Forward Bloc lashes out at bigger brothers

Decrying the policy of equidistance from the BJP and the Congress, which the Left parties had espoused till recently, Bardhan said equidistance is not a sustainable policy. Viewing the BJP and the Congress as twin equal dangers, tending to underestimate the threat of communalism and to ignore the ground reality posed by the rise of communal forces.

He described his party8217;s agenda for the forthcoming elections as defeating the BJP and its allies, increasing the Left presence in the 13th Lok Sabha, and ensuring the success of other democratic and secular parties, to prepare the ground for the formation of a Third Front as a viable national alternative.

The CPI was opposed to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance8217;s proposal for a fixed five-year term for Government to ensure political stability. 8220;Political stability can only result from stable Governments. It cannot be imposed by a five-year term,8221;Bardhan said.

Attacking the policies adopted by the BJP in their 17-months in office, Bardhan said the CPI would oppose the opening up of the financial sector. In the garb of swadeshi, the BJP was carrying on its policy of gifting away the family silver, in this case, the Public Sector Undertakings to multinational corporations, under the dictates of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Brushing away the fact that the four Left parties are having separate election manifestos this time, Bardhan said there were not many differences between the CPI and the CPIM. The differences were with the two smaller Left partners, the Revolutionary Socialist Party RSP and the FB. However, the FB and RSP were small parties, 8220;not sufficiently big to affect Left unity where it matters, in West Bengal, Kerala or Tripura8221;, he said.

The Forward Bloc8217;s attack on the two dominating Left parties was that they had forged 8220;unethical political alliances with so-called secular parties8221;.

Clearly sticking to the policy of equidistance, the Forward Bloc said it would fight both the BJP and the Congress in the coming polls.

8220;Lack of coordination among Left parties in various States, unethical political alliances at regional level and more inclination to the so-called secular parties 8230; are the main reasons behind the dismal performance of the Left parties,8221; the FB manifesto said.

FB General Secretary Debabrata Biswas said there was a real difference between the BJP and the Congress. If the BJP was openly communal, the Congress was blatantly compromising with communalism. Both were equally harmful to the nation and society, he added.

The FB has trained its guns on the CPI and the CPI M, accusing them of 8220;bungling under pressure after the fall of Vajpayee Government and aligning with the foe against whom we fought for decades8221;.