Cong must decide how far it can go with Mamata: Karat

In an apparent bid to widen the rift between the Congress and its ally the Trinamool Congress,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat...

In an apparent bid to widen the rift between the Congress and its ally the Trinamool Congress,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Saturday subtly appealed to the Congress to consider how far they can go with Mamata Banerjee.

Talking to mediapersons here after a four-day Politburo and Central Committee meeting,said Karat said Trinamool was pursuing an obstructionist approach opposed to Congresss development agenda and will to tackle the Maoist problem. This the Congress has to decide,how they are going to go along with the Trinamool Congress, said Karat in reply to a query.

The TMC,is not only spearheading violence but also shielding and maintaining dubious links with the Maoists. On development issues,the TMC is not allowing the Congress plans to materialise. The Congress party should think how far they can go on like this, said Karat.

Replying to another question,Karat did not rule out the possibility of reviving the relationship between the Congress and the CPM. I cannot say it now,but we will discuss it later, said Karat,hinting that the Central Committee meeting in August was likely to discuss this and other political issues in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Kerala and West Bengal. We cannot afford to wait for another two years to take stock of the political situation of the country. We will take a stand in the August meeting, said Karat.

Meanwhile,the CPM has decided to hit the streets over the issue of price rise. Karat said the Centre was not serious about addressing the problem and was trying to put the blame on the state governments. There has been 18 per cent food inflation which is the highest in the world and the Centre has not taken any measure, he said. The Centre failed to take measures to build up buffer stocks of foodgrain and cut allocation to states by 15 per cent leading to the crisis,alleged Karat.

Act against Sena,MNS

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat demanded action against the MNS and Shiv Sena for their attempt to intimidate Shah Rukh Khan and other personalities for speaking their mind. Karat claimed the Shiv Sena and MNS were indulging in a disruptive game after having failed to mobilise support in the Assembly polls. Alleging that the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra was pandering to the Sena and MNS,Karat said we would like the state to stop vacillation and take stern action against those issuing threats. PTI