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Third alternative not viable at present : CPI(M) |
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An official party document – Political Organisational Report – of the CPI(M) has set at rest fears about the stability of the UPA government because of Left pressures and the shadow of an emerging third alternative. The party document says that despite differences with the UPA on key issues, support to the Manmohan Singh Government was no longer a matter of debate.
The report, finalised by the Politburo in Kolkata earlier this month and presented to the Central Committee in New Delhi says neither the party nor the Left combination had been able to muster secular parties to come under joint platforms. Hence, a third alternative was not viable and support had to be given to the UPA government for the time being, said the report presented by party general secretary Prakash Karat. This almost amounts to an admission of failure to form a secular front.
The conclusion in the report ties in with the current thinking in the party leadership that there was no alternative to the UPA at this point because an election would only bring back the present combination. Under the circumstances, no fruitful purpose would be served by forcing an election. The alternative would be to raise Left concerns in structured forums like the UPA-Left coordination meetings, or in Parliament.
The organisational report claimed that the CPI(M) base had grown substantially since the last party Congress, even though the Hindi belt continued to be an area of worry. Going south, the report says the party had gained in strength in Tamil Nadu. In a candid reference to the factionalism in the Kerala unit, it says interventions by the central leadership had been able to keep the negative fallout in check.
Police claim ISI hand in Mumbai blasts
The Mumbai police claim of an ISI hand in the 7/11 Mumbai blasts is likely to further strain relations between India and Pakistan at a time when the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Musharraf agreed to set in place a joint mechanism on terror. The claims of the Mumbai police, made known to the media last Saturday, are staggering. The Mumbai police commissioner said the train bombings were carried out by 11 Pakistanis and seven Indians. According to the police the ISI masterminded the blasts that were executed by Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed along with members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
The details say that 11 Pakistanis entered India I three groups from Nepal, Bangladesh and the Gujarat border in March. Two were smuggle in from Nepal, five from Bangladesh and four from Gujarat by India collaborators. Nine of them fled the country; the tenth, Salim, was killed in the blasts - the eleventh, Mohammed Ali, was killed in an encounter in Mumbai. Four Indians have been identified while the other three have not yet been traced.
The terrorists were trained in Bahawalpur in Pakistan in a camp run by Azam Chema, an LeT chief trainer. The RDX was brought I from Pakistan while ammonium nitrate was obtained from India. The bombs were concealed in 5 liter pressure cookers. On July 11, seven teams, including one Pakistani in each of them, placed the bombs in trains starting from Churchgate station. The bombers slipped away after from the trains after a few stations.
The Pakistani response has been predictable; their information minister, Sheikh Rashid, denying any Pakistani role while pointing a finger to insurgent movements within India. Reaction from Pakistani media and other sources was the same. Analysts are of the opinion that relations between the two countries may get strained as a result of the ‘allegations’.
But some analysts agree that this is a setback for the Prime Minister who had allowed himself to be persuaded by President Musharraf’s protestations of innocence. On his way back from Havan, the Prime Minister had said that “General Musharrf has assured me that Pakistan has no hand in perpetrating this”. Some Pakistan watchers and the BJP are already saying that the Prime Minister had no business in giving Pakistan a clean chit while saying that Pakistan itself is a victim of terror.
At the same time, this will perhaps be the first test for the joint mechanism that will be set up to deal with such terror incidents. At present the focal points in this group have not yet been nominated. It is also unclear whether this case will be posed before this mechanism. However, the pressure would surprisingly be on India, specially on the Prime Minister who is on record saying “there cannot be business as usual, if terrorism is not under control – or if the government of Pakistan is seen not too willing to work with us to control terrorism”. He had also said, “There is an explicit commitment on the part of Pakistan to say that they will work with us to do all that is in their control to control this scourge.”
President Musharraf himself has been rather defensive on accusations from President Karzai and much of the West that view Pakistan’s role on terrorism with doubt. While in London, pointing to the UK and the US, the President had declared, “You’ll be brought down to your knees if Pakistan does not cooperate with you. That is all that I would like to say. Pakistan is the main ally. If we were not with you, you won’t manage anything. Let that be clear. And if ISI is not with you, you will fail.” In the light of this, the road ahead, as far as the “accusations” of the Mumbai blasts are concerned, does not appear to be smooth.
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