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No scope for third front with AIADMK, says Bardhan

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE Nov. 9. The CPI general secretary, A.B. Bardhan, today rejected the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's call for the party's cooperation in forming a third front, saying categorically ``there will be no ties with the AIADMK.''

"I welcome the call, but also reject it. What does she expect us to cooperate in? In suppressing democracy and freedom of the Press?"

Talking to presspersons here, he said the third front was a matter of ideology and in the interests of the nation, and not of a mere intention to form one. It should be secular, uphold the federal polity of the country and adopt a foreign policy that facilitated aligning with the Third World countries and not imperialist forces.

It should adopt a policy for development of public, private and the cooperative sectors and not favour selling of public sector units to multinational firms.

The third front had to be a political perspective of replacing a bi-party system under which either the Congress-led front or the BJP-led front came to power.

Other than rejecting communalism, the Congress did not differ much from the BJP in terms of faulty economic policies.

Asked on his party's stand on alliances, Mr. Bardhan said the CPI opposed the BJP at the Centre and the AIADMK in the State.

"The situation is strange in Tamil Nadu. The DMK says it is not out of the NDA (at the Centre) but certainly not with it (in the State). On the other hand, the AIADMK is not in the NDA but certainly seems to be with it."

`A test for democracy'

Later, Mr. Bardhan offered fruit juice to journalists, who were protesting here against the Assembly action against editors and senior journalists of The Hindu and the editor, Murasoli, to end their fast.

The national Secretary, D. Raja, and the State secretary, R. Nallakkannu, said the ongoing events were a test for democracy. The action sullied the image of the Assembly.

The media always contributed to a spirited democracy, and muzzling it amounted to trampling on democratic rights.

Governments should accept criticism. ``Even Jawaharlal Nehru relished the cartoons, which lampooned him. The entire issue raised the basic question: how to defend democracy?''

Mr. Nallakkanu said dictators always targeted the media and the intelligentsia first.

The former DMK Minister, Pongalur N. Palanisamy; the DMK Rajya Sabha MP, Viduthalai Virumbi, and office-bearers of Opposition parties said the ongoing struggle should raise the political awareness among the rural masses.

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