Efforts are on to project an alternative Government at the Centre without taking help of the Congress and the BJP,” said Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat at a Press conference here on Thursday.
Coming down heavily on the Congress-led UPA Government, Karat said the Government allowed loot of country’s natural resources to the corporate houses and a handful of other companies. Corruption, price rise and growing inequalities have left the country in lurch, he added.
He also criticised the BJP, which is “competing with Congress” in terms of industrialisation ideas for growth, for allowing a neoliberal policy in the country. “loot of natural resources started with the process of liberalisation and the opening up of the mining sector to private players,” Karat said.
“To get rid of all these problems, the country requires alternative policies for betterment of the people. So, we need a non-Congress and non-BJP Government at the Centre,” Karat said, adding, “We have already discussed about the matter with the BJD in Odisha, Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and a few other parties,” he said.
Stating that he said he had a meeting with Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday evening, Karat said Odisha’s ruling party is “with us”.
When Karat told about the insensitivity of the West Bengal Government on the rising atrocities against women, mediapersons grilled him about his softness towards the Odisha Government, which failed to check serious crimes against women.
On the mining scam and the Shah Commission report , Karat said the Central Government’s policies towards mining are harmful for the country.
He avoided the Naveen Patnak Government’s faults and only criticised the Centre’s flawed mining policy. “As far as mining is concerned, it is a Central policy matter,” he stated.
Though he avoided the Third Front issue, he said Talks would be continued for electoral agreements with “non-BJP and non-Congress secular parties”.
Karat ruled out any coalition with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and cleared that the CPI(M) would contest in 35 lok Sabha seats in eight States.
