Left seeks a right ally in PPP

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday,CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said: “We are in talks with the People’s Party of Punjab and efforts are on to form an alliance for the forthcoming elections.”

Karat said that the alliance was necessary to stop both the SAD-BJP combine and the Congress from coming to power in the state.

He said Punjab has been suffering under (SAD-BJP) misrule and corruption rate is very high. “Even the Congress’ record in Punjab has not been good,” he said,adding that Left is working together with parties to set up a democratic front to fight polls in Punjab.

“Our state unit is in touch other Left parties besides secular parties to form an alliance to counter the ruling SAD-BJP alliance,” Karat added.

Earlier,the Left leader said that Centre should introduce a strong Lokpal Bill in the Parliament’s monsoon session beginning August 1.

“Our demand is to bring a strong Lokpal bill with the Prime Minister under its the ambit,” Karat said,adding that the last four Lokpal drafts presented in parliament in 1989,1996,1998 and 2001 had included the Prime Minister.

Questioning why the UPA government was shying away from bringing the Prime Minister under the anti-graft bill,Karat said,“The Prime Minister is under the ambit of Prevention of Corruption Act. So he should be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill.”

He,however,said that higher judiciary,including High Court and Supreme Court judges,should be kept out of the Lokpal Bill. “A separate National Judicial Commission should be enacted as there is corruption in the judiciary also,” Karat added.

The CPI(M) leader said the Left has read the draft of the Lokpal Bill prepared by team Anna Hazare and found a few drawbacks in it.

“We do not fully agree with all the points,but we also want PM should in its ambit and judiciary out of it. The Bill would be tabled in the parliament and then referred to a standing committee,which will look into it. This may take about a month. Hazare should wait for a month before going on the hunger strike,” Karat said.

On the cash-for-vote scam,he alleged that as many as 19 MPs were bribed after the Left withdrew support to the Congress-led UPA in 2008. Karat said that the Delhi Police should not confine its investigations to the three BJP MPs,who had made the allegation,rather it should probe the role of all the 19 MPs.

He said that the Trinamool Congress Government completed two months of rule on in West Bengal on Thursday and alleged that 27 Left workers,including two women,have been killed by TMC men in this period. Attacking Mamata Banerjee,he alleged that the law and order situation has failed in the state.