Left to step up all-India campaigns on crucial issues

NEW DELHI: Amid talk of early general elections, Left parties today decided to step up all-India campaigns on some crucial issues as part of their strategy to jointly intervene in the evolving political scenario and provide an alternative platform against Congress and BJP.

Top leaders of the four parties met and decided to organise an all-India political convention here in the first week of July to work out the next steps in this regard.

The hour-long meeting was attended by Prakash Karat (CPI-M), D Raja, S Sudhakar Reddy (both CPI), Debabrata Biswas, G Devarajan (both Forward Bloc) and Abani Roy (RSP).

"At this convention, we will discuss the emerging political scenario and how the Left parties, as a united group, could intervene. The convention will also set out the tasks before these parties," Raja told PTI after the meeting.

Biswas, the Forward Bloc General Secretary, also said the Left parties, through this convention which would be attended by activists of Left parties from across the country, would "unitedly provide an alternative to the BJP and the Congress".

An agenda on the alternative policy platform would be adopted at the convention which would also work out the future course of action, Biswas said.

The Left parties have already decided to work for the creation of a non-Congress, non-BJP formation which would adhere to a policy platform as an alternative to the 'neo- liberal' policies pursued and supported by the two major parties.

This was the second meeting of the Left leaders in as many weeks. At the last meeting, they had opposed the crucial Land Acquisition Bill and demanded that it be referred back to the Standing Committee or a Joint Select Committee.