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Political alignment likely to change: CPI

Special Correspondent

Special session of Parliament sought

TIRUCHI: Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta said here on Sunday that if the Congress is ready for elections, they will not lag behind.

“We cannot prevent the Congress from thinking that it is riding a popular wave. The BJP too thought so with its “India Shining” campaign in the last elections,” he said at a press conference here.

On the possibility of the Left parties forging a third front, he said the situation was very fluid and it would not be possible now to say what would be the shape of a new alignment. The present alignment, however, is likely to change, he added.

The Parliamentary Party leader of the CPI and general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) reiterated that the government should convene a special session of Parliament before operationalising the India-U.S. nuclear deal. People could understand the deal’s implications only if there was an open discussion in Parliament.

“In a democracy, governments may come and go. But if a wrong is done, it cannot be undone for decades and the nation will have to pay the price. The Centre should not try to seek the consent of the Bharathiya Janata Party for convening a special session.”

While demanding that price rise should also be discussed by the special, he said the government had failed to take action against black marketers and hoarders.

The Public Distribution System had collapsed and the country’s food security was lost, he alleged.

Accusing the government of failing completely on the economic front, Mr. Dasgupta said the CPI was continuously urging the government to change its economic policies. But the government had not relented and the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was determined to continue his economic policies.

The nationwide road/rail roko called by the AITUC and other trade unions on December 4 and 5 was intended to “shake the government and bring it to its senses.” This would be one of the biggest agitations witnessed by the country after Independence, he said.

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