Taking serious exception to United States Ambassador David Mulford writing directly to West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee for his remarks against the American President, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday said the party expected a response from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
"The US ambassador does not seem to understand how to behave as an ambassador in this country. An ambassador has to behave according to certain norms," CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters at the end of the two-day politburo meeting of the party in Kolkata.
Left won't withdraw support to UPA government
In a letter, Mulford had objected to the chief minister's description of US President George Bush as a leader of the most organised pack of killers at an election rally in Kolkata on January 8.
Mulford had also said that such remarks will be detrimental, especially in inviting US investors to West Bengal.
Karat said the CPI-M had earlier demanded Mulford's recall following his comment on the Left parties' stand on Foreign Direct Investment in retail trade. He said the ambassador had no business to write to the chief minister directly.
Bhattacharjee, he said, had written a strong letter of protest to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh objecting to Mulford's behaviour.
Karat also warned the government that it will be put in the dock in Parliament for voting to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council.
Complete Coverage: The Iran Vote and After
"The Manmohan Singh government has refused to heed to public opinion on the Iran issue and the left parties have decided to demand a debate in the house ahead of the March six International Atomic Energy Agency Board meeting," he said.
"The party (CPI-M) shall actively seek support of other political parties within and outside the UPA and forge a joint platform on issues such as Iran and FDI in retail," he added.
The politburo took stock of the various policy decisions of the UPA government and decided to review the overall performance of the UPA government, Karat said, adding, "CPI(M) has serious objection to the way policy decisions are taken and the party has decided to consult the left parties and work-out appropriate steps."
In the meantime, CPI(M) and other Left parties will convey some of the opinions, which will be formulated, to the UPA-Left coordination committee meeting, to be held on February 13, he said.
