Left, BSP, UNPA to launch nationwide campaign

New Delhi, Jul 23: Agitated over the ''manipulated'' victory of the UPA Government in yesterday's trust vote, the Left and the non-NDA opposition parties today vowed to carry on their fight and intensified their efforts to evolve a non-Congress and non-BJP force, with BSP supremo Mayawati emerging as the central figure in the new campaign.

However, the Left said the grouping had yet to be defined as it was yet to take any formal shape. The previous two attempts to form a third front have crashed-- the latest one happening with the decision of the Samajwadi Party to ally with the Congress over the nuclear deal--which came as a setback for the UNPA, which the former had founded along with about half a dozen other regional parties.

Top leaders of the Left, the BSP, UNPA constituents and some other regional parties had a breakfast meeting today at Ms Mayawati's residence here after which they declared they would launch a joint nationwide campaign against the UPA government on the issue of price rise, inflation, agraraian crisis, misuse of government institution like the CBI, rise of communal forces, and of course against the nuclear deal.

''The UPA government may have won the vote in the Lok Sabha yesterday but lost the trust of the nation in an immmoral manner in which it has engineered this win. The Manmohan Singh Government has lost its moral authority,'' said a statement issued after the meeting and read out by CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat at press conference later.

He also announced that the parties agreed to form a committee to chart out the course for their campaign and coordinate efforts of the parties.

Besdies Mr Karat, the meeting was attended by his party leader Sitaram Yechuri, BSP chief Mayawati, UNPA constituent TDP chief Chandra Babu Naidu, CPI leaders A B Bardhan and D Raja, former prime minister and JD(S) president H D Devegowda, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh and leaders of other regional parties.

Addressing the joint press conference, Ms Mayawati said the way the government had secured victory in yesterday's trust vote amounted to murder of democracy, which has been condemned by all.

She said the meeting discused yesterday's incidents in the Lok Sabha in detail and considered varous ways to counter the ''immoral'' UPA government.
Addressing the press conference, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said the way horse-trading had been resorted to by the ruling alliance had brought the nation to shame. ''It is not a victory of democracy, but the murder of democracy,'' he said. The TDP chief said the UPA had not won the battle, as it had to face the real battle in the coming polls.

''We would emerge as a real alternative to the Congress and the BJP,'' he said.

Endorsing his views, Mr Ajit Singh, president of the western Uttar Pradesh-based RLD, said yesterday's incident had shocked everybody, and people now wanted to get rid of the parties in power.

''Our coming together will provide a third alternative,'' said Mr Singh.

Later, replying to a question as to who has been named as a leader of the ten parties grouping, Mr Karat said no formal front had been created yet, and the parties had just come together to launch the campaign against the government.

When asked further how as a Left leader he would define the grouping, the CPI(M) leader said, ''We have not defined any organisation, only formed a committee today. We will meet again to hold consultations.'' Replying to a question, Ms Mayawati said TRS leader Chandrasekhara Rao had come for the breakfast, but he had to leave soon for some personal reasons.

The ten parties who came together today are BSP, CPI(M), CPI, Forward Block, Revolutioinary Socialist Party, TDP, RLD, INLD, JD(S) and JVM.

UNI