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  India   Left distances itself from Congress over Bengal poll

Left distances itself from Congress over Bengal poll

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : Jun 22, 2016, 1:32 am IST
Updated : Jun 22, 2016, 1:32 am IST

A day after the CPI(M)’s central committee declared that electoral understanding with the Congress in West Bengal was not in consonance with the party’s political-tactical line and called for its rect

A day after the CPI(M)’s central committee declared that electoral understanding with the Congress in West Bengal was not in consonance with the party’s political-tactical line and called for its rectification, the Left Front distanced itself from the Congress.

The CPI(M)’s highest decision-making body’s observations came as a shot in the arm of Left Front partners — CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc — which had reservations from the beginning about the alliance.

In a Left Front meeting on Tuesday, the Front partners trained guns at the CPI(M) state secretary, Surjya Kanta Mishra, who was the chief architect of the alliance and demanded snapping of all ties with the Congress.

“On July 11, the Left Front will take out a rally from Y-Channel at Esplanade to College Square to protest the rising prices, FDI in retail and defence sector and increasing electricity tariff. All Left-minded parties have been invited to join us in the rally. The Congress has not been invited,” Left Front chairman Biman Bose said.

Responding to the queries on whether the Congress was deliberately left out from the programme following the CPI(M)’s central committee’s observation, Mr Bose said, “It is a Left Front programme. We are not inviting the Congress. The CPI(M) can organise their independent programme and they can decide whether they will invite the Congress or not. I am not here to talk on behalf of the CPI(M). I am here to talk on behalf of the Left Front.”

Mr Bose pointed out that the central committee and Politburo have said that there could be joint movements with secular, democratic forces on the issue of post-poll violence.

“We have not asked them to join us as we are not organising this rally against the post-poll violence,” he added.