IN PROTEST MODE: K. Narayana, CPI State secretary, and B.V. Raghavulu, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, releasing posters in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

HYDERABAD: Even as the State Government is making hectic arrangements to welcome U.S. President George W. Bush, the Left parties have questioned the propriety of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in holding discussions with the "imperialist" on key issues such as agriculture.

Stepping up their opposition to the maiden visit of Mr. Bush, the Left parties are gearing up to stage a demonstration in the city on March 3.

CPI(M) State secretary B. V. Raghavulu and CPI State secretary K. Narayana told reporters here on Wednesday that Mr. Bush had no right to visit India because of his `anti-India acts.' The visit was only to pressure India to sign certain agreements which were not in the interest of the country.

The country would lose heavily in the long run if it went ahead with signing the US' proposals. It was unfortunate that the U.S. Consulate in India had sent out invitations when the task should have been performed by the Indian Government, they said questioning the Chief Minister's intentions in preparing to give a red carpet welcome to Mr. Bush whose visit was opposed by every patriotic Indian.

The leaders said they had sought permission to hold a demonstration to coincide with Mr. Bush's visit here on Friday.

`Ryots will be losers'

CPI(ML) State committee secretary Anand in a press note opposed the visit of Mr. Bush and charged that his visit to the agriculture university was to pave the way for MNCs to exploit farmers. Terming the visit an insult to people, the State unit of the CPI (Maoist) has called upon people to register their protest in whatever form they can against the imperialist US Government.

Maoists join chorus

In a statement, Janardhan, spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist) Andhra Pradesh, said the State Government's enthusiasm to make the visit a success exposed its `pro-rich' and `pro-World Bank' policies. He said people should understand the reason behind Mr. Bush's visit. "The Government here is ready to mortgage the interests of people to American imperialists," he said.

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