resolution which will guide the party for the next three years while dealing with the national and the international developments.
Mr Bardhan's advocacy for the third alternative assumes special significance as the "big brother"-the CPI(M) made such a case only this Sunday enlisting the people's disenchantment with the UPA goverment's economic policies, its bourgeosie chracter and the BJP's attempt to stage a comeback at the Centre.
Replying to a specific question, Mr Bardhan said the Left parties will interact with the UNPA and other secular and democratic constituents to ensure proper seats adjustment and alliances could be made to avoid the split in the secular votes in the forthcoming state assembly polls.
The price rise and the government's move to further hike the prices of petroleum products were the two other issues around which these forces could rally round. "The prices of wheat, rice, eggs, vegetables have together raised the common man's grocery bill by more than 25 per cent in just one year." The other factors which could unite the Left, UNPA and other secular forces to build a third alternative included the common struggle against the government move to merge banks in the name of profitability and unprecedented economic divide, Mr Bardhan said.
On the rise of corporate and crony capitalism, the CPI veteran said the relentless pursuit of new liberal economic reforms had brought up a strata of powerful corporates within the bourgeois class.
"They are emerging as private monopolies in several vital sectors including oil, power, telecommunication and pose serious challenge to the public sector in these spheres." On the differences among the Left constituents in West Bengal over industralisation policy, the CPI general secretary claimed that these had been sorted out but insisted that the Left ruled states- West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura- were not supposed to "copy the governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat." " The capital investment must be people friendly and farmers friendly" he emphasised.
On the government's devation from an independent foreign policy, the CPI leader asked the Manmohan Singh government to review India's too much military involvement in Israel and reminded it of country's long standing policy of support to the Palestine's cause for homeland.
"
US
move
against
Palestine,
its
occupation
of
Iraq,
its
threat
to
military
acton
in
addition
to
sanctions
against
Iran,
have
turned
the
Middle
East
into
a
hotbed
of
war
and
instability.
It
is
a
matter
of
deep
concern
that
India
has
become
a
major
buyer
of
military
hardware
from
Israel.
This
is
helping
Israel's
military-industrial
leadership
to
carry
on
its
agressive
designs
against
Palestine
and
other
Middle
East
countries.
This
policy
needs
to
be
reviewed
and
changed."
"India
should
not
become
the
stooge
of
US
which
is
out
to
impose
its
hegemony
over
the
rest
of
the
world."
UNI
KSA
SV
RP
VC1910