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I don't remote control the UPA: Karat on b'day

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Agencies

Posted online: Thursday , February 07, 2008 at 04:15:18
Updated: Thursday , February 07, 2008 at 04:33:03


Thiruvananthapuram, February 7: CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, who turned 60 on Thursday, says he does not think that as leader of the supporting bloc he is a most powerful politician controlling the UPA coalition Government by "remote".

"This is only a thing that media says," said Karat when asked in an interview to Malayala Manorama daily whether he agreed with the general perception that he was a most powerful politician controlling the UPA government by "remote" by virtue of being the leader of the supporting bloc.

As if to bolster his view that he was not powerful, Karat appeared to suggest that none of the suggestions being made by the Left front will be reflected in the coming General Budget.

"Let us see what is there in the coming budget. Not a single thing that we suggested could be considered in it," he said.

Skipping hotly debated issues like India-US nuclear deal, Karat in a wide-ranging interview talked about his work and recalled his student days in Chennai, his transition into a whole time communist and persons and events that influenced him.

Interestingly, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, whose policies he opposes the most, was his senior in Madras Christian College and even used to join the debates organized by a radical campus group.

"We had a group in the college, many of whom later joined the CPI-M. N Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, and Maithili Sivaraman who was in the UN were part of it. We had a journal called 'Radical Review."

Chidambaram used to join the debates we organised. But he did not maintain his relations with the group for long."

Karat rejected the suggestion that his wife Brinda became a member of the CPI-M polit bureau because of his influence.

"Brinda is as senior as me in the party. You marry somebody, who is also a politician and who shares the same ideology. Then that mutually helps to reinforce political beliefs of each other," he added.

Karat came to know Brinda during his trips to Calcutta on party assignments. Brinda was already in the party and they decided to marry after she was assigned to work in Delhi.

"The decision was ours. We sought the party's permission. The marriage was arranged by the party during the emergency days," he said.

Karat said the late E M S Namboodiripad, P Sundarayya and A K Gopalan were the Communist leaders who influenced him most and shaped his role in the CPI-M after he made a personal decision to be a party worker on his return from Edinburgh University studying politics and economics.

Born to Keralite parents in Burma (now Myanmar) in 1948, his father Padmanabhan Nair from Ottappalamin Palakkad district was a clerk in railway service.

As a six-month-old, Karat was brought to Kerala by his mother Radhamma and they spent their next five years in Palakkad before the family left for Burma again, where he spent another four years.

As his mother was keen to give a good education to Karat she settled in Chennai soon while her husband was working in Bihar and Bengal and died when Prakash was 13.

Prakash had his education in Madras Christian College School and the Madras Christian College from where he took MSC.

" I was shy boy. Bit of an introspect too. I had lost my younger sister when we were in Burma."

Karat's mother worked as an insurance agent in Chennai to bring up her son. She bought a house, which was rented out and she and Prakash living in its outhouse.

"Study expenses were not a problem as there had been scholarship all through my student days. I had studied on scholarship from ninth standard in Chennai to Edinburgh University in Scotland," he said.

Like any middle class child in India, he grew up in a religious atmosphere and his mother used to take him to temples and even imparted him Sanskrit lessons till he was 14.

But things changed since the college days and the struggle of the Vietnamese people against imperialism became a major influence to turn to communism.

"In those days, I did not even know the differences between the CPI and CPI-M. I was a good reader and I started turning my interests to issues concerning Indian communist parties. The formation of the united front government in Kerala triggered lot of debate about the stand of the CPI-M. Slowly, I began to understand issues and I got attracted to the CPI-M."

In 1969, Prakash, still a student in Edinburgh, met the party leader V P Chindan in Chennai and told him of his plan to give up studies to be a whole-timer in the party. Chindan, however, advised him to complete the studies and join the party as full-time worker.

On his return, Karat was directed by the party to work with A K Gopalan in Delhi and some time later Sundarayya (then CPI-M general secretary) wanted him to work on the student front by joining the Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he was elected chairman of the students union for a term.

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Great leader by lk on 14 Apr 2008

great leader and only hope for aam admi for India

Great leader by lk on 14 Apr 2008

great leader and only hope for aam admi for India

control by r.ramesh on 08 Feb 2008

Karat is not remote controling but totally direct controling.He tells lies always like karunanithy.Maoists spoiled nepal with cpm's help.like this they are planning to spoil india.Nepal is a small country where they succeeded but india they cannot succeed.keep it in mind.Whatever govt.takes decisions you people are objecting and giving warning.Is this not controling?.do not make public fools.

