08-05-2008, 02:16 AM
<b>
Karat dares PM to convene Parliament</b>
Sushanta Talukdar
âThird force will emerge in the countryâ
Left parties trying to mobilise secular forces
Trust vote exposed the corrupt norms of UPA government
Agartala: Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat on Monday dared the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to convene the monsoon session of Parliament and try passing the finance bills, including the pension, banking and insurance sector bills. The government was not ready to face Parliament as it did not have the majority, he said.
Inaugurating the three-day 19th State conference of the Tripura unit of the party, Mr. Karat said that a third force opposed to anti-people neo-liberalisation policies, communalism and imperialism would emerge in the country.
The emergence of the third force would prove wrong the theory that there would be only two-party combinations in the country â one led by the Congress and the other by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rally in Delhi
Mr. Karat said the Left parties had been trying to mobilise all non-Congress secular forces on a common platform. A rally would be held in Delhi in August end to launch a vigorous campaign by the Left parties, the UNPA, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Janata Dal (Secular) against anti-people policies and the strategic alliance which the Manmohan Singh government had entered into with the United States.
He said the August 20 general strike called by a trade union would mark the beginning of a strong countrywide movement and every section of society would take part in it.
Alleging that the July 22 trust vote exposed the corrupt norms adopted by the minority UPA government, Mr. Karat said the trust vote had not given the government the mandate to go ahead with the India-U.S. nuclear deal. Recalling the no-confidence motion moved by his party against the Narasimha Rao-led Congress government in 1993, Mr. Karat said seven MPs were then purchased and Rs.50 lakh was paid to one MP. Rao and Buta Singh were sentenced to three years imprisonment for alleged corrupt practices by the trial court and later acquitted by a single bench of the Delhi High Court. He alleged that this time the bribe was paid in crores. âMaybe because of inflation the rates have gone up,â he said sarcastically, stirring a laughter among the delegates.
He alleged that offers of a berth in the Union Cabinet, threats of unleashing investigating agencies against unwilling Opposition MPs and bribes running into crores of rupees had enabled the Manmohan Singh-led government to survive the vote. He dared the Congress to go to the people and explain what steps had been taken by the government to check the spiralling price rise, inflation, farmersâ problems and unemployment, and how the nuclear deal was going to benefit the country.
He alleged that the BJP had been whipping up communal sentiment while trying to cash in on the strong discontentment among the people against the Congress-led UPA government.
Mr. Karat told the delegates that the Left had not been isolated on the nuclear deal and its stand on the trust vote as had been propagandised by the Congress. On the contrary, it had managed to mobilise various parties after its withdrawal of support to the UPA. He asserted that the Left parties would continue their efforts to bring about a new political alignment to fight the Congress-led government as well as the BJP.
The inaugural session of the conference was also attended by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Assam CPI(M) secretary Uddhab Barman.
Karat dares PM to convene Parliament</b>
Sushanta Talukdar
âThird force will emerge in the countryâ
Left parties trying to mobilise secular forces
Trust vote exposed the corrupt norms of UPA government
Agartala: Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat on Monday dared the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to convene the monsoon session of Parliament and try passing the finance bills, including the pension, banking and insurance sector bills. The government was not ready to face Parliament as it did not have the majority, he said.
Inaugurating the three-day 19th State conference of the Tripura unit of the party, Mr. Karat said that a third force opposed to anti-people neo-liberalisation policies, communalism and imperialism would emerge in the country.
The emergence of the third force would prove wrong the theory that there would be only two-party combinations in the country â one led by the Congress and the other by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rally in Delhi
Mr. Karat said the Left parties had been trying to mobilise all non-Congress secular forces on a common platform. A rally would be held in Delhi in August end to launch a vigorous campaign by the Left parties, the UNPA, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Janata Dal (Secular) against anti-people policies and the strategic alliance which the Manmohan Singh government had entered into with the United States.
He said the August 20 general strike called by a trade union would mark the beginning of a strong countrywide movement and every section of society would take part in it.
Alleging that the July 22 trust vote exposed the corrupt norms adopted by the minority UPA government, Mr. Karat said the trust vote had not given the government the mandate to go ahead with the India-U.S. nuclear deal. Recalling the no-confidence motion moved by his party against the Narasimha Rao-led Congress government in 1993, Mr. Karat said seven MPs were then purchased and Rs.50 lakh was paid to one MP. Rao and Buta Singh were sentenced to three years imprisonment for alleged corrupt practices by the trial court and later acquitted by a single bench of the Delhi High Court. He alleged that this time the bribe was paid in crores. âMaybe because of inflation the rates have gone up,â he said sarcastically, stirring a laughter among the delegates.
He alleged that offers of a berth in the Union Cabinet, threats of unleashing investigating agencies against unwilling Opposition MPs and bribes running into crores of rupees had enabled the Manmohan Singh-led government to survive the vote. He dared the Congress to go to the people and explain what steps had been taken by the government to check the spiralling price rise, inflation, farmersâ problems and unemployment, and how the nuclear deal was going to benefit the country.
He alleged that the BJP had been whipping up communal sentiment while trying to cash in on the strong discontentment among the people against the Congress-led UPA government.
Mr. Karat told the delegates that the Left had not been isolated on the nuclear deal and its stand on the trust vote as had been propagandised by the Congress. On the contrary, it had managed to mobilise various parties after its withdrawal of support to the UPA. He asserted that the Left parties would continue their efforts to bring about a new political alignment to fight the Congress-led government as well as the BJP.
The inaugural session of the conference was also attended by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Assam CPI(M) secretary Uddhab Barman.