�Non-Cong, Non-BJP Secular Combination Will Get A Majority�

THE non-Congress, non-BJP secular combination will have a majority in the 15th Lok Sabha and they will not need any support from outside, asserted CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury. He was addressing a �Meet the Press� programme in Kolkata on May 4, 2009.

Answering questions on the post-poll scenario, Yechury said that the Left was right now fighting a political battle to pave the way for an alternative government at the centre. Other necessary decisions will be taken only after the elections.

Yechury underlined the need for a shift in policy direction in the interests of the people. Neo-liberal policies and the ongoing worldwide economic recession have created havoc for the common people. This is bound to intensify. Congress and BJP have been proven followers of the neo-liberal agenda. Only an alternative government can re-orient these policies.

Referring to the widening gap between �shining India� and �suffering India�, Yechury said greater State intervention and bigger public investment are necessary to cope with the crisis. However, BJP was for withdrawal of State as reflected in its forming a ministry of disinvestment in the NDA regime while Congress follows the motto of �government has no business in business�. Even the meagre stimulus package of UPA government was virtually a bailout package for the corporates.

On the oft-repeated question of �future PM�, Yechury said, in 1996, United Front was formed after the elections and a prime minister was selected. In 1998, NDA was formed after the elections and a PM was selected. In 2004, UPA was formed after the elections and a PM was selected. Even Manmohan Singh himself had no idea that he would become the prime minister. The same thing will happen in this election. The third force will sit together and select their leader after the election. Yechury said that in the parliamentary system, as practiced in our country, the people are sovereign. Projecting a PM before an election is in fact an insult to the people and the Constitution.

On the Congress charge that the Left is helping BJP by dividing the secular votes, Yechury reminded Congress that it was their withdrawal of support to the United Front government in 1998, which paved the way for the BJP to come to power. On the other hand, the Left parties supported Congress in 2004 despite the fact that most of their 61 MPs won the elections fighting against Congress. No one can dare challenge the Left�s commitment to secularism.

On the prime minister�s recent overtures towards the Left, Yechury said it is a clear admission of their impending defeat in the elections. He said that it was very important to strengthen the Left component in Indian politics. There are two trends of Left in India �� the communists and the socialists who evolved from the ideas and work of Acharya Narendra Dev, Jaiprakash Narain, Ram Manohar Lohia and others. This socialist trend should regroup themselves to widen the Left component in Indian politics.