GROWTH VS COMUNNISAM by Indian patriot on 07 Feb 2008

KARAT IS SUCH A USELESS LEADER. FROM NO WHERE HE POPPED OUT TO RESIST THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA AND THE POWER ENRGY. INDIA DESPERATELY NEEDS ENERGY FOR ITS INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, INDUSTRIES BRING JOB FOR PEOPLE, AND ADDITIONALLY NUCLEAR ENERGY WILL ADD SOME MORE JOB. PEOPLE LIKE KARAT NEEDS TO BE SHUNNED BECAUSE OF THEIR DOGMATIC VIEW. THEY TAKE THE WORLD NEEDS AS PERSONAL. THEY TAKE AWAY THE JOB FROM THE POOR PEOPLE AND CAUSE THE COMMUNISIM REVOLUTION WEHERE TEH POOR PEOPLE ARE CALLED TO TAKE ARMS AGAINST THE EDUCATIONSIT AND ENTERPREANUERS. KARAT EDUCATION AND HIS BRILLIANCE IS EQUAL TO THE CHINESE MAO. IF INDIA HAS TO GROW IT MUST EMBRACE CAPITALISAM ANTRUE DEMOCRACY,(WHICH IS THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE, NOT THE VOICE OF KARAT).PLEASE SEND KARAT TO USA SO HE WILL LEARN.

Commies are traitors and anti-Hindu Brigades by Vidhur on 07 Feb 2008

Commies are traitors and anti-Hindu Brigades. These Chinese and foreign agents must be isolated and deported to China, North Korea and Cuba. Binda Karat, the impotent women, last year insultted Swami Ramdev. Binda Karat and NDTV Pronoy's wife are sisters. Pronoy Roy is a convert christian and a commie. These commie-christian brigdes work for anti-national forces to destroy Bharat and make it subservient to foreign power. We need to expose these anti-national forces.

Not a Powerful Man by Raghu on 07 Feb 2008

From this it is again proved that Education without wisdom is useless. Compare Kamaraj with elementary education but with lot of wisdom has contributed lot to the country and society. This idiot Karat with Masters in economics has contributed nothing and also puts hurdle on the policies which take the country forward. Also it is interesting to note that all communists goes to UK which is no way different from US .

Karat's "education" by mandookraj on 07 Feb 2008

A sad commentary that Karat has not learned his lessons properly in spite of being educated in such a brilliant college.

Karat by Person In USA on 07 Feb 2008

I am also a former student of Madaras Christian College High School. I am very sorry to hear that the same school produced a NUT CASE like Karat!

What a Farce! by Karan on 07 Feb 2008

Karat and his henchmen have blocked:1. The Nuclear Deal2. Desperately needed reforms of labour laws3. Reforms of FDI policies in key sectors4. Privatisation of unprofitable PSU'sAll of these actions by Karat have caused headaches to the 'aam aadmi'. Yet I amazed that Karat can hypocritical enough to remark he has no power!

Karat uses harness and whip to control UPA by Dr. Satya on 07 Feb 2008

How can he use remote control on Congress? Both are not so technologically advanced. Karat uses harness and whip to control UPA.

Karat by Sidharth on 07 Feb 2008

What is the point of all this qualifications with out real education? Has Karat contributed to single family being elevated itself above poverty line?, I doubt it. Fire brand theroies are NO substitute for one Narayanmurthy, period.

Rewrite the srcipt, Communism and its ideology is DOOMED in the 21st Century. by DILIP/FRANCE on 07 Feb 2008

Oh No NO No you got it all wrong.He is not the most powerful politician in India, far from it,more aptly the biggest THUG.Point out to him, that autocratic Communism, is a dead concept and a fascist ideology, which broght about death,destruction,misery,poverty,ignorance,darkness,indentured slavery,indoctrination,idiosyncrasy,crass ruthlessness,misinformation and degradation of tsunami proportion.Days of Communists are numbered, even their God Father, China, is enjoying the tongue licking fruits of Capitalism. It is about time you changed your tune and lined your pockets with green backs, like your Chinese masters.

Kalam says N-deal is good, so does Amar & Mu...'Bikini killer' Sobhraj plans to get married...Ambani keen to revive Rupayan studio, Buddha...Delhi hits upon a hip how-to solution: the s...Taken ten

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