We'll take final call on N-deal by April-end: CPM

“We have asked them not to get the deal ratified by the IAEA board of governors because the deal will be on autopilot from the moment that is done. The government will be taking a risk if it goes ahead with it,” said Yechury while briefing the media at the 19th congress of the CPM.

Asked specifically if it meant that the Left would finally withdraw support to the government, Yechury said: “Akalmand ko ishara kaafi hai (the wise can take a hint)”.

Yechury said a “very strong opinion” was emerging in discussions at the ongoing party congress to begin pushing for a third alternative to NDA and UPA. He said this could involve drawing in “a large number of interested parties, and not just Left parties”, subscribing to the three broad planks of opposing communalism, opposing the “anti-people content of economic reforms” and opposing the “country being made subordinate to US interests”. The final lap of deliberations on this would be tomorrow, he said.

At the party congress today, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee moved a scathing resolution against the UPA government for “belying all expectations” on improving Centre-state relations. The resolution came down on the government’s “failure to implement” any recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission, besides “doing nothing” to have safeguards against the abuse of Article 356 of the Constitution. It also pointed to the new and “alarming tendency to misinterpret Article 355” to unilaterally send in Central forces to the states.

The resolution said nothing has been done to stop Central intrusions into the State List of subjects and cited the instance of the “proliferation of Centrally-sponsored schemes in the state subjects”. Constitutional amendments putting time frames for receiving the President’s or Governor’s assent for Bills passed by the state Assemblies are not in place, it said, noting that the latest “assault” on the decision-making powers of states was the Centre directly discussing issues on state subjects with the IMF, World Bank, WTO and other agencies. The conditionalities of these agencies were being imposed by the Centre on states without their concurrence, stated the resolution.

It also pointed to the states share of Central taxes still remaining at 30.5 per cent despite the long pending demand to hike it to 50 per cent. Besides, Central restraints has caused the share of states in total market borrowings to go down from 50 per cent in the 1950s to just 15 per cent now, it pointed out.

Buddhadeb’s resolution also attacked the Centre for imposing “neo-liberal conditionalities” on Central assistance and Centre-sponsored schemes, flaying it for asking the states to introduce the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the new pension scheme, the Vaidyanathan Committee recommendations on cooperatives and the lifting of the Urban Land Ceiling Act.

Yechury said the party congress endorsed the resolution with a call to get the states together, beginning with Left-ruled states, for a joint offensive to “check deterioration” of Centre-state relations.

In what could be a test dose for its third alternative idea, the party congress also resolved to get “all willing like-minded parties” together for a nationwide stir against the rise in prices of essential commodities which it claimed was the result of the UPA government’s neo-liberal policies. The resolution put up a charter of demands to the government — and time till 15 April to implement those, before the Left firmed its agitation.