People's Democracy

SAMAJWADI Party, which has announced its support to the NDA presidential candidate, has opted out of the People's Front and its leader Mulayam Singh Yadav is no longer the convenor of the front, announced CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet at a crowded press conference held in AKG Bhavan on June 12. He said the front would be reorganised by taking in some other like-minded parties into it and made it clear that efforts for evolving a vibrant, policy-based third alternative would continue vigorously in the future.

Leaders of other left parties- A B Bardhan, D Raja (CPI), Abani Roy (RSP), G Devarajan (Forward Block) were present at the press conference.

Surjeet was critical of Samajwadi party's somersault on the issue of presidential election. A day after joining the joint opposition delegation for requesting the incumbent president K R Narayanan to be the opposition candidate for the elections, Samajwadi party declared its support to NDA nominee, said Surjeet. He also found it strange that Mulayam is now claiming that Abdul Kalam's candidature was first proposed by him. He revealed that in a People's Front meeting held recently, Mulayam had denied suggesting Abdul Kalam's name and blamed the media for linking it to him.

Surjeet blasted the prime minister for making a farce of the consensus process at a time of its necessity in view of crisis situation facing the nation. Accusing the BJP of manipulating the consensus process, which was evident in the way all three names were unilaterally selected at different stages, Surjeet said that the prime minister has failed completely in this task. " we have never seen in the political history of the nation, a prime minister dealing in such a cavalier manner on such a serious matter as presidential election", said Surjeet.

Spelling out the left parties view that such an imposition of candidate should not go unchallenged, Surjeet said that there would be a candidate against the NDA nominee. He appealed to all secular, democratic parties, including the Congress to join this political contest.

When questioned about the objection of the left for Abdul Kalam's candidature, Surjeet replied that though Dr Abdul Kalam is a renowned scientist, the complex political situation prevailing in the country today makes it necessary that the candidate should be one who can grasp and understand the complexities of politics and function as the custodian of the Indian Constitution, safeguarding its secular democratic character from all efforts to undermine this. When asked about who would be the candidate, Bardhan responded saying that in a day or two after consulting other opposition parties, it would be decided.