The Hindu : National : Karat exudes optimism on third alternative

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Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008
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Karat exudes optimism on third alternative

Staff Reporter

TIRUPUR: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) would be able to present a secular and democratic alternative (to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party), its general secretary Prakash Karat said here on Tuesday.

“In the coming days, the CPI(M) and other Left parties will gather all other secular and non-Congress parties to put forward a new platform, which will be anti-communal, will advocate pro-people economic policies and will fight for an independent foreign policy,” Mr. Karat said.

Addressing a public meeting, he said the BJP was targeting the CPI(M) for giving a call for a third alternative. He said the BJP knew that many parties were willing to form an alternative with Left.

If the CPI(M), the largest party among the Left, came forward with a correct platform, it would be able to bring all the forces together and “there can be a new secular and democratic alternative in the country.”

He said the party’s all-India congress, which would be held in Coimbatore between March 29 and April 3, would shape the platform.

Mr. Karat said the BJP, after winning elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, was dreaming of coming back to power at the Centre by cashing in on the discontent against the Congress-led government at the Centre. The CPI(M) would never allow the communal forces to make a bid for power at the Centre.

Mr. Karat said his party had been demanding that the government not allow speculation in the stock market. “Lakhs of dollars come in everyday for buying shares of our companies, selling them through speculation and making profit. Because of the accumulation of foreign capital, our currency is appreciating thus making our exports costlier,” he said. When the investment went out after exploiting the market, the stocks crashed often.

Stating that the industrial centres of Tirupur and Coimbatore had been adversely affected due to the rupee appreciation, he said the government must take immediate steps to see that the losses suffered by the industry through exports were neutralised.

He charged the government with not taking “serious steps” for tackling the agrarian crisis in the country and containing the spiralling prices of essential commodities.

Mr. Karat wanted the government to take steps to strengthen the public distribution system. He wanted restoration of the system of issuing family cards to everybody, without dividing them into two categories — above and below the poverty line.

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