Kolkata, May 9
Reversing his earlier stand, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today did not rule out the possibility of supporting the UPA after the elections.
Talking to mediapersons soon after landing at the Kolkata airport, Karat, in a reply to a pointed question about the Congress overtures, said, "Let the elections be over first. Let the results come. After that we will
see."
But previously, contrary to the statements made by three important politburo members, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Biman Bose and Sitaram Yechuri , Karat declared that in no case they would support the UPA after the elections.
Karat also addressed a business community today and explained to them about the CPM’s stand on the country’s economic policy vis-à-vis the FDI policy. He said they were not against any foreign investment, even from the US and other European countries, but they did not want them to interfere in the country’s
internal matters. . He criticised that the Manmohan Singh government had completely yielded to the US at the cost of the country’s sovereignty and the economy for which they had withdrawn their support.
Faraz Ahmed adds from New Delhi: Karat’s ambiguity apart, sources indicated that the Left is seriously working out a formula whereby it will be able to do business with the Congress and other UPA allies.
“Whoever leads the government, will have to provide greater and more foolproof guarantees about adhering to the Common Minimum Programme (CMP),” said a Left source. “Before unilaterally announcing decisions outside the government will first discuss and secure the consent of the supporting partners, to avoid any embarrassment to the supporting parties,” the source said.
In addition there is also a move to press for securing parliamentary endorsement for international agreements and crucial foreign policy matters.
A glimpse of Left thinking was also visible in the latest editorial of the party organ People’s Democracy. It raised again the issue of Indo-US civilian nuclear treaty and its opposition by the Left, which forced the Left to withdraw support to the Manmohan Singh government.
The Left has made Indo-US treaty and the strategic alliance with US and Israel a major campaign issue in their Red citadels Kerala and West Bengal. While it is not clear how it is being taken in Bengal, in Kerala where the Muslim League is a major partner of the Congress-led UDF, it seems to be working against the Muslim League.
