Strategic ties with US biggest threat: Karat

Nashik, Oct 20 (UNI) CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat today warned the government that strategic ties with the US were the biggest threat to the nation.

''Through the Indo-US joint military exercises, the US wants to use Indian defence forces to establish their base in Asia. Fight against terror along with US president George Bush means inviting terror here,'' Mr Karat said in his address during a public rally here.

''The US captured Iraq and there was a large scale terror there in the last five years. Our forces should be independent and not allied with the US,'' he observed.

The CPI-M leader also alleged that due to the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, India would have to buy a 10,000 MW nuclear reactor from the US at Rs 3,00,000 crore. ''We can produce electricity here at 1/3 price of the total amount,'' he underlined.

He took a dig at the government on various other issues such as support to the US foreign policies, ''inaction'' to control communal forces and bomb blasts.

''We are trying to create an option to the Congress and BJP. We need your support. Join us as soldiers in the battle against all this. Vote for us,'' Mr Karat appealed to people on the occasion.

He further noted the banking and insurance sector in India will not be affected by the present global recession due to our resistance for the government policies to introduce greater foreign investment in these sectors. However, agriculture will be affected by the recession as the government introduced foreign investment in large scale in this sector.

''In future, we will witness the phase of job cuts due to the recession,'' he said, adding the Left parties opposed the ''anti-people, anti-workers policies of the Union government frequently.'' UNI GB ATI VP0012