CPI frowns at Govt for Palestine neglect

The Left had been critical of what they perceived as a 8216;8216;palpable shift8217;8217; towards Israel since the A.B. Vajpayee era. Its recent publications have been more critical of the 8216;8216;Israeli hegemony8217;8217; in West Asia, though the Left parties are closer to the Government.

In its harshly-worded statement, the CPI has 8216;8216;condemned8217;8217; the 8216;8216;ongoing murderous attack by the Israeli government8217;8217;. It says that the onslaught has 8216;8216;aggravated the bloody war against the Palestinian people, especially the Palestinian inhabitants of the Gaza strip8217;8217;.

8216;8216;It is unfortunate to note that till now the UPA Government has not reacted to this development though the CMP speaks a lot about India8217;s support to the Palestianian cause,8217;8217; the CPI says.

The party exhorts the government 8216;8216;to denounce the Israeli occupation8217;8217; and insists that it should 8216;8216;demand immediate pull-out of the Israeli Army from all parts of the Gaza strip8217;8217;.

It was more at the insistence of the Left parties that the following line was accommodated in the CMP: 8216;8216;Traditional ties with West Asia will be given a fresh start.8217;8217; In fact, the CMP does not mention a word about the changing relationship with Israel.

It was in the President8217;s address that followed the publication of the CMP, that the UPA Government acknowledged the 8216;8216;mutually beneficial cooperation8217;8217; with Israel. But the President8217;s speech did mention that there would not be any 8216;8216;diluting8217;8217; of the principled support lent to the Palestinian cause.

Though the Left differs on several foreign policy matters, it has been cautious not to underline them without being provoked. In an article in the CPIM mouthpiece, People8217;s Democracy this July, politburo member Prakash Karat was severely critical of India8217;s proximity to the US, but those views were never aired in meetings with the UPA.

Similarly, another CPIM politburo member, Sitaram Yechury, has been guarded in his recent presentation on the need for a multi-polar world at a political forum hosted by Beijing. An article published in People8217;s Democracy in July had argued that the new trend in Indo-Israel relations was 8216;8216;an indirect way to appease Washington.8217;8217; None of these views were presented as policy change pleas to the ruling UPA.

Interestingly, it is the CPI, and not the CPIM, that has taken the lead in lashing out at the UPA Government8217;s Israel policy. Over the past few days, the CPI has been a more aggressive critic of the Government.

Senior CPI leader D. Raja had mildly protested against the dismantling of all consultative committees in the Planning Commission at the breakfast meeting with Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh last week. During the weekend, Raja had also accused plan panel deputy chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, of functioning like an 8216;8216;autocrat8217;8217;.