No need for third front before 2014 polls: Karat

June 14, 2013 03:18 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:18 pm IST - THRISSUR

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is not striving to form a third front, party general secretary Prakash Karat has said.

“We [CPI-M] have not discussed a third front. There is no need for such a front before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Sadly, the talk is all about an alternative to the UPA and the NDA, but not about alternative policies. It is unfortunate that no one is talking about a substitute for policies carried out by successive governments, which caused socio-economic crises,” he told reporters here on Thursday.

An alternative

Earlier, inaugurating a two-day seminar on ‘Left alternatives for Indian economy, political democracy and society,’ organised by the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (Costford) in remembrance of CPI(M) leader and former Kerala Chief Minister E. M.S. Namboodiripad, Mr. Karat called for a Left democratic alternative — a broad-based coalition of forces — to address the country’s problems.

“This may perhaps entail temporary regional adjustments, alliances and tactics. But mind you, the ties are temporary,” he said.

Asked if the CPI(M) would land in a coalition in which the Trinamool Congress is a constituent, he said, “There is no question of an alliance with the Trinamool. In West Bengal, Trinamool activists have been attacking CPI(M) cadres.”

Neo-liberal approach

He said the neo-liberal approach of the Union government had led to economic slowdown, rapidly increasing current account deficit, rise in prices of essential commodities, high inflation, growing unemployment, concentration of capital in the hands of a few, exploitation of the working class, and oppression of Dalits, minorities, women and children.

Mr. Karat called for a proportional representation electoral system and strengthening of worker-peasant alliance.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.