Do not criticise, Cong tells UPA allies

The Congress mouthpiece Congress Sandesh has asked UPA allies to desist from "criticism simply for the sake of criticism". This is understood to be aimed at the Left parties' attempt to put their stamp on the programmes and policies of the UPA government.

The latest issue of the Sandesh has a piece by the journal's editor, Congress leader Anil Shastri, who has criticised the Left for questioning every initiative of the government.

"We have made every attempt to accept the ideological imperatives of our allies and we welcome constructive criticism. But we hope that they will not continue to criticise the government simply for the sake of criticism," the article says.

Shastri further goes on to say that, each and every programme should not become an issue simply because state elections are around the corner. In a coalition, each party has an ethical commitment to ensure that the basis of that unity is not threatened. "And the basis here is secularism", he adds.

This article comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday where he asked the Left to apply the same standards to the Central government which they were applying to develop West Bengal.

By praising West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya, Singh had also said the Left "singing a different tune" in a Left-ruled state when it came to liberalisation and disinvestment.

The fact that the speech appeared in the Congress mouthpiece also reflects the deep seated resentment now being felt by Congressmen because of what they perceive as the Left's attempt to corner the glory on every pro-poor initiative of the UPA.

This was most recently exemplified by the tussle between the government and the Left over who would leave a stamp on the Rural Employment Guarantee Bill.

The article is also vocal on how the Congress is aware that a lot of what the Left is doing is a kind of positioning over the upcoming state assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala.

Both the Left and the Congress are under no illusions over how hard-fought both the Assembly elections are going to be.

Kerala Congress chief Ramesh Chennithala had already written a bitter critique of the Left in the same magazine a couple of months ago. Shastri's article therefore can be seen as a run up to the big fight.