People's Democracy

  CPI(M) Condemns Sangh Attempt To

Destabilise People’s Mandate

THE CPI(M) lambasted the sangh parivar for the way it was raising the foreign origin issue of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Party central committee member and veteran parliamentarian, Somnath Chatterjee, termed it a "grotesque attempt to nullify the people’s mandate" and charged the caretaker prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of encouraging this attempt of destabilising of country by these forces.

Somnath Chatterjee was addressing a media conference at his residence on May 18 along with CPI(M) leader in Rajya Sabha Nilotpal Basu and newly re-elected MP from Bengal, Hannan Mollah. Even as the media conference was going on, news broke of Sonia Gandhi having a rethink once again on taking up the responsibility of prime minister’s post. When Somnath was asked about this development, he remarked that he had also just learnt about it.

An angry Somnath asked where were the norms and etiquette Vajpayee spoke of during the election campaign – an appeal which was never heeded by his colleagues even then. He also asked why was Advani completely silent on this and demanded that they should make their stand clear.

He said what was going on now was nothing short of a vicious campaign of obscurantism, rumour mongering, aided by some corporates who had been monopolising benefits and an hysteria was being whipped up by the NDA hotch potch which was unconstitutional. The Left was clear that stock market was being manipulated by forces having a vested interest in manipulation. A comprehensive enquiry would bring out those involved and their linkages, he said. It is clear, he added, that the BJP stood to gain by these machinations.