The country needed a third alternative comprising Left and democratic forces outside the Congress and the BJP, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Sunday. He also called for greater unity of the Left parties towards this end. “We have a communal party like the BJP on one side and a party of capitalists like the Congress on the other. We need a third alternative. This can be achieved only if the Left unity is strengthened,” Karat said at an open rally on the eve of the CPI(M)’s four-day state conference at Mahajati Sadan.

Accusing the Congress-led UPA Government of failing to redress the problems faced by common people despite nine per cent GDP growth, he said the Centre was indifferent to the suicide of nearly two lakh farmers over the last 10 years. The Centre was also trying to ruin PDS and open the retail sector to big investors. If this happens, lakhs of small traders would be wiped out, he said.

“So we are telling the government to take steps to properly implement the Common Minimum Programme. But if it tries to open the banking, insurance, agriculture and retail sectors to foreign investments, we will not accept,” he said.

Referring to West Bengal, he said a conspiracy was on to weaken CPI(M) and in the coming days the party would make efforts to unite the secular forces against this.

Earlier, veteran leader Jyoti Basu made it clear that the CPI(M)’s goal of a socialist state and a classless society were not immediately achievable because the party is working under a capitalist system.

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