Third alternative necessary, N-deal cover for reforms: Left

New Delhi, Jul 15 (UNI) The chances of a third alternative taking a concrete shape seem to be brightening with the coming together of the Left, BSP, the remnants of the UNPA and smaller parties determined to vote out the Manmohan Singh government in the July 22 showdown in the Lok Sabha.

Top Left leaders said the move is nesseciated in the wake of the Congress, BJP and the corporate houses advocating to push forward the unfinished agenda of the economic reforms.

The political realignments as the offshoot of the Samajwadi Party siding with the ruling coalition on the nuclear deal and the subsequent developments have the potential of the re-emergence of the third alternative.

CPI leaders A B Bardhan and Shamim Faizi told UNI that the Left has made it clear umpteen times that all the secular forces have to be gathered on the basis of concrete socio-economic policies.

''As far as the BJP and the Congress are concerned both are committed to neo-economic liberalism and having strategic partnership with the US,'' said Mr Bardhan, CPI General Secretary and Mr Faizi, party National Secretary.

CPI(M) senior leader Mohamad Salim said the immediate challenge is that corporate India would like to have a bi polar arrangement who are committed to economic reforms.

''So efforts for the sake of people and people centric issue must be to find a third alternative,''said Mr Salim, Party Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.

Mr Salim said the so-called experts refused to recognise that more and more people and states are opting for a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative.

He said such an effort was all the more necessary now when efforts are on to push policies, politics and politicians towards neo-economic liberalism represented by the BJP and Congress.

'' This is not something new for the last 20 years the political pundits, sections of the media and the protagonist of the economic reforms have been trying but failed,'' Mr Salim added.

The Left leader said now with the involvement of the PMO and the PM in the corporate affairs it has become obvious that the nuclear deal is only a cover to push forward anti-people economic policies, dictated by the World Bank and the IMF.

They said the US has been pressurising the Manmohan Singh government to open Indian economy for FDI in crucial sectors like retail, power, banks and insurance among others.

''This is what Manmohan Singh is committed and had made promises to US President George Bush,'' Mr Salim added.

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