Polls in mind, Left to take on UPA today

Strong signal to government not to take support for granted

The UPA-Left coordination committee meeting tomorrow is set to be stormy with the Left parties determined to send a strong signal to their supporters in the poll-bound states of West Bengal and Kerala.

Statements like putting the government "in the dock" and bringing it "on its knees", emanating from the sidelines of the CPI(M) Politburo meeting in Kolkata last week, are likely to be followed by more "sound and fury", sources say.

The Left parties may decide not to address the joint briefing or skip lunch after the meeting or even declare their intention to bring a censure motion in case the government votes against Iran at the March 6 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency. "But if the BJP has any hopes, it is in for disappointment", a senior Left leader said.

Although the Left parties have been talking tough on Iran, they are not ready to cross the line. Samajwadi Party leader and UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav called on CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat yesterday to seek support for a no-confidence motion on the Iran issue. The CPI(M) leadership is learnt to have refused.

The Left parties, however, want to send a strong signal to the government not to take their support for granted. Some smaller Left parties are said to be in favour of walking out of the meeting after listing their grievances on Iran, airport privatisation and FDI in retail. Their strategy will take a final shape tomorrow morning when the four Left parties meet to discuss their viewpoints.

CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan today said in an interview to a news agency that the UPA government might be "violating" the Common Minimum Programme but mid-term polls was not the solution.

As for the perception that the government was taking the Left support for granted, the CPI leader said, "That's the way democracies are run. Otherwise, you can everyday pull it down. What's the point? Any government that does not have a majority on its own can be pulled down any time. This is not the way we want to play the game".

Meanwhile, a day after Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav met him, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today said his party was trying its best to build an alternative to Congress and the BJP in the near future.

Addressing a public rally at the Judges' Field in Guwahati, Karat said proposals in this regard had been sent to "democratic and secular" forces in the UPA. He, however, did not name any political party. The CPI(M) would till then like the UPA government to continue with its support from outside, he added.