Arrest, prosecute MNS chief Raj Thackeray: CPI

New Delhi, Nov 2 (UNI) The CPI today demanded a thorough investigation into all bomb blasts in various parts of the country and stern action against the Sangh Parivar outfits and MNS chief Raj Thackeray involved in religious chauvinism and attacks on minorities and terrorism.

" An extremely grave situation has emerged by way of communal flare up in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said here at the conclusion of the two-day deliberations of the party 31-member National Executive.

At a press conference, flanked by party senior leaders S Sudhakar Reddy and Atul Kumar Anjan, Mr Bardhan said more serious is the interrogation of a serving Lt Colonel of Army in connection with the conspiracy of the Malegaon bomb blasts.

" In Orissa and Karnataka pre-planned attacks on Christians were organised that have resulted in deaths of over 50 people and uprooting of over 20000 people. The local police and administration rather helped the victims flee to the jungles. The Union Government failed even to use the provisions of Article 355 of the Constitution to restrain these two states," said Mr Bardhan, the veteran communist and freedom fighter.

On the Government's failure to contain stagnation and recession, the CPI leader said the meagre measures taken by the UPA had rather gone in the opposite direction.

" Instead of going in for regulatory measures, the Union Cabinet has decided to raise the FDI limit from 26 to 49 per cent in insurance. It also wants to futher liberalise the insurance, the Pension and mutual funds and has not learnt any lesson from the collapse of the financial system in US and European countries." He also demanded that the government reduce the domestic prices of petroleum products including cooking gas after the international price of crude oil dipped from 140 dollars per barrel to nearly 65 dollars per barrel.

Mr Bardhan also said he was not fully satisfied with the government's role in Sri Lanka in view of "killings" of Tamils in the backdrop of armed ethnic conflict. At least 400 fishermen had been killed during the last 2-3 years, he added.

He stressed that he did not favour a military solution but favoured the right of self determination for the Tamils.

UNI KSA RP AS1823