Left protests outside,finds some good inside

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan led party leaders and cadres at a protest rally a kilometre away from Parliament. Karat asked the Manmohan Singh government not to succumb to US pressure and enter into agreements which go against Indias sovereignty,economic interests and interests of the working class.

After listening to Obamas address in Parliament,both the CPM and CPI were critical of Obama. The CPIs D Raja questioned Obamas silence on the continuing US economic embargo on Cuba and the seige of Palestine by Israel.

He showed his finer side as a human being when he spoke about Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda. But when it came to political,economic and other issues,he stood as the US President articulating his long-held positions. Even when he supported Indias bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council,he attached conditions, Raja told The Indian Express.

Maintaining his speech had nothing tangible,Sitaram Yechury of the CPM said while Obama referred to Myanmar on human rights,he did not talk about Palestine. If the US is a global leader,it should apply its values globally, Yechury said.

India and the US cannot share the same perspective. He wants India to be a junior ally of the American imperial power, Raja said.