The Anna Hazare team on Wednesday met Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat in New Delhi to explain the civil society's position on the Lokpal Bill ahead of the all party meeting on the issue.
The United Progressive Alliance government is inching towards a premature demise. It is a matter of time before the Left parties severe its ties with the government or the government gears up for a confrontation with its Left supporters by going ahead with the India-US civilian nuclear agreement. Congress media manager M Veerappa Moily gave a hint of the latter possibility in interactions with news television channels on Wednesday night.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Saturday said his party has not taken any decision yet to ask Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to quit office. "No, that is not correct. There is no such decision as yet," Karat told PTI over phone when asked whether the party has asked Chatterjee to step down and that he would quit on Monday.
The Left Front leaders, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat, have reached the Rashtrapati Bhavan to submit their letter withdrawing support to the United Progressive Alliance government to the President. Following the withdrawal of support by the Left parties the strength of the ruling coalition has been reduced to 230.
In a quick response to points raised by Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat over the Safeguards Agreement with IAEA in a letter to him, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee wrote back saying that anybody wanting access to the text of the agreement would have had to join the government for it.
Among all VIP messages wishing him quick recovery, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may cherish the most the one sent by Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat.
With Communist Party India-Marxist and Trinamool workers clashing in South 24 Parganas district and indulging in violence, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday held a high-level meeting at the state secretariat in Kolkata.
Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday stated that the Left parties would not compromise on the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam.The CPI-M leader underlined the urgent need for an alternative economic policy as the people were reeling under scorching prices for the 'wrong policies adopted by the United Progressive Alliance'.
These are interesting times in New Delhi.
Politically, the striking outcome of the first year of the UPA government is its increasing vulnerability, says Communist Party of India Marxist's General Secretary Prakash Karat
Unhappy over the imposition of Central rule in Meghalaya, senior Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma on Friday held discussions on the issue with opposition leader in the Lok Sabha L K Advani and Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat in New Delhi.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat said though All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalitha could not join the meeting of leaders belonging to the Third Front but she was very much in touch with them."In fact she approved of the six point charter that formed the basis of Sunday's discussion," Karat said while addressing a press conference at the release of the first part of party's election manifesto in New Delhi.
Team Anna on Friday made it clear that a mere discussion in Parliament will not serve any purpose and the Gandhian will not call off his fast till Parliament passes a resolution that the cleared Lokpal Bill will include the three contentious points raised by them.
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.
Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Tuesday lashed out at the Maoists, saying they have degenerated into anarchic violence in the guise of fighting for the cause of the oppressed classes."They wear the red flag and attack the red flag (CPI-M). They are killing tribals, farmers, workers and their families in the name of fighting for the cause of the tribals and the oppressed," Karat said at a public meeting.
Making it clear that the Left was not prepared to back down on the issue, Bardhan said it was up to the government to decide whether it wanted to continue or commit sati on the issue.
'...or go to jail.' 'The government is getting them silenced.'
The Left parties on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the government for approaching the International Atomic Energy Agency for the safeguards agreement in the nuclear deal before a trust vote in Parliament, terming the move as a "shocking betrayal of a moral commitment" made to the country.
The United Progressive Alliance government has failed to address the agrarian crisis and the price rise of essential commodities and there is a need for a third alternative, Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat said on Saturday. Speaking at the party's 19th Congress in Coimbatore, Karat said this third alternative cannot be merely an electoral alliance.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet died on Friday. Ninety-two-year-old Surjeet was suffering from an acute respiratory problem.
The editorial came amidst the ongoing tussle between Arlekar and the Marxist party-led Left Democratic Front government over the usage of 'Bharat Mata portrait' during official functions being held in Raj Bhavan.
Communist Party of India - Marxist veteran Prakash Karat was on Monday re-elected general secretary for the third consecutive term at the party's 20th Congress, which concluded in Kozhikode, Kerala. Karat, 64, was elected as general secretary in 2005 at the New Delhi Congress and reelected at Coimbatore for the second term. Attended by over 700 delegates from all states, the meet, which had deliberated on the poll debacle the CPI-M suffered in West Bengal and Kerala.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat writes about US President Barack Obama's forthcoming visit to India.
Ahead of the crucial Left-United Progressive Alliance committee meeting in Delhi on Friday on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the outside supporters of the Centre, after allowing the government to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Thursday said they did not want the agreement to be operationalised at any cost.
Reaching out to the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh, which has 17 MPs in the Lok Sabha, Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat drove to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister's residence in New Delhi to hold the first meeting after the Left parties withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance government over the nuclear deal.
The CPM, upset with the government's disinvestment programme, has suspended its participation in the United Progressive Alliance's coordination committee.
Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat says that the time has come for the 'corrupt' government led by Manmohan Singh to bow down to public pressure over the Lokpal impasse.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre will have to face the electorate before operationalising the proposed civilian nuclear deal, Communist Party of India Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat claimed on Tuesday.''They will have to face the people's court before implementing the proposed deal as getting clearance from various agencies was a time consuming effort," he said during a seminar.
Opposition parties on Thursday agreed to jointly raise the issue of allegations of fraud against the Adani Group in Parliament but were yet to agree on the mode of inquiry into the Gujarat-based corporate major.
Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene in the case of senior Urdu journalist Syed Mohd Ahmad Kazmi, who has been languishing in jail since March 6 after he was detained in connection with the bomb blast in an Israeli embassy car in Delhi on February 13. In a letter to Dr Singh, he said that Kazmi was a journalist of repute and as such, there was concern over the treatment meted out to him.
"The politburo wishes to point out that the UPA was formed to keep communal forces at bay. By taking such a step and the political consequences thereafter, that purpose will be undermined. We appeal to the partners of the Congress in the UPA to ensure that no such step is taken, which will help the communal forces," Karat said.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday night said the government was confident of addressing the Left concerns on issues of national interest, including the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
Some of the points regarding the agreement were discussed during the meeting, Baru said, adding Karat stated that he would put it to the party's Politburo which will meet over the weekend.
If Karat's six-page long speech is an indication, he spent eight paragraphs attacking the Congress, while just one paragraph went into slamming the BJP for its communal politics.
The National Democratic Alliance convenor had written to the CPM general secretary asking him to support their campaign against 'tainted' ministers.
The accused has been arrested on the basis of an FIR lodged by the woman at Haridevpur Police Station, they said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh continues to be unwell, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has postponed his visit to Australia by a day and Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat has warned that the Left will withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance government by Wednesday if the UPA continues to pursue the India-US nuclear deal.
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
CPI(M) General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet said the Leftists were not opposed to divestment in constantly loss-making PSUs, but wanted the proceeds to be invested in the social sector instead of utilising them to meet budgetary deficits.
