Since the formation of the CPI-M, following a split in the Communist Party of India in 1964, the party never drew a blank in the state in Lok Sabha elections.
In a joint letter to the prime minister, the opposition leaders, including some chief ministers, have also demanded providing foodgrains to the needy, and giving Rs 6,000 per month to the unemployed.
The meeting also discussed possibilities of forming a non-BJP government including regional parties with the support of the Congress.
Following a debacle in the West Bengal assembly election, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said he does not want to contest any future election in an alliance which has the Indian Secular Front (ISF) as a partner.
During an interactive session at the 'Ideas for India' conference in London on Friday, Gandhi not only mounted a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party government but also extended an olive branch to regional parties who he had angered with his comment that they were not capable of taking on the saffron party for want of ideology.
Observing that it will take another half a decade for the country to fully recover from effects of economic slowdown, senior CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said increased spending on infrastructure sector could help accelerate the pace of growth.
The two-day Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo meeting, held at the party headquarters in Delhi, ended on Sunday. Politburo member and senior leader Sitaram Yechury, while briefing media persons, said that the party has called for a special central committee meeting on July 11 and 12 to discuss the factional split in the party's Kerala unit.However, sources said that the two-day meet has decided to take action against Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for standing by her "merchant of death" remarks against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying the United Progressive Alliance chairperson has breached all limits of "political decency" with her comments.
Terming Tata Motors Nano project as "very important for Bengal and industrialisation", CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri was on Thursday hopeful that talks between the West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress on the issue would lead to a solution.
Naidu met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that a section of farmers has fallen in the grip of a few people with "vested interests" and asserted that the government was working to address their misgivings about the reforms, which have drawn strong protests from a section of cultivators.
Wednesday's critical United Progressive Alliance-Left meeting on the Indo-US nuclear deal ended with both sides agreeing to meet again soon. The date for the same is yet to be finalised
In an article in the latest issue of its party organ People's Democracy, he said the Constitution, while protecting the right of the individual's choice of faith, also seeks to encourage scientific enquiry and spirit.
'The UPA must stick to the common understanding arrived at with Left parties that the Committee's findings will be taken into account before the government proceeds to operationalise this deal,' he said.
Denying desisting from their stated position on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Left parties on Tuesday asserted that they were ready for "any eventuality" even as they continued their engagement with the government to break the impasse over the issue.
To a question on continuing support to the government, Karat said he has just talked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and it depends on what they decide.
Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has always played a key role in defusing tensions with the Left, were also present at the crucial meeting.
When contacted, Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechury and Communist Party of India national secretary D Raja declined immediate comment, saying they could raise the matter in Parliament.
Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechury on Sunday said that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will remain West Bengal's Chief Minister, laying to rest speculation that he would be replaced.
CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri said india favours a democratic setup for Nepal.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) charged the United Progressive Alliance government with making a "wrong diagnosis" of the causes behind price rise and said the steps announced to control inflation would in fact stifle the high growth rate.
In a joint statement, leaders of eight opposition parties extended their support to the farmers who are protesting the three farm laws.
"I do not answer hypothetical, speculative questions... This is purely imaginary at the moment," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.
Senior Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said the party has started discussions on the third alternative and any party that wants to be part of it must: 1. Uncompromisingly oppose communal forces. 2. Oppose the anti-people economic reforms. 3. Oppose all efforts to try to make India a subordinate ally to United States' imperialism.
CPI (M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury has outsourced the planning of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme in West Bengal to IIM-A students. Students will be involved closely with the constituency's role in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. 4-5 students will work on this project and will be guided by faculty advisors. This project will enable students to understand the working of government and public policy.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat have been keeping a low profile, but their interest for the presidential nomination has been debated upon by the media.
After its drubbing in West Bengal in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the state unit of CPI-M today began a two-day meeting to analyse reasons behind its poor performance in the Left Front-ruled state.
Despite consumer inflation, joblessness, etc, ordinary voters still think Modi is the best to rule the country.< Going into the poll with a tried and tested prime ministerial candidate is a huge plus for the BJP --- and a huge handicap for the Opposition, points out Virendra Kapoor.
CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta asked the government on Monday to reduce the tax burden on petroleum products and clubbed their consumption in the country.
With the aim of opposing the India-United States nuclear agreement, the Communist Party of India - Marxist is trying to form a third front without the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, senior party leader Sitaram Yechuri said on Sunday. Addressing a public meeting, Yechuri also requested other parties to join this front.
"Our party will contest 16 seats. We appeal to all secular parties to support us. Elsewhere, we will support the strongest secular candidate against the BJP," party Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said.
A major controversy erupted on Wednesday over MPs writing to US President Barack Obama seeking denial of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with some MPs denying having signed it.
Choosing the next Dalai Lama is too profound a tradition to be controlled by the Communists in Beijing.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, along with Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, had a fifteen minute meeting with Karat at the CPI-M headquarters on Thursday morning.
Contending that the Left has the right to express its views, he said, "I am hopeful the deal will come through and if not, it will be unfortunate for the country." To a question, he also said, "Anyway, we all are preparing for elections."
To a question about stability of the government, he said, "Our agenda is the nuclear deal and the implications of the Hyde act on national sovereignty and interest."
Yechury briefed the prime minister about the deliberations of the CPI-M's central committee and the position taken by the party.
CPM general-secretary Prakash Karat had said that the government would have to face serious consequences if it went ahead with the nuclear deal.
Ahead of the meeting of the UPA-Left Committee on nuclear issues on Tuesday, the CPM on Monday made it clear that it would not allow the government to proceed on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury on Monday said the Left parties are in favour of the much-delayed Women's Reservation Bill and maintained that it should be introduced in Parliament in its original form. He said parties like RJD and SP are opposed to the bill, as they have certain issues related to it. However, he said, these could be discussed in Parliament through amendments also.
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