Left-UNPA intensify search for third alternative,Indian Politics, News Analysis, India News Online

The Left and the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) leaders will be coming together at a common platform on February 26, ostensibly to demand implementation of recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers, but which may also help them in their search for a third alternative, non-Congress and non-BJP. Observers say that this will be the first time in three and a half years that senior Left leaders will be participating in a political rally of people and parties opposed to the congress led United Progressive Alliance Government. Top leaders of both the CPI(M) and the CPI Prakash Karat and A.B. Bardahn will be addressing the UNPA farmers’ rally in the national capital.

Both the CPI(M) and the CPI had earlier turned down invitations to address a series of rallies organized by the UNPA to highlight farmers’ issues. When the UNPA launched its rallies from Vijayawada on November 24 last year the Left kept away from it ignoring personal request from Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu.

The Left leaders’ decision to address the UNPA rally comes in the backdrop of statements by Prakash Karat and A.B. Bardhan on the need for a third alternative. By joining hands with parties, which have been virulently anti-Congress, the Left, observers say, wants to send a message to the Congress that it has options other than supporting the Congress to keep the BJP out of power at the Centre.

The Left has already made clear its intention to attack the government over issues related to the common man. A pre-Budget memorandum from the CPI(M) had said that the farmers were getting a raw deal under the UPA government.

Citing the National Crime Records Bureau data, the Left parties had said that the faulty policy direction of the government had resulted in the suicide of over 17,000 farmers. They have been mounting pressure on the government to write off debts of small and marginal farmers.

The Left has also petitioned the government to bring down the interest rate on farm loans to a simple interest rate of 4%.

On the issue of price rise, too, the CPI(M) has been threatening to organise a movement against the Centre. CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat has been maintaining that the government cannot make any meaningful intervention with the current set of governance priorities. The Prime Minister too acknowledges that price rise is a major issue.

The UNPA-Left rally is also expected to target the government over its engagement with the US.

A section of the government has been looking forward to the operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal. If the statement of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice—the deal has to be compatible with the Hyde Act—and the stiff resistance by the non-proliferation Ayatollahs on the Capitol Hill are anything to go by, a forward movement on the deal is just not possible.

UNPA demands steps to improve farmers’ lot

At a rally at Sampla in Haryana on February 10, leaders of the UNPA slammed the Congress for neglecting agriculture and driving farmers to suicide. They demanded that the government implement the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers.

Leaders of the front, including Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his TDP counterpart Chandrababu Naidu, reiterated that the minimum support price should take into account the risk factors, cost of production, and 50 per cent of the cost of production.

The well-attended Kisan Sammelan was organised by the Indian National Lok Dal, headed by former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala, part of the UNPA.

The alliance criticised the Congress-led UPA saying the ruling coalition’s policies on agriculture have let down farmers.

Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and former CMs Farooq Abdullah and Babulal Marandi also addressed the rally.

Naidu said the neglect of the Congress had forced many farmers to sell their organs to make ends meet.

Mulayam said: “We will fight till the recommendations of the commission headed by M.S. Swaminathan are implemented.”

National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah said while the government was willing to pay Rs 1,600 per quintal of wheat to foreign companies, for the country’s own farmers, it was only willing to shell out half the price.

Third alternative will be cohesive : Prakash Karat

Stepping up the pitch for a third alternative, CPI(M) general secretary Parakash Karat has said that it would be founded on the three principles of consistent opposition to communalism, agreement on a common minimum programme and a firm commitment to an independent foreign policy and pro-people economic policies. Opening the 19th State conference of the CPI(M) in Kottayam on February 11, he said that the alternative will not be a mere electoral alliance. He said that the parties that become members of the third alternative most work together and arrive at an understanding on the policies and programmes that they would pursue later.

The significance of the proposal for a third alternative to the Congress and the BJP was evident from the manner in which the BJP had begun attacking it from the day the CPI(M) spelt out its plans in the draft political resolution to be presented at the 19th party congress to be held in Coimbatore. The BJP saw the third front as an obstacle to its efforts to return to power at the Centre because it could hope to secure a majority in Parliament only if it could pick up a few allies, Karat pointed out.

Karat came down heavily on the UPA government and the Congress for the manner in which issues relating to communalism had been handled during the last four years of UPA rule. The Congress had been adopting an opportunistic stand on communalism. Even in Gujarat, the party was reluctant to confront the communal challenge.

