New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist’s (CPI-M) stand against communalism was well-known and its role in countering the communal politics represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was consistent, party general secretary Prakash Karat said Wednesday.
Karat’s clarification came in the wake of the Congress’ allegation that the Left was joining hands with the BJP to protest the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s policy.
‘The politics of the CPI-M and its stand against communalism is well-known. The role played by the CPI-M and the Left in countering the communal politics represented by the BJP and defending secularism is consistent. It does not suffer from the vacillations and compromises which the Congress is prone to,’ Karat said in an article written for the upcoming issue of CPI-M organ People’s Democracy.
Referring to the nationwide shutdown called separately by the Left and the BJP July 5, Karat said the Congress and their supporters in the corporate media, faced with massive opposition and protest, were ‘now raising in chorus the spectre of a ‘Left-BJP unity’.’
‘They conveniently ignore the fact that almost all the secular opposition parties have conducted the hartal.’
The people are not going to be confused by the talk of a ‘Left-BJP’ combination, said the CPI-M leader, adding that ‘they are going to judge each political party by how sincerely they protect their interests in the face of this onslaught through price hikes’.
Asserting that the Left would intensify its struggle against price rise and the government’s ‘harmful petroleum pricing policies’, Karat said politically motivated propaganda against the CPI-M and the Left parties would not deter them.
‘This campaign should lay the basis for next phase of the struggle. In the meantime, the Left parties will, in coordination with the secular opposition parties, take up the price hikes of petroleum products in parliament in the forthcoming monsoon session,’ he said.
‘Along with that, all these parties will consult on how to widen and develop the movement outside.’
He also slammed Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, saying it ‘has been stripped off all its pretensions of defending the people’s interests by being part of the central government and going along with these anti-people measures’.
