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Surjeet meets Sonia, sets terms for support

George Iype in New Delhi

The Left parties have proposed to support a Congress-led government at the Centre if the party waters down its economic policies and agrees to formulate a common minimum programme in consultation with all its coalition partners.

Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday to convey the Left Parties' conditions to share power with a Congress-led coalition government.

Surjeet's meeting with Sonia -- on the eve of the Congress's brainstorming session at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh -- assumes much significance. The Congress leadership is expected to issue major policy decisions on the political situation, economic and foreign affairs, organisational matters and the agriculture sector at the Pachmarhi session.

Congress sources said the Surjeet-Sonia parleys are part of an ongoing attempt to thrash out the differences between the two political fronts.

The Congress and Left parties have agreed that any alternative government, replacing the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led coalition, is feasible only if they take "a forget and forgive approach" towards each other.

"We have clearly indicated to the Congress leadership that the Left parties are ready to support a Congress coalition if it can accept and implement the policies and programmes of all the supporting allies," Surjeet told Rediff On The NeT.

He said the Left parties view the Bharatiya Janata Party as the number one enemy in Indian politics. "Ideologically, the Left and the Congress cannot share a platform. But the country is in for coalition governments and we cannot remain silent when the BJP is ruining the country and its economy," the CPI-M general secretary said.

Surjeet disclosed that he has held a number of discussions on the economic issues with Congress leaders like former finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee.

"The formulation of a common minimum programme is a must if the Congress wants Left support to run a coalition government," the CPI-M leader added.

Left sources said Surjeet, who played a major role in cobbling together the United Front government and its common minimum programme in 1996, wants a replica to be created with the Congress if and when the Vajpayee government falls.

"But the Left parties will not lend support to a Congress government unless the party tones down those elements of the economic liberalisation programme which hurt the Indian economy," a Communist Party of India ideologue remarked.

Ever since the Congress government launched the economic reforms in 1991, the Left parties have consistently opposed the liberalisation policies.

The Left Front argues that disinvestment of public sector undertakings is not the way out to tide over the country's fiscal crisis "because by disinvesting in PSUs, the government is withdrawing from all economic activities of the State."

Though the Left parties do not oppose foreign investment, they are staunch opponents of foreign institutional investors into the country. In areas of the foreign direct investment too, the Left wants the government to call the shots and decide who should invest where and how much.

Similarly, the Left Front wants multinational corporations to be discouraged in non-core sectors and non-strategic areas, arguing that MNCs make a quick buck dumping white goods into the country. The Left also opposes the opening up of the insurance sector for the private sector.

While the Congress has not made any commitment to the Left on watering down its economic policies, there are divergent views among Congress leaders on the liberalisation process ushered in by Dr Manmohan Singh.

Congress leaders claimed the party's dilemma over reshaping the country's economic policies will be discussed at length at the Pachmarhi session.

Dr Singh, who is to present a background paper on the economy, is expected to endorse the process of liberalisation and globalisation. Sources said while the economic paper talks about a cut in subsidies -- both direct and hidden -- the background paper on agriculture is in favour of continuance of subsidies in the agricultural sector.

But forced by the compulsions of accommodating the Left parties in a future coalition, the Congress is expected to add a few areas -- especially beneficial for the poor and the farmers -- in its reform programme.

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