Agartala: The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is moving closer to the US and has forgotten its electoral promises to the common man, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat said here.
"The UPA government has been expanding its strategic alliance with Washington, purchasing arms from the US and thus providing Pentagon (ground) to inspect India's arms depot," Karat said. He was addressing a gathering here on the 30th anniversary of the CPI-M mouthpiece, the daily Desher Katha, Friday evening.
"The US wants that India should depend on it for military, foreign policy affairs and economic issues," Karat maintained.
"The Left parties will launch a countrywide movement with a mass convention in New Delhi Aug 26, demanding food for all and adequate food security for the common man," the CPI-M leader said.
"Running the government and fighting elections are not the only aim of the CPI-M. We have to come closer to the common man through the movement. CPI-M is not a ruler party, it is a serving organisation."
Karat told the gathering: "After the Lok Sabha elections, some suggested that we should leave our battle against imperialism and capitalism as these have become history. We told them if the CPI-M quit these policies, then the party must be wound up."
The UPA, according to Karat, did not consult its allies while taking important policy matters resulting in the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and other allies distancing themselves from it.
"The UPA government did not taken any lesson from the global economic recession and they are vigorous in privatising profit making public sector organisations in the name of disinvestment," he said.
Speaking about the future, Karat said: "Through mass movement, the Communist party would further advance in both West Bengal and Kerala. The gap between the party and a section of people would be removed."
"I have seen that many anti-Communist groups have ganged up against Left parties and they are launching concerted attacks on the Left Front government in West Bengal as well as in other parts of the country, but I am quite sure the people of Bengal and Kerala have understood the necessity of Leftist policies," Karat asserted.
Addressing the gathering, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, who is a CPI-M politburo member, said: "Money, media and corporate houses along with foreign agencies were against the Left parties in the recent Lok Sabha polls."
The editors of CPI-M mouthpieces in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu also addressed the gathering.
IANS
First Published: Saturday, August 15, 2009, 15:40