Third front not on agenda, says Karat

CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said today forging a third front at the central level was not on the immediate agenda of his party, but added the Left was working towards such an alternative in the future.

"As for a third front, it's not on the immediate agenda, as far as we are concerned; (but) we are working towards realisation of a third alternative in the future," Karat told a press conference here.

CPI-M would keep in touch with all the forces with whom it had cooperated in the past keeping in mind that there was relevance for third front in the country, but at the moment, it was not on the agenda, he said.

Asked if his party, which extends crucial support to the UPA government from outside, anticipates early elections to Lok Sabha, Karat said there was no such possibility. "UPA government will remain because we are there to support it. That's a guarantee."

CPI-M, he said, decided to support the government based on a policy framework and certain political understanding.

"We have differences in policies and that's why we are not in government," Karat said. "But we are supporting the government because of certain political understanding. We don't want BJP and communal forces to gain and have an opportunity to come back. We are successfully isolating them."

He said CPI-M's political understanding is that it would like the secular government to continue at the centre. "We will have policy differences but we will work towards resolving those differences. Where we differ, we will go to the people, mobilise them and explain our position. This is our approach," he added.

Stating that the CPI-M was not 'blindly' against FDI, Karat said the party was for it in areas where it augmented production capacities, led to acquisition of high techologies and increased employment; but it's opposed to fdi where it 'kills' employment and displaced domestic industries.

Karat reiterated the party's opposition to FDI in retail sector.

The CPI-M leader indicated that the party would review its decision to stay away from the meetings of the UPA-Left coordination committee if the government did not proceed with disinvestment of bhel and other navaratna companies.

"If they do not proceed with disinvestment of shares in Bhel and other Navaratna companies, there is no problem for us to go back and participate in the committee," he said.