If prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on Wednesday trying to keep the Congresss options open for a post-poll tie-up with the Left parties,Prakash Karat was clearly neither impressed nor enthused. Especially so when the PMs attempt to humour the former allies by saying that he was quite happy dealing with them came after rubbishing the Lefts efforts to forge a third alternative and calling the comrades regressive. While the Prime Minister pinned the post-poll alliance question with the Left parties on the emerging circumstances,the CPI(M) boss was forthright. We will not support a Congress-led Government, he told The Indian Express. That the CPI(M) general secretary has not taken the PMs recent attacks on the Left lightly also became evident when he attacked Singh personally in an article in the partys Malayalam daily Desabhimani. He countered Singhs aside that the Left has often been on the wrong side of history and that they never participated in the Quit India movement. Coming from a person who showered praise on British rule in India as marked by good governance,this is a bit rich. Manmohan Singh had made a speech in Oxford University in July 2005 where he spelt out the beneficial consequences of British colonial rule in India, Karat said. Bringing in the US angle,he said the Prime Ministers speech at Oxford came a few days before his visit to Washington where he declared a global partnership with the US for spreading democracy. Probably,the American experiment in spreading democracy to Iraq inspired the Prime Minister! Manmohan Singh knows very well that Communist leaders made great sacrifices and spent many years in jail fighting British rule. Singh charged that the Communists have always been on the wrong side of history. For him,being on the right side of history means being with the USA. This seems to have clouded his judgement, the CPI(M) leader said. Karat did not stop at that. Questioning the PMs integrity in the context of the July 22 trust vote,he said the UPA Government headed by a Prime Minister who is known for his integrity,set a new record in political corruption when it brazenly purchased Opposition members of Parliament to win the vote of confidence. Other left leaders charged the Prime Minister with double-speak and pointed out that while Singh said he was happy dealing with the Left,the Congress manifesto alleged that the Left parties attempted to exercise authority without taking on any responsibility. The PM is speaking different things in different places on different occasions. Just a couple of days ago,he was in Kerala where he accused the Left of always being on the wrong side of history. Now,he says a different thing, CPI national secretary D Raja said.
