CPI(M) to forge third alternative

The CPI(M) today said it would forge a 'third alternative' of non-Congress, non-BJP parties on a common policy platform, as it did not agree with the policies pursued by the two major parties.

"Left parties and the CPI(M) have a responsibility for initiating the process of formation of a third alternative. ... We do not want a situation where there is a Congress-led combination and a BJP-led combination. Neither do we agree with the policies pursued by these two parties," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters here.

Releasing the Draft Political Resolution for discussion by all CPI(M) members two months ahead of the Coimbatore Party Congress, he said "the party will continue to adopt tactics for isolating and defeating the BJP. It will not enter into any alliance or united front with the Congress."

For this, he said the parties would have to come to an understanding with the Left on economic policies which were different from those of Congress or BJP, besides paying more emphasis on the social sector and voicing commitment to defend national sovereignty and follow an independent foreign policy.

Karat, who was accompanied by his Politburo colleagues including Sitaram Yechury, said the CPI(M) "differentiates between the BJP and Congress, considering the latter as a secular bourgeois party though it often vacillates when communal forces take the offensive."

He said the third alternative should not be reduced to a mere electoral alliance, though the CPI(M) would continue to have electoral adjustments and alliances wherever required.