The Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Thursday, chose a function recalling the 1857 uprising against British colonial rule to attack the United States as the 'present face of imperialism'.

It also criticised the United Progressive Alliance government's 'silence' on American senators' letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the impact of Indo-Iran ties on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

"The role of the imperialist is played by America these days. The government of India needs to deal with it sternly and with the same zeal as the revolutionaries of 1857 fought Britishers," said CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat addressing a party function to mark the 150th year of 1857 uprising.

"It was not mere a sepoy revolt, it was rather a national uprising. A fact which was concealed by the English historians for long," he added.

Karat alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government has taken a lukewarm approach towards the American comments on the sovereign issues of India like that of its foreign policy.

"American senators wrote to the prime minister's commenting on India's relation with Iran and till now the government has not come out with a clear statement on the issue in Parliament," he said.

Earlier, party cadres led by the Delhi unit leaders marched from Town Hall to 'Khuni Darwaza' to commemorate the 1857 march of rebel soldiers to Delhi.