Placated Left to return to coordination meet

The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) has today indicated that the Left parties may be returning to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-Left coordination committee meetings soon.

The Central leadership of the CPM today said that it "broadly agreed" with veteran leader Jyoti Basu's statement in Kolkata that the Left would be reviewing its decision to "suspend participation" in the coordination mechanism.

"We will have to meet and decide about the issue," a CPM politburo member said, indicating that such a meeting could be announced in a day or two. He also indicated that his party was no longer waiting for the government to make any "announcement" or for the government to ask the Left back to the coordination committee meetings.

"It was our decision to stay out of the meetings. Our going back to the co-ordination meetings will also be our decision. The government has nothing to do with it," he said.

The Left's readiness to discuss the resumption of participation in the co-ordination meetings comes days after the government acceded to the Left's suggestions regarding the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill.

The government has also formally announced its decision to call off the strategic sale in 13 public sector units (PSUs).

The other Left parties, especially the Communist Party of India (CPI), however, took a sterner line demanding that the government call off disinvestment in the profit-making public sector units (PSUs).

"We never said we would not go back to the co-ordination forum. However, the government has not made it clear whether disinvestment in BHEL will be called-off," said D Raja of the CPI when asked if his party was willing to go back to the old arrangement with the government.