People's Democracy

CENTRAL COMMITTEE COMMUNIQUE

CPI(M) Warns Of Revolt If

Govt Hustles Through Nuke Deal

THE CPI(M) has warned the Manmohan Singh government against trying to hustle through the nuclear deal at IAEA even after losing the trust vote on July 22. “The country will rise in revolt if you go ahead. You have already bypassed the parliament and betrayed public commitment to not go to IAEA till trust vote is done. Now we have the spectacle of our officers scurrying to Vienna to hustle through the Safeguards Agreement”, said Prakash Karat while addressing a press conference after the two day Central Committee meeting of the Party concluded on July 20, 2008.

Briefing the media on the deliberations of the CC meeting Karat said the committee fully endorsed the Polit Bureau’s decision to withdraw support to the Manmohan Singh government following its going ahead to IAEA and its criminal neglect in tackling price rise and inflation. On the impending trust vote, he said both the deal and the government are doomed. The Central Committee welcomed the coming together of various non-BJP, non-Congress parties to fight against the nuclear deal and the UPA government. Karat said that the CC called for efforts to rally more forces in the coming period. The UNPA, BSP, Left parties, JD (Secular) and RLD decided to work together on this issue and would be meeting a day after the trust vote, i.e. on July 23, to chalk out further programme.

Responding to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh’s attack against the Left parties, particularly CPI(M), Karat charged Yadav of betraying the people on the nuclear deal issue. He said this was the third time Samajwadi Party had betrayed its partners. In 1999, after the bringing down of Vajpayee government by the opposition, the efforts to put in place an alternative secular government were thwarted by the SP. Next, in 2002, the SP broke the People’s Front, of which Mulayam Singh was the convenor and Jyoti Basu was the chairman on the issue of presidential polls. It supported NDA nominee Abdul Kalam in place of People’s Front’s choice of K R Narayanan.

Karat asserted that it was not the Left parties which had asked the Samajwadi to oppose the nuclear deal. They had opposed it both inside parliament and outside it. They had even campaigned among the people about the dangers of strategic alliance with US. Today the SP made a U-turn and is supporting the deal. Karat said Samajwadi Party and Mulayam Singh Yadav were the leading the secular forces in Uttar Pradesh but today they have lost it with their betrayal and are facing the consequences. He asked them to answer the people about their U-turn instead of blaming the Left parties.

As for the charge that the Left is on the same side with the BJP, Karat asserted that the nuclear deal issue is the issue of the Left parties and not of the BJP. In fact, BJP leader L K Advani has made it clear that the BJP is for strategic relationship with US.

Asked about future alliances with the BSP and other parties, Karat replied the Left had relations with these parties even before and they would be meeting on July 23 to discuss how to take this forward.

The text of the CC communique issued is given below:

WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT

THE Central Committee fully endorsed the decision of the Polit Bureau to withdraw support from the UPA government on July 9. The Central Committee wished to record that for three years since the India-US nuclear deal was announced, the CPI(M) and the Left parties have waged a resolute struggle against the nuclear deal with the United States. It is shocking that the Manmohan Singh government went to the Board of Governors for approval of the draft Safeguards Agreement without revealing the text to the country. The 123 Agreement with the United States was similarly signed without taking the country into confidence.

The most recent betrayal by the Manmohan Singh government has been the going back on its public commitment not to approach the Board of Governors of the IAEA without facing the trust motion in the Lok Sabha.

The Manmohan Singh government does not deserve to remain in office for this blatant violation of the Common Minimum Programme and for its criminal neglect in tackling price rise and inflation.

TRUST MOTION

The Central Committee appealed to all secular and democratic parties to vote against the confidence motion being brought by the UPA government. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party are desperately trying to mobilise the support of members of parliament using money power and unscrupulous methods. Even MPs who are convicted of serious crimes are being brought in support.

The Central Committee welcomed the efforts to bring various non-BJP, non-Congress parties together to fight against the nuclear deal and the UPA government.

PUBLIC CENSURE

The Central Committee publicly censured Subhas Chakraborty, member of the state secretariat of West Bengal, for making statements challenging the Party line. He should conform to the norms of the Party.