Monitoring Indian Communists - 3

[acharya]

<b>Comrades try to justify voting with BJP, some not so sure</b>
Posted online: Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 0142 hrs Print Email

Bidyut Roy & Ravik Bhattacharya

Kolkata, July 12:The CPM may have denied that its veteran leader Jyoti Basu had questioned the party’s decision to vote with the BJP against the UPA Government but clearly, the questions Basu raised have touched a raw nerve in the party’s leadership.


Contacted for his comment on Basu’s remarks, Shyamal Chakravarty, a senior central committee member and one of the party’s spokesmen, said: “I will not make any comment.” His colleague Bejoy Konar, too, declined to comment. The Sunday Express spoke to Left MPs here when asked about voting with the BJP, many of them — some didn’t want to be identified — justified the decision. Some, however, pointed out that the Politburo had decided only to withdraw support and had not taken a call on whether to vote against the Government. But with General Secretary Prakash Karat making it clear that there will be a vote and his colleague Sitaram Yechury echoing it today, the comrades know there may not be much choice.

•Basudev Acharya, CPM MP: “Why are you looking at it from that angle? Look at it from the other angle: The BJP is going to vote with us. The issue is ours. I will follow the party stand against the Congress.”

•Sudhansu Sil, CPM MP: “When we gave support to the Congress to form the UPA government, the communal BJP was a greater danger. But now the situation has changed. We are going to vote against the Congress for a national cause.”

•Amitava Nandy, CPM MP: “I will follow the party guideline and vote against the Congress government even if it means voting with BJP.”

•Joachim Baxla, RSP MP: “I am still undecided. When we withdrew support from the UPA government, we had no intention to topple it. I am yet to get any whip from the party.”

•Hiten Burman, Forward Bloc MP: “I am still undecided. My party has not directed anything. I will take a decision after the party secretariat meeting on July 20. Voting with BJP will become an issue.”

•Probodh Panda, CPI MP: “Yes, I will vote with the BJP as the Left alliance has decided.”

•Anil Basu, CPM MP: “It is true we will have to face this question of voting with BJP on the same platform. We will have to find answer to this inside Parliament and outside it. Politburo decided withdrawal of support but not what to do thereafter. The decision in this regard is yet to be finalized.”

•Gurudas Das Gupta, CPI MP: “BJP is our fundamental enemy. The question you are asking is your personal interpretation, not ours.”

•Basudev Burman: CPM MP: “Eight days are still left for the vote. Many things can happen. Ask this question to party higher-ups. I have not been communicated anything so far by the party.”

•Sujon Chakravarty, CPM MP : “No official whip has yet been issued. We did not want to dislodge the government but we have been pushed to the wall. But keep this in mind...BJP will vote for momentary gain, we are voting for the country’s sovereignty.”

•Tarit Topadar, CPM MP: “Unity of the Opposition is transient. No party mandate has come so far but it looks logical that we will have to vote with BJP. BJP, however, is also a pro-American lobby.”

editor@expressindia.com