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India Marxists court BSP chief Mayawati
The realignment of political forces over the India-US nuclear deal continued on Sunday with Marxist leader Prakash Karat calling for "cooperation" with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
- IANS
- Published: 00:08 July 14, 2008
New Delhi/Kolkata: The realignment of political forces over the India-US nuclear deal continued on Sunday with Marxist leader Prakash Karat calling for "cooperation" with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) after meeting its chief Mayawati.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, prepared to meet his Samajwadi Party counterpart Amar Singh to cement ties between the two parties.
A day prior to the start of a nationwide campaign by the Left against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) general secretary Karat called on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and said that both parties would vote against the nuclear deal in parliament.
Karat's surprise meeting with Mayawati marks a formal end to decades of ties the CPM has had with BSP's sworn enemy, the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
As the Samajwadi Party came to the rescue of the Congress over the nuclear deal, Mayawati denounced it. In a statement issued after the meeting, the CPM said: "Karat appreciated the stand taken by Mayawati on the nuclear deal. He stressed that since the deal is against the country's interests, both parties should cooperate to fight against the nuclear deal with America.
BSP sources said their party was yet to take a decision whether or not to participate in the Left's drive against the government on the nuclear deal.
Facing the heat
Sources in the BSP said yesterday's meeting was an attempt to ensure that it does not remain isolated on the national political scene. T
he BSP is already facing the heat. Mayawati faces trial in a case of amassing disproportionate assets the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating.
Samajwadi Party's Amar Singh yesterday indicated that his party would continue to target Mayawati with a newfound confidence and challenged Mayawati to come clean. But he maintained he had no role in the CBI proceeding further in this case last week.
In what is seen as an indication of the importance given to the Samajwadi Party by the Congress, Rahul Gandhi is set to meet Amar Singh on Tuesday.
This would be their first meeting after the Samajwadi Party pledged support to the ruling combine in the current political crisis, informed sources said.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met CPM veteran Jyoti Basu on Sunday in Kolkata and told him why, in the view of the Congress, the Left-UPA coalition broke up.
Mukherjee told reporters after a 20-minute meeting with Basu at the latter's residence: "We consider Basu and [former CPM general secretary Harkishan Singh] Surjeet the architects of the alliance. As UPA's leader in the Lok Sabha, I considered it my responsibility to meet Basu and explain to him why the alliance broke down."
In other developments, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, amid calls that he resign after the Left took back support to the UPA government, met Basu in Kolkata but did not speak to journalists.
A trust vote is due in parliament on July 22.
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