Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet yesterday told Prime Minister I K Gujral that the stories of his recent digs at Gujral and the state of the United Front were all misreporting by the media.
Surjeet called on Gujral yesterday to clarify that the United Front government could always count on him for support.
According to informed sources, much before Surjeets meeting with Gujral, CPI(M) leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu conveyed to the Prime Minsiter that the media reports attributed to Surjeet did not reflect the positions of his party.
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Sections of the CPI(M), apart from many constituents of the Front, have been upset with Surjeet. They say that he has unnecessarily rocked the boat of the already unstable United Front.
Coming at a time when the Congress is poised to chart its future at its national plenary in Calcutta later this week, the meeting between Surjeet and Gujral assumes significance.
There has been talk of an opening for the Congress to be sucked into the government because the two major Front constituents, the CPI(M) and Gujrals own Janata Dal, have been sniping at Gujral.
Surjeets statement to a television interviewer that Mulayam Singh would have made a better Prime Minister than Gujral was widely reported.
He had also been quoted as saying that the United Front was no longer as united as it was during the Deve Gowda government.
Basu, who was abroad when the reports created ripples in the UF, is said to be unhappy about the turn of events following the reports, specially the Congress moves to push the Left out of the UF.
He is said have expressed his displeasure to friends over Surjeets overexposure in the media and individualistic style of functioning.
The CPI(M), with 32 MPs, has become the single largest party within the United Front. The dal now has 27, since 17 joined Laloo Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal last month.
It was the CPI(M) and the Dal that together provided the core of strength for H D Deve Gowdas government. Now, even what remains of the Dal is extremely hostile to Gujral, who walked out of the Dal national council meeting on Saturday after being heckled by supporters of Dal President Sharad Yadav.
Since Surjeet is the general secretary of his party, his statements are taken as representing his entire party and, to some extent, the other Left parties too.