(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist)
Vol. XXXIII
No.
17
May
03, 2009
Left
Will Act In Concert With Allies: CPI(M)
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat has underlined that the Left
parties, which are in a pre-poll alliance with parties like AIADMK,
TDP, JD(S), BJD, will take a collective decision in consultation with
these parties regarding government formation and other issues in the
post-poll scenario.
�We are vary clear that whatever will be decided will not be Left�s
decision alone. The Left is not alone. We have a pre-poll alliance with
these parties and all of us have a common approach and understanding
for formation of a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the centre after
the elections�, he asserted while addressing a press conference at AKG
Bhavan on April 24, 2009.
On the BJP leader L K Advani�s somersault on the India-US nuclear deal
issue, Karat said the reason for this is because the BJP cannot take a
stand against US even if grave national interests are involved. Advani
who had on the floor of the parliament stated that their government
would renegotiate the deal, is now saying that since it is an
international treaty it must continue. Karat said unlike BJP and
Congress, which often deride the regional parties for lacking in
�national vision�, the regional parties like AIADMK and TDP have taken
a forthright position on this issue in their manifestos.
Referring to the BJP�s decision of fielding its senior leader from
Darjeeling and its open support for formation of Darjeeling and
Kamtapur states, Karat charged that the BJP is intent on breaking up
West Bengal state into small pieces. He said this is happening at a
time when all disruptive anti-Left forces have intensified their
attacks on CPI(M). He mentioned how in the last three days five CPI(M)
cadre have been brutally killed by Maoists in Salboni, Saluka villages
in Lalgarh and Balarampur in Purulia district. Since the announcement
of election around two dozen CPI(M) cadre have been killed by these
forces. He said these planned attacks on CPI(M) cadre are aimed at
disrupting the CPI(M) election campaign. Karat asked the Election
Commission to take special measures to ensure free and fair
electioneering in these areas around Lalgarh.
On the Sri Lankan situation, Karat urged the UPA government to
bring maximum pressure on the Sri Lankan government to make it cease
hostilities immediately till all the civilians trapped in the conflict
zone are evacuated. He said mere mouthing of concern by our government
would not help in saving the lives of thousands of Tamil civilians
caught in the fighting. He said the Indian government should persuade
the Sri Lankan government to heed to the request of the UN Security
Council which has appealed for allowing international relief agencies
to enter the area and do their work. He also said the LTTE must lay
down arms.
Karat charged the UPA government of surreptitiously forging a deep
security and military collaboration with Israel. Referring to the
recent launch of an Israeli-made satellite, RISAT-2 by ISRO, he sought
to know whether it was part of the agreement arrived at with Israel for
launching its three spy satellites? Recalling how the UPA
government tried to obfuscate the issue by terming the launch of the
first satellite in January of this year as a �commercial operation�,
Karat said we got to know from the Israeli media about that satellite
being a sophisticated spy satellite to be used to monitor countries
like Iran. About the latest launch while it is being claimed that it is
for our security purposes, Karat said all technical details show that
it was of the same type as the first one and was also put in the same
orbit. �So how will this help our security?� he questioned. He also
wanted the government to clarify whether the launch of this satellite
was a joint venture which involves sharing intelligence with Israel.
The CPI(M) strongly opposed the joint naval exercises with the
Indian-US-Japanese navies to be held off the coast of Okinawa in Japan
in the end of April. After the signing of the Defence Framework
Agreement, the UPA government is increasingly facilitating
the US attempts to get India and Japan collaborate militarily with it,
he said. Karat asked whether the ongoing elections made the government
to carry out these �Malabar exercises� off the coast of Japan.
People's Democracy