CPM not happy with Manmohanomics

Beliving that there was public disillusionment with the UPA Government, the CPIM Politburo on Friday recorded the growing distance between the Left and the Manmohan Singh...

Beliving that there was public disillusionment with the UPA Government, the CPIM Politburo on Friday recorded the growing distance between the Left and the Manmohan Singh Government and blamed the Centre for its poor response to people8217;s issues.

Today, on the first day of the two-day Politburo meet, as the UPA8217;s performance was reviewed, it was felt that the Government was merely paying lip service to most people-related issues without trying to find genuine solutions. Price rise was stated as one of the key concerns in this regard.

The fresh infighting in Kerala with state unit President Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan pitted against each other on the demolitions in Munnar, is expected to come up tomorrow, CPIM sources said. Party stalwarts Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who had earlier played the part of mediators between the two sides, were not present. In their 90s, both leaders were unable to attend the meeting.

There was, meanwhile, little praise for the Prime Minister8217;s speech at the Confederation of Indian Industry8217;s annual conference where he advocated moderation especially on the issue of salaries. The general comment in the Politburo was that the PM8217;s remarks were 8220;only for public consumption8221;, while the Government did very little to address 8220;real issues8221;.

Discussions on the Government8217;s performance are expected to continue in greater detail tomorrow. Party sources said the issue was on the agenda for discussion at the Politburo meet. The discussions come against the backdrop of suggestions from other Left parties8212;the CPI, RSP and the Forward Bloc8212;providing outside support to the Government for a review of relations with the UPA. They believe that the UPA has regularly sidetracked the Left concerns to pursue its own agenda.

While discussions on the Presidential polls did take place, the party reiterated the criteria on which the nomination should take place.

Among other issues discussed were the Uttar Pradesh elections and the party8217;s poor performance8212;it drew a blank in the polls.

8230;wants action against godmen

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NEW DELHI: The CPIM has asked the Union Government to seal the trusts run by seven godmen for their alleged involvement in using the hawala route to bring in money for their trusts, which came to light during a sting operation carried out by a private news channel. Among the seven men were those associated with the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas and the Suryamangalam Trust.

In letters written to Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, CPIM MP and Politburo member Brinda Karat said: 8220;It is urgent. The Government should act on the telecast reports which provide prima facie evidence and book these individuals under the relevant laws and seal the accounts of the trusts they run.8221;

Karat has also raised security questions, suggesting that the routes presumably used by them for putting the illegal money into regular channels could as well have been used by terrorist organisations to finance anti-national activities.