People's Democracy

Defence Pact With America Dangerous To India

Left Holds Protest Actions Across The Country

TRIPURA, along with the rest of the nation, registered its strong popular protest against the subservient, anti-sovereignty ‘Defence Treaty’ signed by the government with the United States during the recent visit of union minister for defence Pranab Mukherjee to that country.

At the call of the Tripura Left Front committee, people in every sub-division in the state took to the streets on July 8 to express their strident protest and dismay over the deviation from our traditional, independent foreign policy. Protest demonstrations and rallies were held at Sadar Bishalgarh, Sonamura and Khowai of West Tripura; Udaipur, Belonia, Subroom and Amarpur of south Tripura; Dharmanagar, Kanchanpur, and Kailashahar of North Tripura and Kamalpur Longthorai Valley of Dhalai district.

In Agartala, a central protest rally was held at Shakuntala road. Streams of processions from various points of the town and its suburb approached the gathering place by 4.30 p m. The wide street was jampacked with the rallyists. The rally was addressed by CPI(M) state secretariat member Gautam Das and state committee member Samir Chakraborty, CPI state secretary Prasanta Kapali, RSP leader Dipak Deb and Forward Bloc leader Satish Saha.

Gautam Das in his speech lambasted the role of the UPA government and its defence minister Pranab Mukharjee in the signing of India-USA defence treaty. He termed it unfortunate that before signing such an important treaty the people of the country were kept in the dark by the government. Criticising the government for being tight-lipped even today, the CPI(M) leader emphasised that as per the details given in the media, this treaty is harmful to the interests of our nation. By this treaty India shall be bound to be a part of any US aggression in the future.  He warned that this treaty would intensify the arms race in the sub-continent even as it will pave the way for the USA to interfere in this region.

Samir Chakraborty in his address said that though the Left parties had many differences with the Congress, they had supported its government’s non-aligned foreign policy. Terming the signing of the defence treaty as pro-imperialist and shameful reversal of earlier policy, he said that this was a deviation from the CMP, on the basis of which the Left Front is extending outside support to the Congress government. Chakraborty warned, amidst huge applause, that such deviation would be resisted by means of popular movement.

(Haripada Das)

SPEAKERS at a protest meeting organised by the Hyderabad city units of the CPI(M) and CPI expressed serious concern about the big danger posed to India as a result of the defence pact it had with the USA recently during the visit of the minister for defence, Pranab Mukherjee,  to that country. They warned that there was every danger of India becoming a pawn in the strategic tactics of the US and demanded immediate withdrawal of the pact.  The meeting was organised on July 9 at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram.

B V Raghavulu, state secretary and Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), expressed serious concern that such defence agreements with the USA would jeopardise our country’s integrity.  The American double standards were clearly apparent in the pact.  As a part and parcel of the pact, an American satellite would be launched in India and that would pose a big danger to our country, he said. Raghavulu questioned the need for, and propriety in signing the defence pact with  the USA, when there were no emergency situations anywhere in the world.  As a result of the pact, the Indian army would face the plight of participating in any military attack America would make on any  country for its vested interests.  What was the secret motive of America in entering into a defence pact with India all of a sudden, when it has been continuing to impose sanctions against India till now on the issue of modern scientific and technological research, Raghavulu asked. If the real motive of America behind the defence pact was not grasped, it would be our country which was going to lose, he warned.  Pointing out that the defence pact with USA was against the common minimum programme of the UPA government, Raghavulu demanded the government to immediately cancel the pact. 

Eedpuganti Nageswara Rao, state secretariat member of the CPI, asked with whom did the UPA government discuss before entering into the defence pact with the USA.  America signed the pact with a view to keeping India under its grip, he said.  P S N Murthy, city committee secretary of the CPI(M), and V Ramnarasimha Rao, city council secretary of the CPI, presided over the meeting.

(M Venugopal Rao)