New Delhi, June 14
The CPI said here today that it preferred the role of a watchdog to that of a power partner of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.
Briefing mediapersons on deliberations held during a three-day meeting of the national council, party general secretary A.B. Bardhan said, “The party fully endorsed the stand taken by its national executive earlier, to support the UPA government from outside and not to be part of it. It is a stand taken by the entire Left collectively. The party is of the view that the unity of the Left is of paramount importance and the united Left, supporting the government from outside, can play a better role to ensure good governance.”
Putting an end to the speculation that the Left might withdraw support to the UPA government, he said it was known that the Left played a responsible role in coalition politics and did not wilfully destabilise a government they supported.
He said,
"We have placed ourselves in a position where we can act as a watchdog and raise our voice and take appropriate action to check deviations or apply corrections, whenever necessary.”
He also presented a report titled ‘Election review and future tasks’ at the meeting. The report was unanimously endorsed by the council. It discussed the role played by the Left and the party in bringing together the secular parties for setting up a coalition government. It also discussed the common minimum programme (CMP) for the UPA.
The national council observed that the CPI did not consider the CMP as a Left programme, although the party contributed towards drafting it. “But neither could the CMP be a Congress programme. It is a political document that reflected the greatest common measure of agreement on the urgent needs and problems of the country,” it observed.
It stressed the importance of people’s involvement in implementing the CMP. It expressed the hope that the forthcoming Budget would reflect the concerns of the people and give priority to agriculture, employment generation and access to drinking water.
It further cautioned that there should not be any let up in the struggle against communal forces. “The BJP will wait for every single opportunity to harm the UPA government. We have to be vigilant and carry on our fight against it.”
It expressed concern over the “growing confrontation” between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. “Every party has a right to try and expand its political base in the state and also to express its view on the prevailing situation. But, it will be better to exercise restraint while doing that so as not to confuse the secular masses,” it opined.
The party expressed concern over the frequent statements on foreign policy matters that created misunderstanding and needed clarification.
In a separate resolution on Iraq, the CPI urged the UPA government to declare categorically that Indian troops would not be sent to Iraq till the occupation forces were there and till a truly elected government took over. The national council called upon the people to organise solidarity demonstrations on June 30 when the so-called drama of restoration on sovereignty would be enacted in Iraq.
The party condemned the new measures taken by the Bush administration against the people of Cuba and interference in the internal affairs of that country. It decided to observe July 26 as “Day of solidarity with Cuba” across the country.
In a resolution on suicides by farmers in Andhra Pradesh, it appealed to peasants to stand up and fight for justice. Assuring them full support and solidarity, the party said that its delegation had already met the Prime Minister and apprised him of the situation.
To improve the party’s working; the council reconstituted the central secretariat of the party. Its new members are A.B. Bardhan, P.K. Vasudevan Nair, Sudhakar Reddy, Gaya Singh, Nandagoapl Bhattacharya, Gurudas Dasgupta, Shameem Faizee, D. Raja and Amarjeet Kaur.
