We support Pranab, not Congress: Karat

PRAKASH KARAT, the general secretary of CPM, tells P.T. THUFAIL and MUKESH RANJAN that his party does not propose to forge a third front in the next general election. He also speaks of a widespread agrarian crisis in West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee. How do you justify CPM’s support to UPA’s presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee? Didn’t your decision cause a split in the Left Front?

We supported Mr Mukherjee in view of the political situation in the country. We feel he is the most suitable candidate available. For the last two decades we have given importance to the person holding the constitutional position. S/he should have firm secular credentials. Among the Left parties there were differences over the issue, but we have made it clear that this will not have any impact on our unity. Unlike the other supporting parties, CPM members were absent when Mr Mukherjee filed his nomination.

I didn’t get any invitation. The Congress has approached parliamentary leaders to sign the nomination papers. We are not sponsoring the candidate. We are just extending our support. Does the move to support the UPA nominee mean that the CPM is once again coming close to the Congress, and this could have a bearing on the 2014 Lok Sabha election?

Absolutely not. We rule out any understanding with the Congress, nationally and in West Bengal. Our party line, worked out at our recent Party Congress, is to fight the BJP and the Congress. The chances of the UPA coming back to power are very bleak. So why speculate on this issue? How do you assess the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul government in West Bengal?

In the one year of the Trinamul-led government, there has been widespread attack on democracy and democratic rights. Nobody was spared. The CPM and the Left, of course, have been the main target. Even the Congress was not spared although it is a Trinamul ally. The rights of all sections are being curbed, including ordinary people, for instance university teachers.

The other noteworthy feature is a serious agrarian crisis. Never in the state have we seen the phenomenon of farmers’ suicide. The land reforms of the past are being negated by trying to take away the rights of barga and pattaholders. Ceiling laws have been diluted. The government is exposing its real character. We have been conducting campaigns against this. There seems to be a major rift within the CPM in Kerala. Do you think V.S. Achuthanandan is violating the party line by making certain statements?

There is no question of individuals, and there does not exist any contest between leaders in the state. There are certain issues. The party’s state committee was convened recently which the polit- buro members attended. They have called a meeting of our central committee to discuss these matters in the third week of July. We will try to resolve

these problems. CPM local leaders in Kerala have admitted the party’s involvement in political murders. What do you have to say?

Our party is not involved in the murder of T.P. Chandrashekharan. The way the police is investigating the case, it appears that it is doing so with some motive, as per the direction of the state home minister and the Union minister of state for home. They claim the involvement of the CPM even before the investigation is complete.

We will also investigate from the party’s side to ascertain the truth. If any party member is found guilty, we shall take the strongest action. But the way they are arresting our leaders in Kozhikode and Kannur districts shows that there is some motive in the government’s work. Media reports suggest that you have some differences with former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhatta- charjee, and hence he has not been attending party meetings.

I should tell you that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee did not have a different stand on any party decision, including the withdrawal of support to the UPA.

He was fully on board in the politburo. He has requested to be exempted from attending politburo and central committee meetings on health grounds, and so is the case with the Party Congress. Whatever work he does today is confined to Kolkata and West Bengal. You have been criticised for withdrawing support to the UPA-1 government on the nuclear deal. How wise was the decision?

We placed a review of the party line and its implementation at the Party Congress. With near unanimity the Party Congress endorsed the decision to withdraw support. We have placed on behalf of the central committee a criticism of ourselves that we should have pulled out much earlier.

That was also accepted. We allowed the UPA government to go to the IAEA for negotiations at a crucial time. Now our party feels that we should not have allowed this and withdrawn support at the time. Do you think there can be a viable alternative to the UPA and the NDA? Do you see the possibility of stitching together a third front for the 2014 election?

We have said at our Party Congress that we are not forging a third alternative in the form of a front or based on a common programme.

We don’t think this is feasible. Our emphasis is on the independent role of our party and the strengthening of Left unity, and building a Left democratic alternative, which is not going to happen immediately. For the election, we may cooperate with some non-Congress secular parties.