Left spurns Amma, says origin no basis for a front

Spiking TN CM J. Jayalalithaa’s proposal for floating a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front, the Left today said the origin of political ...

Spiking TN CM J. Jayalalithaa’s proposal for floating a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front, the Left today said the origin of political leaders cannot be the basis of any alternative political formation.

‘‘Political parties and their leadership should be judged by the policies they pursue and by how far they go in implementing them. The origin of leaders cannot be the issue,’’ the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement. Reiterating that a Third Front should be created only if there is understanding between the alliance partners, it said: ‘‘There has to be a policy framework for such an alliance which accords priority to fighting communalism and the BJP’s anti-people policies.’’

	Advani plot, says Cong
CHENNAI: BJP leader and Union Shipping Minister S. Thirunavukkarasar on Wednesday described as ‘‘ridiculous’’ the Congress’ claim that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s recent statement against Congress president Sonia Gandhi exposed the ‘‘gameplan’’ of Deputy PM L.K. Advani and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy to topple the NDA Govt and install Advani as PM. Reacting to this, Swamy said he did not need Advani’s help to topple the Govt. (Agencies) Story continues below this ad

Still smarting from Jayalalitha’s post-election volte face in Tamil Nadu when she dissolved the alliance with the Left parties and Congress, senior CPI leader Atul Anjan said: ‘‘She may have played double roles in films successfully, but this is politics. The Left parties do not entertain duplicity of any kind.’’ The CPI leader went on to add: ‘‘Whether it was POTA or Kalam’s and Shekhawat’s candidature, she was only to eager to play ball with the NDA.’’

Accusing her of indulging in Sonia-bashing at the behest of a particular faction in the BJP, Anjan said: ‘‘She knows that the Left parties do not float Fronts just for the sake of doing it. The core issue before us is communalism and economic policies, not the origin of the Leader of the Opposition.’’

PM Modi releases special coin, stamp to mark 100 years of RSS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh [RSS] had suffered at the hands of British and Nizams for its belief of ‘nation first’. He also said RSS members, including founder KB Hedgewar, had been jailed during the freedom struggle. Modi released a special commemorative postage stamp and a coin to mark the centenary of the RSS.

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