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Monday, Feb 09, 2009
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National

A commitment to support a secular government

Prakash Karat spells out the CPI(M)’s strategy to keep the BJP out

Prakash Karat

Answering questions from Karan Thapar for the programme “Devil’s Advocate,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat sets out his party’s strategic outlook and assessments in the run-up to the general elections, also setting out the rationale for electoral ties that are in the making. Excerpts from the transcript of the interview ‘Devil’s Advocate’ broadcast by CNN-IBN on Sunday night:

How credible is the third alternative being put together by the Left parties?

We’re working for an electoral alternative which is popularly called the ‘third alternative’ or the ‘third front’, and the nature of it being an electoral alternative, yes, we’ll be coming up with parties with which we do not necessarily have full agreement ideologically or politically.

But isn’t that opportunism?

No, because we’ve made it clear the Left by itself will have its manifesto, will have its stand, but to the extent we can work with other secular parties with which we can have some minimum agreement, we’ll go ahead with that.

…There’re a number of secular parties, a number of regional parties, which have been either with the BJP or the Congress. We’ve said we’d want to have a combination which will fight both the Congress and the BJP. The parties which are not with the Left parties have always been either with the Congress or the BJP. If we succeed in bringing them on to our platform, I think that’s good enough.

Except that they are, or have been, BJP allies. Look at the JD(S) and the Biju Janata Dal. This is undermining the fight against communalism.

No, I think in the case of the BSP, these parties have to show that they’re capable of defeating the BJP in the biggest State in the country - Uttar Pradesh. And the BJP has been progressively weakened by parties which are secular in U.P. We’ve had an understanding earlier with the Samajwadi Party, but since they’ve gone with the Congress, we’ve decided we’ll have an understanding with the BSP.

But what about the JD(S), what about Mr. Bardhan’s keeness to bring in the BJD?

The Janata Dal (Secular), headed by Mr. Deve Gowda, had always been with the Left parties, except for one period when they went with the BJP in Karnataka when we broke with them. But they’ve now changed their stand and they’ve decided to come with the Left parties.

The political resolution passed by the 19th party Congress in March 2008 said: “The CMP will have no truck with regional parties who ally with the BJP.”

All of them have broken with the BJP. If they are allies with the BJP there is no question of us having anything to do with them. All these parties have, at various periods of time, clearly demarcated from the BJP, including the TDP.

Your new-found friends face serious charges of corruption. Let’s take Ms. Jayalalithaa...

All political parties outside the Left have charges of corruption raised against them. Till they are proved in a court of law we do not see that necessarily as an impediment for us to have an understanding with the party. We are not having an understanding with individuals. We have had an understanding with the RJD which is led by a party president who has faced corruption charges. There are many inside the Congress who’ve faced corruption charges. There’re many inside and outside the BJP who’ve faced corruption charges. Why should we make this a criterion to decide whether we should’ve an understanding with the political party? Then you cannot have an understanding with any party.

Look at Ms. Mayawati. By her own admission her personal assets have increased by over 3,000 per cent in just three years from 2004 to 2007. Mr. Bardhan, your ally, has gone on record to say she is the best person to be Prime Minister…

Well, that’s his view. … What’s wrong with that? I beg to differ. You are picking on parties which have recently entered the fray. The Congress is the prime source of corruption in this country, followed by the BJP. All other parties come in a lower category.

Many people say the Left believes and practises the principle that in politics, Caesar’s wife should be beyond suspicion. Shouldn’t that principle apply to your allies, to those you endorse as future Prime Ministers?

Fighting corruption is an issue which has to be on the agenda of the country and political parties, but you cannot make corruption an issue for deciding political programmes and the understanding between political parties… Here you’ve a government which refuses to order an enquiry over one of the biggest corruption scandals in the telecom sector, [running to] Rs. 1 lakh crore.

…Your ally, the BSP, has 63 MLAs out of 206, that is 30 per cent, who have criminal records, and 33 MLAs who face two or more cases…

The way the media talk about politicians with criminal records, all of us have criminal records. If you look at my case, I’ve had three criminal cases against me because I had gone and attended protests. I’ve broken the law by breaking IPC Section 144, I have been charged with rioting. You should not confuse criminal cases with cases like murder and rape. Criminal cases are there against all politicians if they’re with the people.

… If there are cases of corruption and moral turpitude then they must be tried under the law.

Are you confident that the TDP and the AIADMK will stay with you. Or, are they talking to the BJP behind your back?

What we’ve discussed and assessed is that after the elections, not only will they stay with us, others will also join us in the third front.

If the next elections throw up a hung Parliament and the only way to prevent the BJP forming a government is for you to support a Congress-led coalition…?

…Then we will sit in the Opposition, or we may support any other government but a Congress-led government.

Regardless of who the Congressperson is [who may lead a government], you will not support it?

We may support a secular government to keep the BJP out.

You are not excluding the possibility that a secular government could have the Congress in a participatory role.

I cannot rule it out, but it seems unlikely.

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