Agartala: CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat Saturday asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to make clear its future political programmes and plans. He welcomed its electoral fight against the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“In the assembly polls, the AAP has become a viable alternative to the Congress and the BJP. We have to watch and see the party’s (AAP) political programmes, policies and plans before supporting it,” Karat told reporters during the CPI-M’s ongoing Central Committee (CC) meeting here.
Talking about the outcome of the assembly elections, he said the BJP could not succeed in these five states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram) in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections though it did well in the preceding assembly polls.
“In India, there are some states where there is bi-polar politics, but in many states the electoral fight is triangular or multi-cornered, leaving scope for forming third secular alternative,” he said.
The Left leader said the BJP benefitted in the assembly polls because of the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) failure in governance.
“Huge anti-Congress sweep has even taken away the vote share of CPI-M in Rajasthan, resulting in defeat in all 37 seats in the state.” The CPI-M had three legislators in the previous Rajasthan assembly.
He said the Left parties would work to curb polarisation on communal lines before the Lok Sabha elections (scheduled April-May next year).
Karat along with 77 CC members, including 13 politburo (PB) members (of the 93 CC members and 15 PB members) is attending the three-day meeting which began here Friday.
After the Left party was formed Oct 17, 1920, the CPI-M’s PB and CC meeting is being held for the first time in the country’s lone Left-ruled state Tripura.
The CPI-M general secretary said the meeting discussed the party’s political strategies for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting also conducted a mid-term review of the decisions adopted in the 20th party Congress held in Kozhikode (Kerala) April 4-9, 2012.
Indicating the BJP might gain more seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Karat said the corporate and business houses are fully backing the saffron party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
“After the Lok Sabha polls, a non-Congress, non-BJP political alternative front would be formed which would implement viable alternative policies for the people.”
“To curb the activities and to unearth scams of ‘chit funds’ in West Bengal, a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court must be done,” he added.
“Though the Congress is squarely to be blamed for the price rise of essential commodities and rising inflation, the UPA government is also guilty of rejecting the Left parties’ proposals to curb these steep increases,” he said.
Regarding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that bans gay sex and the recent apex court verdict again making it an offence, Karat said the CPI-M wants de-criminalisation of homosexuality. (IANS)
