Karat calls Congress anti-farmer in Tripura election rally

Agartala, Feb 3 (UNI) CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today accused the Congress of anti-peasant policies and supporting capitalists to promote foreign investment in the country.

Addressing a election rally, organised by the Left Front here, Mr Karat alleged more than 6,000 marginal farmers had committed suicide in the Congress-ruled states, including Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh during 2006.

Taking a strong exception of the President's Rule in Nagaland, Mr Karat said the Congress leaders were confused with their own mission and vision and as a result, the Centre promulgated the President's Rule in Nagaland, while forging alliance with militant-backed tribal party Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura(INPT).

He said the left parties had observed the agrarian crisis, commercialisation of education and dismantling of public distribution system recently, as the direct result of the policies being pursued by the Congress at the national level.

He also criticised the Manmohan Singh government for the decision of price hike of petrol and diesel and said it could have been avoided if the government reduces the tax on the petroleum products.

''Congress never thought about the poor people rather make policies for extending support for the benefits of the foreign companies,'' Mr Karat blamed and added that Left parties were confidently taking up the challenge thrown at it by All India Congress Committee(AICC) plenary session and party president Sonia Gandhi for a no-holds-barred fight in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura in the upcoming Assembly elections.

He said the effort of the CPI(M) was to evolve a new path of development that did not leave out anyone and added that the attempt here was to build on the achievements of the past, but the new path of development could not become a reality unless the policies at the national level, which tended to undo the gains of yesteryears, were fought and defeated.

UNI BB LL KK AS1805