Cong can support 3rd Front from outside

The Left parties will not be averse to taking Congress support from outside to a Third Front government, Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat said on Friday.

Karat also said that the Left parties and its Third Front allies will jointly decide on the course of action after the Lok Sabha elections.

He also parried questions on whether the Left parties would agree for a Congress-led government if it does not insist on Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister, remarking that "Congress is not going to change."

Karat made it clear that the Left parties were for formation of a non-Congress secular government at the Centre.

"We have taken a decision that we (Third Front) should form a government. There can be a non-Congress government at the Centre with Congress remaining outside and extending support," Karat told media persons in New Delhi.

Noting that the Left is "not alone" in the matter, he said, "We will come to a common understanding and decision and we will not abandon our friends and allies. Whatever decision we take, we will take it after consultations."

He dismissed suggestions that the Left parties were under pressure from the United Progressive Alliance allies on the issue of formation of the next government.

Karat said that the Left parties have already appealed to the "secular parties" in the UPA and the National Democratic Alliance to cooperate in the formation of a non-Congress secular government.

Replying to a query, he said the Janata Dal-United, which is now part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, was also part of these secular parties.

Karat's comments have come a day after three prominent non-Congress leaders in the UPA, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan sought to reach out to Left parties describing them as "our friends" whose "blessings" could be required in the post-poll scenario.

Asked whether the Left parties would be agreeable to supporting a Congress-led government minus Manmohan Singh, he said, "There is not going to be any change in the Congress party. It is not going to change. The continuance of strategic partnerships with Israel and the United States is a proof of that."