06-18-2006, 06:56 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->24 Karat trouble for Congress
The Pioneer
June 18, 2006
In a move aimed at increasing pressure on the Congress, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat held a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Saturday and <b>hinted at the emergence of a third alternative.</b>
Having expressed reservations over the <b>Centre's foreign and economic policies, the Left seems determined to compel the Congress to toe its line</b>. <b>Saturday's meeting with Mulayam is seen as an attempt by Karat to coerce the Congress into submission</b>.
Karat timed his visit well as Congress president Sonia Gandhi was in adjoining Rae Bareli on Saturday, criticising the UP Chief Minister for his bias against her constituency.
Emerging from talks in which a number of "crucial issues" are believed to have
been discussed, Karat said his party was giving the third front a shape with the
support of Mulayam Singh Yadav as the Samajwadi Party had backed Left protests
against UPA's economic policies.
Refusing to divulge details, he stated his party's efforts were to forge an
alternative, sans the Congress and the BJP.
However, he said, the Left parties would await the Congress response to its note
on the Government's performance, which they tabled at the recent UPA
co-ordination committee meeting.
Karat's decision to take Mulayam along is bound to boost the latter's
confidence, as former Prime Minister VP Singh had targeted him recently during a
show of strength by the newly-formed Jan Morcha.
Surprisingly, Left colleagues from the CPI had shared the dais with VP Singh and even threatened to take on Mulayam in the next State elections.
Karat refused to be drawn into any controversy over the CPI stance. He said the
two Left parties were independent entities and free to chose their political
partners.
However, Mulayam, who has often accused the UPA Government of using every tactic to topple his Government, said the SP had been working with the Left on issues of common interest.
"We had jointly protested the hike in petrol and diesel prices and the response
in UP was very good," he said.
Knowing well that isolation could spell doom, Mulayam has been keeping his UPA
well-wishers in good humour of late to have a share in the bargaining block.
"Nothing can be predicted in politics," he said when asked about his party's
relations with the CPI(M).
Karat's threat of a third alternative's emergence may seem unconvincing but the
fact that Mulayam held a round of talks with HD Deve Gowda last week in the State capital <b>gives credence to talk that all's not well with the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre.</b>
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The Pioneer
June 18, 2006
In a move aimed at increasing pressure on the Congress, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat held a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Saturday and <b>hinted at the emergence of a third alternative.</b>
Having expressed reservations over the <b>Centre's foreign and economic policies, the Left seems determined to compel the Congress to toe its line</b>. <b>Saturday's meeting with Mulayam is seen as an attempt by Karat to coerce the Congress into submission</b>.
Karat timed his visit well as Congress president Sonia Gandhi was in adjoining Rae Bareli on Saturday, criticising the UP Chief Minister for his bias against her constituency.
Emerging from talks in which a number of "crucial issues" are believed to have
been discussed, Karat said his party was giving the third front a shape with the
support of Mulayam Singh Yadav as the Samajwadi Party had backed Left protests
against UPA's economic policies.
Refusing to divulge details, he stated his party's efforts were to forge an
alternative, sans the Congress and the BJP.
However, he said, the Left parties would await the Congress response to its note
on the Government's performance, which they tabled at the recent UPA
co-ordination committee meeting.
Karat's decision to take Mulayam along is bound to boost the latter's
confidence, as former Prime Minister VP Singh had targeted him recently during a
show of strength by the newly-formed Jan Morcha.
Surprisingly, Left colleagues from the CPI had shared the dais with VP Singh and even threatened to take on Mulayam in the next State elections.
Karat refused to be drawn into any controversy over the CPI stance. He said the
two Left parties were independent entities and free to chose their political
partners.
However, Mulayam, who has often accused the UPA Government of using every tactic to topple his Government, said the SP had been working with the Left on issues of common interest.
"We had jointly protested the hike in petrol and diesel prices and the response
in UP was very good," he said.
Knowing well that isolation could spell doom, Mulayam has been keeping his UPA
well-wishers in good humour of late to have a share in the bargaining block.
"Nothing can be predicted in politics," he said when asked about his party's
relations with the CPI(M).
Karat's threat of a third alternative's emergence may seem unconvincing but the
fact that Mulayam held a round of talks with HD Deve Gowda last week in the State capital <b>gives credence to talk that all's not well with the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre.</b>
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