We’ll form a viable third front: Karat | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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We’ll form a viable third front: Karat

Hindustan Times | By, Lucknow
Mar 14, 2008 02:09 AM IST

The CPI(M) says that the party would form a ‘third alternative’ to keep both the communal BJP and capitalist Congress away from power.

CPI(M) general secretary, Prakash Karat said on Thursday that the party would form a ‘third alternative’ to keep both the communal BJP and capitalist Congress away from power at the Centre in the next general elections.

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Addressing the ‘Jan Sangarsh Rally’ on Thursday, Karat said the Left’s power has increased and now it has formed governments in three states. The time has come when the third alternative should come up and attain power at the Centre as an independent force. The formation would come by weaving secular and democratic parties with the Left, he said.

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He said, “We supported the UPA from outside to keep communal forces out. We succeeded to keep the BJP out at the Centre. The BJP could not get a single seat in the three states where the Left has its governments. The BJP was routed in UP, and will suffer a similar fate at the Centre this time.”

On the proposed nuclear deal with the US, he said, “We have asked the Congress to publicise its nuclear deal proposal and go to the people. Let’s see if the people are convinced and vote it back to power. We will not let the Congress pursue an independent foreign policy. We will not put India’s sovereignty at stake.”

Taking on the Congress, Karat said it was a party of landlords and capitalists. For four years, the Left kept the Congress in check and prevented it from pursuing capitalism and US-leaning agenda, he said. The Left did not allow even a single public sector company to go private. he pointed out.

“We did not allow any foreign company to enter agriculture or any such sector. We are fighting battles of employment and hunger and can say with pride that it was due to us that the Congress was forced to bring in the rural job scheme. Now, we will try to ensure better implementation,” he said.

He said when the third alternative would come to power at the Centre, it would implement “Kerala kind of Public Distribution System (PDS)” in entire country. “In Kerala, ration shops do not just provide wheat, rice and kerosene, but also vegetables, pulses and other essential commodities to the poor,” he said.

A better PDS is the only way to provide relief to the poor. There should not be different categories of poor and PDS cards. They all should have similar cards, he said.

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