Ahead of House session, CPI(M) eyes protests to garner support

Struggling to strengthen its national foothold, the CPI(M) has planned a week-long protest programme across India with the aim to consolidate its position in the Opposition quarters.

The party has carefully picked the twin issues of price rise and unemployment to hit the streets from July 11 to highlight the failures of the NDA government.

“During our last central committee meeting, many pressing issues were highlighted but unemployment and price rise were highlighted by almost every member. Based on the feedback from our units, we decided to take up these two issues to kick-start another agitation,” said Hannan Mollah, politburo member of the CPI(M).

The party members expect the two highly popular issues may help the party garner support among the non-NDA parties, especially in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. The street protests will end on July 17, just a day before the Parliament session begins. CPI(M) ENDS ALLIANCE WITH CONG IN W BENGAL

In a major political U-turn, the CPI-M central leadership on Sunday ended the Bengal unit’s alliance with the Congress. This brings to an end a four-and-a half month-long roller coaster ride that was marked by public debate, opposition from CPI-M units. The development is a setback for a majority of Bengal’s leaders and for the party’s general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, who had resisted all moves by leaders from Kerala and Tripura to stop their fellow comrades in Bengal from contesting the recently concluded assembly polls with Congress as partner.