NEW DELHI, MARCH 19: The bonhomie between the Congress and the Left parties seen in Parliament last week appears to have all but disappeared. All because of Bill Clinton.The Congress has taken umbrage at the Left's stance to oppose the US President's visit to India, calling it an ``irresponsible and regrettable move''.Describing the Left parties' decision to abstain from Parliament on the day when Clinton addresses a joint session of both Houses, CWC member Jitendra Prasada said their decision ``exposes them (the Left parties) as irresponsible political entities''.Prasada's sharply-worded attack on the Left comes as a surprise. After a session of the Parliament where the Congress and the Left parties adopted a common posture in attacking the Government, the tone and tenor of Prasada's statement was nothing less than harsh.``The threat of the Left parties to organise a protest demonstration on the occasion of President Clinton's visit, to say the least, is reprehensible. Their decision to abstain from the joint session of the two Houses was regrettable enough. and exposes them as irresponsible political entities,'' he said.The ticking off was at odds with the recent cooperative spirit in the Parliament between the two.Beginning with the protest against the Gujarat order on the RSS, then over the issue of the cut in subsidies in the Budget proposals and finally the recall of the Bihar Governor, the Congress and Left parties had joined hands to take the Government to task.And their strategy appeared to yield results as evidenced by the rollback on the RSS and Bihar issues.But the camaraderie was short-lived.The Left parties, which view the Clinton visit as a capitulation of the BJP-led NDA government to ``American imperialism'', have stepped up their protests, not merely against the visit, but against the curbs on demonstrations and rallies during the visit.Despite the stringent security measures, the CPI(M) and the CPI plan to go ahead with their protest rally in the Capital on Tuesday, the day Clinton's official visit begins. But with access to the roads that the US President takes virtually sealed off, its unlikely that they will get anywhere near the US entourage.Cautioning Indians against the ``imperialist designs'' that the United States has on the country, CPI(M) General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet said India should stick to its policy of non-alignment which has helped developing countries to hold on to their independence in world affairs.The Left has also been critical of what its calls the Government's excessive enthusiasm and extravagance in preparing for the visit. In Bhubaneswar, CPI general secretary A B Bardhan did not mince words, accusing the Prime Minister of bowing down to US pressure. India should not delude itself about the outcome of the Clinton visit, which was primarily aimed at promoting US multinational corporations, Bardhan said.
