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PM for closer links with US : Left to review ties with UPA

	March 20, 2006

India is set for a volatile political scenario in the coming months with the CPI(M) making it clear that it will review its relations with the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre once the Assembly elections in four states and a Union Territory areover in May. The CPI(M) after its politburo and central committee meeting held at the weekend announced on Monday, March 13, that it is unhappy with the economic reforms and foreign policy being followed by the Manmohan Singh Government.



Party General Secretary Prakash Karat said, “Whether it is airport privatisation, foreign direct investment in retail trade or the foreign policy, on a number of issues the Government is going ahead despite the opposition of the Left. The Central Committee decided to make an overall assessment of the political situation after the Assembly elections and to chalk out its future course of action.”



Endorsing the politburo’s stand on the United Progressive Alliance government on various issues, the Central Committee said, the party must take them up “more assertively” and work with other parties which agreed with it, both inside and outside Parliament.



On foreign affairs, Karat said one of the main issues of contention was the Indo-US strategic partnership. “We are absolutely against this new partnership. It is shameful when India says that it will partner George Bush in spreading democracy worldwide,” Karat said, adding that the Government’s stand on referring the Iran issue to the UN Security Council was a breach of the national common minimum programme. The CPI(M) leader said, there has been no official word yet objecting to President Bush’s statements during his visit to India about regime change in several countries including Iran, Cuba and Zimbabwe.



On the political front, the Central Committee expressed confidence that the Left Front would return to power in West Bengal for the seventh term.



As regards the CBI probe into the SNC-Lavalin case, Karat said the decision of the UDF Government in Kerala on the eve of the elections was a “patently political move to implicate the CPI(M) state secretary, who was also a politburo member.” He said the UDF Government earlier entrusted the probe to the state vigilance department and as its report did not serve its interest, the Government decided to refer it to the CBI.



The Central Committee condemned the BJP’s attempts to “foment communal tensions” by taking out two yatras around the country. The people experienced the “cynical and sectarian politics” behind such moves in the past and the BJP should realise that communal politics would not find popular support.



The Committee noted that in the BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, and in Orissa, where the party is in a coalition, communal outfits were being encouraged to target the minorities.



The Central Committee also came down heavily on the Election Commission’s decision to hold staggered polls in West Bengal and Kerala.



Observers say that the CPI(M) politburo and central committee meeting and Karat’s remarks afterwards indicate that the party may be moving towards offering only issue-based support to the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre which depends for its survival on the crucial outside support of the 61-member strong Left parties in the Lok Sabha.



Karat has unveiled a three-pronged approach to tackle the apparent insensitivity of the Manmohan Singh Government towards the Left concerns. The first step is to free itself from the UPA-Left Coordination Committee framework. The second step is to start/join mass struggles and campaigns with parties even outside the UPA during the coming Assembly elections and go in for mass mobilisation. The third step would be after the Assembly elections, when Left parties would meet individually and then collectively to decide on the next course of action. The CPI(M) is hoping that the Left parties would emerge stronger in the Assembly elections giving them the required political muscle to oppose the Government on key issues, especially in Parliament. But it is doubtful whether the stepped up rhetoric and pressure by the Left parties would end in withdrawal of support to the Manmohan Singh Government.



Government asked to put off airport privatisation



Firing another shot at the UPA Government’s economic policies, Karat has written to the Prime Minister requesting him to keep in abeyance the privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports till a tripartite agreement is reached on the issue. Karat said that the Airports Authority of India employees had withdrawn their agitation on February 4 on an explicit assurance from Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to form a tripartite committee comprising representatives of the Ministry of Civil aviation, the Airports Authority of India and the joint employees forum to look into proposals for modernisation of airports and employees-related issues. Karat said though the committee had been asked to give its report in three months, it had not met so far. He said, in the circumstances, the decision to hand over Delhi and Mumbai airports to private parties should be kept in abeyance till the tripartite committee finalise its report.







The airports modernisation issue also figured in Parliament on Friday, March 17, with the Left parties and Janata Dal (U) mounting a scathing attack on the UPA Government for its decision to involve the private sector in the modernisation. CPI(M) leader Deepankar Mukherjee alleged a land scam behind the contract with private companies as large tracts of prime land available with Delhi and Mumbai airports will now be up for commercialisation. Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav said the corporate land mafia was eyeing huge land at Delhi and Mumbai airports.





‘Enlightened’ national interest to guide foreign policy : PM



Reacting to the Left criticism of the UPA Government’s handling of foreign policy, the Prime Minister said that India’s independent foreign policy is rooted in the pursuit of “enlightened national interest.” Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, March 14, Dr. Manmohan Singh asserted that engaging with the United States and the growing relationship with major powers of the world was based on the all-important factor of “enlightened” national interest.



He said the country was not kowtowing to the United States and has not surrendered the autonomy of decision-making with its recent agreements with the United States. Dr. Manmohan Singh, who also holds the External Affairs portfolio, said “I do not apologise for any of the steps taken.” He said convergence between the United States and India was not unusual as both are democracies, respect law and human freedom. But he added that India is not an ally of any country and is not in any alliance.



“It is our national interest to engage with the US which is a superpower. It thinks globally and acts globally. But we state our position. Last July while visiting Washington, I said that the invasion of Iraq was a great mistake,” Dr. Singh told the Rajya Sabha.



“Any notion that the new nuclear deal we have with the US amounts to surrender of our independent thinking and autonomous decision-making process is totally misplaced,” he said replying to a discussion on the working of the External Affairs Ministry.



Urging the members to judge the UPA Government by the “totality of results achieved by us.” Dr. Singh said the Government was not “apologetic” about forging new relations with the United States that provided more space and greater elbow room for economic development and encourage energy security.