The Hindu : National : No move to form third front, says Bardhan

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Thursday, Jun 22, 2006

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National

No move to form third front, says Bardhan

Staff Reporter

"It can emerge only when there is a radical programme"

BHUBANESWAR : Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan on Wednesday clarified that there was no move to form a third front at the national level at present.

"A third front is nowhere in the agenda right now," Mr. Bardhan said at a press conference here. "Third front does not mean to be anti-Congress or anti-BJP. A third alternative could emerge only when there is a radical programme which can come through struggles by Communist parties and other democratic process."

"We do not think that any alternative to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party can come about by a meeting between a few leaders," Mr. Bardhan said. Such meetings might help brighten the electoral prospects of some parties, but it should not be misconstrued as a step toward formation of a third front.

Price hike issue

Regarding the hike in prices of petrol and diesel, Mr. Bardhan admitted that the Left parties had so far failed to convince the United Progressive Alliance Government of the need for a rollback. He, however, said the Government would see reason and decrease the prices.

Mr. Bardhan said the issue of price rise in general and hike in the prices of petrol and diesel will figure in the Left-UPA coordination meeting scheduled next month. The prices of petrol and diesel could have been kept under check by reducing the excise and customs duties on these items, he said.

On the Orissa Government's recent ban on the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and seven other pro-naxal organisations, Mr. Bardhan said the ban will prove counter-productive and will not help solve the problem. It is a socio-economic problem and will not be solved by imposing a ban.

The CPI leader also criticised the `Salwa Judum' programme of different state governments which aims at fighting naxalites.

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