Amid the Bahujan Samaj Party's keenness to project Mayawati as a prime ministerial candidate, the Communist Party of India on Friday said the Third Front would not name any leader for the top post in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election. "The Third Front will not project anyone as its prime ministerial candidate during electioneering," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told reporters, a day after the Left and some regional parties joined hands to cobble up a Third Front.
CPI general secretary A B Bardhan accused the government of 'wilfully violating the Common Minimum Programme, which commits the United Progressive Alliance to pursue an independent foreign policy aimed at promoting multi-polarity in world relations and opposing all attempts at unilateralism-which is what the US pursues.'
Top Left leaders on Thursday held discussions with former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in Delhi on the prevailing political scenario reportedly giving focus on major developments in the country and Bahujan Samaj Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh.
A day after failing to topple the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government during the trust vote, leaders of the Left parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the United National Progressive Alliance met in New Delhi to chalk out their future course of action.The meeting, held at the residence of BSP supremo Mayawati, was attended by Communist Party of India Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat, Communist Party of India leaders A B Bardhan and D Raja.
Fresh from confabulations with AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa, CPI top leader A B Bardhan sees another opportunity for the Left parties to play a more effective role at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Hinting that it was open to aligning with the Third Front after the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD has said that it will not support either a Congress-led or a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre.
After the snapping of ties between the BJD and BJP, the CPI on Monday expressed hope that BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik would play a key role in formation of a third alternative to NDA and UPA.
There is no possibility of formation of a third alternative before the next elections, the CPI has said. The party said it would go for "state-specific" alliances with various political parties.
On the presence of top leaders of the three other Left parties at the inaugural session, CPI general secretary A B Bardhan admitted: 'We may sometimes have little differences. But we are together on most issues affecting our country and our people. We have to further strengthen and consolidate this Left unity, for that is the only way we can advance to build the Third alternative-the Left and democratic alternative in India."
Prominent Left leaders will lead the funeral procession of CPI-M leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet, who passed away on Friday.
'The BJP is the only political party that has opposed the proposed nuclear deal on pure nationalistic grounds. Playing the role of a constructive opposition party, the BJP has vociferously protested against certain provisions of the proposed deal that could jeopardize our long term strategic sovereignty and interests,' Rajnath said in a statement.
Choosing the next Dalai Lama is too profound a tradition to be controlled by the Communists in Beijing.
Racing against time, the government made the attempt during a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and top Left leaders Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan in the presence of United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The crucial meeting of the United Progressive Alliance-Left committee on the India-United States nuclear deal was held in New Delhi on Tuesday, amidst and divergent views expressed by both sides on the issue that further fuelled speculation about mid-term polls.
The best-ever medal haul at the 2018 Asian Games is a leap forward for India sport after the Commonwealth Games medal spurt.
We have been successfully making the government realise that our objections have to be discussed. They cannot be brushed aside. You cannot bulldoze. You will have to pause. You will have to consider our objections.
The CPI said if the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government introduces a bill or a resolution in the Parliament for formation of Telangana state, the party would support it.
The government is taking no chances with the availability of Lok Sabha MPs for the Special Session of Parliament (July 21-22), which will see one of the most exciting debates in recent parliamentary history.
When asked if it would not be good for farmers as they would be rid of an anti-farmer government, CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said that the farmers would continue to die as there would be nobody to save them.
Ahead of the United Progressive Alliance-Left meet on the India-United States nuclear agreement, the CPI has renewed its threat to withdraw support if the government moved ahead on the issue.To another question whether the Left would go with the Bharatiya Janata Party if they moved such a motion, he said, "We generally don't" go with the saffron party. If that happens, we will see at that time."
Because of the ''wrong policies'' of the UPA government, the BJP was gaining benefit and not the common man, Bardhan noted.
Communist Party of India General Secretary A B Bardhan warned that if government officials held talks with visiting International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei about the nuclear agreement, the Left Front would withdraw its support to the government. "Let the IAEA chief meet Dr Manmohan Singh and other political dignitaries. But if the govt officials hold talks with El-Baradei about the safeguards of the 123 agreement, we will pull the rug," he threatened.
The Congress on Sunday night sought to downplay the remarks of its president Sonia Gandhi at a public meeting in Haryana that the opponents of India-United States nuclear deal were enemies of development. The party said the comments were not directed at the Left parties.
For a bunch that fancies itself so greatly and does not hesitate to express an opinion on everything, this is very odd behaviour, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
They will also demand a review of strategic aspects of Indo-US relations in Parliament.
As India's negotiation with International Atomic Energy Agency is in its concluding stage, the Communist Party of India on Wednesday said the Left parties are determined not to allow the government to go ahead with the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
The UPA has decided not to sell its shares in BHEL.
A B Bardhan, general secretary of the Communist Party of India, had gone on record that the Left parties would like Chatterjee to be the official presidential candidate.
"I don't rule out the possibility of finding a consensus. It depends upon what steps the government takes. After all, it is not a one-issue or a one-party government but a coalition," said CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan. Bardhan accused the United States of rushing its high officials and diplomats to India to "pressurise the government and the BJP" to go ahead with the deal. "Some times there are allurements, sometime threats and sometime blackmail," Bardhan said
R Sampanthan, leading the delegation, expressed satisfaction over the discussions and hoped that CPI would help make a favourable public opinion about the Eelam issue.
The Left has said the amendments will make the RTI useless.
Intensifying their offensive against the UPA government, the Left parties on Tuesday decided to launch a week-long agitation from July 13 to protest its "inaction" in checking spiraling prices
Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet said that while the Left supported the UPA government, they would not give up on their 'basic agenda'.
He was talking to rediff.com on Sunday afternoon in New Delhi at a specially convened press conference to release four books -- two of them on the 1857 Uprising.
Charging the UPA top brass of aligning with industry chambers and not paying heed to coalition partners' demands, Left leaders on Friday said the forthcoming Budget should restore capital gains tax, rationalise corporate tax exemptions and export inc
It is not Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on one side and we on the other. People of the country also has a say," Bardhan said.
Bardhan has said they must remember that they do not have a majority and cannot do without Left support.
India's energy needs are expected to jump four-fold in 25 years, but it faced problems ranging from depleting fuel reserves and uncertainty in policy framework, consulting firm KPMG said on Monday.
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