Flaying what he described as the evolving strategic alliance between India and the U.S., Karat said the CPI(M) and the Left would not allow any such alliance as that would result in imposition of the neo-liberal economic agenda on the Indian people. The party had already made it clear to the UPA leadership that there was no question of the CPI(M) accepting military collaboration, strategic partnership or nuclear cooperation between India and the U.S.

That the military cooperation between India and the U.S. extended to Israel had become clear with ISRO launching Israel’s spy satellite. “We would like to know from the government why it is helping Israel to wage war with countries in West Asia,” he said and added, “Let the UPA take the issue to the people to get the people’s mandate.”

Talks on for Third Front: Jyoti Basu

In Kolkata, vetaran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu said the CPI(M) leadership is holding talks with partners of the Congress in the United Progressive Alliance with a view to forging a third alternative at the national level.

“Prakash Karat and other leaders are looking into it and efforts are on to see whether or not we can set up a third front; the elections [Lok Sabha] are approaching,” Basu said emerging from a meeting of the CPI(M)’s State Committee on Feb. 12.. He, however, added: “But at present, no solution has been reached.”

On the composition of the proposed third front, he said: It “will be decided later.”

Left, BJP demand oil price rollback

The Left parties as well as the BJP have demanded rollback of the Centre’s decision to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 2 and Rupee 1 a litre respectively taken last week. The Left demanded an immediate rollback of the hike. Both the Left and the BJP said that they will launch a nationwide protest against the hike, which they said worsened inflation and severely hit the common man.

Speaking in Kottayam on February 14, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said it was unfortunate that the UPA government had increased the prices of diesel and petrol. He said, “this is the latest gift from the Manmohan Singh government to the people who are already suffering from all round price rise.”

Speaking in New Delhi on the same day, BJP president Rajnath Singh said his party will hold a nationwide protest against the fuel price hike. He said the hike would trigger inflationary trends.

The government on its part said , “we tried hard not to increase fuel prices but it had become impossible for the public sector oil companies to continue operations with mounting losses”. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said he had talked to CPI(M) leaders to explain the situation and pointed out that the government had decided to share a greater burden by also raising the quantum of bonds issued to the oil companies.

The Congress said that it is against taxing the common man but argued that the government faced the ground realities which forced it to hike prices. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh identified tackling price rise as a priority for his government and charactarised inflation as a tax on the common man.

Pinarayi re-establishes his clout in Kerala unit

The 19th Kerala conference of the CPI(M) ended in Kottayam on February 14 after re-electing Pinarayi Vijayan as state party secretary. Observers say, that the conference was a show of strength by Vijayan and his supporters but there were no major dramatic developments and upsetting of the status quo in the state committee.

Reports say that the majority of the delegates of the conference expressed displeasure at the functioning of the State Government and some of them went to the extent of blaming Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan for the drift in governance. There were complaints that the Chief Minister was putting hurdles in investments in key projects.

The only element of drama came when Chief Minister Achuthanandan called on party general secretary Prakash Karat at his hotel room late Wednesday night. Achuthanandan himself sought to play down the event, but there was speculation that he had expressed his displeasure about the manner in which he was targeted during the discussion on the State Secretary’s report to the conference. However, he is reported to have told the delegates, before the curtain came down on the conference, that he fully accepted the criticism and would strive his best to bring about more cohesiveness in the party and the government.

The CPI(M) Politburo, represented at the conference by Karat, Sitaram Yechury, S. Ramachandran Pillai and R. Umanath, played a key role in steering the conference clear of any factional deviations.

Neither Karat nor the other Politburo members made any overt intervention in the proceedings, but sent across a clear message that factionalism in any form would not be tolerated.

West Bengal: Differences in the Left Front continue

In West Bengal, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Forward Bloc continue to air their differences with the CPI(M) leadership. On February 13 the RSP warned the state administration not to act in a manner that the political agenda of one party of the ruling combine (read the CPI(M) is fulfilled inflicting suffering on the people. Embarrassing the CPI(M) further, RSP supporters marched towards Writers’ Building to lodge its protest against police “highhandedness” and firing during a democratic movement at Dinhata on February 5, killing five Forward Bloc activists.

The Forward Bloc, another partner of the Left Front government, has given an ultimatum to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the CPI(M) on their “misuse of power and the government machinery" against other political parties.

The Forward Bloc alleged that the CPI(M) had been misusing police and official power against Trinamool Congress, Congress and other parties, and now they had started applying the same method against the front partners, which were opposing their “coercive and anti-people” policies.

Veteran leader Ashoke Ghose alleged on Feb. 11 that the recent Dinhata incident was a glaring example of the CPI(M)'s misuse of the police, adding that "it was pre-planned" and was similar to the Nandigram incident.

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