The Hindu : National : Left, Congress should be equally tolerant, says Jyoti Basu

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Friday, Jan 28, 2005

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Left, Congress should be equally tolerant, says Jyoti Basu

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, JAN.27. Both the Left parties and the Congress should be equally tolerant and have enough understanding for the smooth running of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, according to the former West Bengal Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu.

Mr. Basu, who is also the CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, said this today at a special convocation of the Institute of Advanced Studies here, a ceremony where special honours were conferred on him for his ``remarkable achievement'' in politics.

Mr. Basu said that the Left parties, principal backers of the UPA, favoured a full five-year term for the Alliance. The Leftists had a right to criticise the Government in and outside Parliament and even take recourse to campaigns on issues they failed to reach an agreement in the joint committees of the UPA and the Left parties.

``We wish the UPA to continue in office for five years. This is necessary in the interest of secularism as well as for strengthening the country's unity and pursuing foreign policy independent of the U.S.,'' Mr. Basu commented.

The Leftists had decided to extend support to the UPA as the country was passing through a complex situation. The Left parties that fought the Congress for the past 45 years were now backing the Congress-led UPA to retain the secular fabric of the nation as well as to ensure all-round development.

``The UPA, too, will have to depend on the Leftists even though the latter have a feeble presence in many parts of India,'' Mr. Basu said.

Referring to the honour conferred on him, Mr. Basu said: ``I don't know if I deserve this praise. I am what I am and what I have been able to do for the past 64 years of my political life was possible because of my party's support and guidance and, of course, the affection of the people.''

He said that the trials and tribulations he had gone through never deterred him from pursuing his objective. ``I have always kept in mind the great and glorious objective of establishing a society which would be classless and free from exploitation.''

He said ``there is no short-cut way to attain such a society. We will have to go zig zag and adopt tactics to suit the changing situations.''

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