The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : CPI (M) kept in the dark: Karat

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Thursday, Sep 06, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

CPI (M) kept in the dark: Karat

Staff Reporter

’Seventh fleet of US Navy which threatened to attack India involved in exercises’

Warm welcome: CPI (M) secretary Prakash Karat and CPI secretary D. Raja at Tada where the Left party’s jatha protesting against the Indo-US naval exercises entered the State on Wednesday.

GUDUR: The CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat has categorically stated that the UPA Government would not have the support of the Left parties for its pro-American policies.

“The Communist parties have decided to extend their support to the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre with a view to keeping the communal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power. When we gave them the support, we also did so because we adopted a Common Minimum Programme (CMP).”

Public meeting

He was addressing a public meeting here on Wednesday as part of his five-day jatha, which set off from Chennai on September 4, to protest against India’s multi-national naval exercise with the United States in the Bay of Bengal.

The Marxist leader said that within one year after formation of the UPA Government, it reached an agreement with the US for a military alliance without taking into confidence any party, including those in the Left. It was the first serious mistake that they committed as anybody can understand that Communists will never concur to any agreement with American imperialism, he added.

Surprising exercise

He wondered how India could host the naval exercise, that too with the seventh fleet of the US Navy that threatened to attack the country during the Bangladesh war. “Despite our differences with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, we supported her at that time”.

But Congress has ignored this and both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy consider US President George W. Bush as India’s friend.

Mr. Karat made it clear that that Left parties would stand by the people by supporting their struggles such as the ones being taken up in Andhra Pradesh for distribution of house sites and lands. CPI senior leaders D. Raja and K. Narayana, Abani Roy of RSP, Debabrata Biswas of Forward Bloc and others were also present.

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