The Hindu : New Delhi News : "UPA's priority must be CMP"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 25, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

"UPA's priority must be CMP"

By Our Staff Reporter

KANNUR, SEPT. 24. The Leader of the Opposition and senior CPI(M) leader, V. S. Achuthanandan, has said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre should work to defeat the Sangh Parivar's move to implement its "Hindutva agenda" and give top priority to the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).

The Congress-led Government has ``the responsibility to move forward by implementing various projects as per the CMP to strengthen secular forces and to defeat the designs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),'' Mr. Achuthanandan told reporters here today.

An eyewash

The Leader of the Opposition said that the 100-day action plan was just an eyewash, as the Oommen Chandy Government had not given any indication of any change in its approach to the issues concerning the State.

He said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would not wait till the Chandy Government completed its 100 days. As a token agitation, the LDF would organise a blockade stir on September 28, he said.

The Government's recent actions only reinforced the image that it was helping what he called "forest and lottery mafia." To a question on the proposed Expressway, Mr. Achuthanandan said 6 lakh acres of paddy field was estimated to have been reclaimed for construction purposes over the past 10 years.

People's apprehensions about the possible reclamation of farmlands for the Expressway were genuine.

The Public Works Minister, M. K. Muneer, was yet to explain to him about the proposed project as had been promised earlier.

Ideological issues

He said that the local party conferences now under way ahead of the CPI(M)'s 18th Party Congress will discuss threadbare the ideological issues underlying the differences between those supporting the party's programmes and those propounding the idea of "class cooperation" instead of "class struggle."

"Every party member has the right to seek clarifications on the issue in the party conferences and party leaders are bound to give clarifications,'' Mr. Achuthanandan said.

Fourth World

He touched the issue of the `Fourth World' theory propounded by M. P. Parameswaran and backed by a section of party leaders and the Kerala Shasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) when he was asked about the dichotomy of the party opposing foreign advisors in the Planning Commission and the inclusion of the U.S. scholar, Richard Franke, as consultant in the People's Planning advisory body during the LDF Government's tenure.

"We are examining these issues, including the question whether any external individual or agency was involved in the People's Plan programme,'' Mr. Achuthanandan said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section