Marxists trying to help BJP says Antony

Chief Minister A. K. Antony yesterday charged the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) with trying to topple his government while giving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a helping hand in Kerala.

He told the media here that the CPI-M did not want a strong Congress to challenge the BJP in the coming Assembly elections in the north and that was why it had begun trying to oust his government six months ago with the blessings of its Politburo.

He repeated his demand that the CPI-M led Left Democratic Front (LDF) should disclose who would replace him in the alternative government that it was trying to form with the support of the 'I' group in the Congress led by K. Karunakaran.

It should also disclose who would be the Ministers and its coalition partners. The people should be informed how it could form a government while the LDF had a strength of only 40 in a 140-member-strong Assembly.

"Are they going to form the government through horse trading?" he asked.

Antony said the CPI-M takes an anti-BJP stand in Delhi and a different stand in Kerala by trying to help the BJP. "This fake drama should end"‚ he added.

He also repeated his statement that those demanding the convening of the House should approach the Governor with the support of 71 members.

Antony said he had no doubts about his majority in the House and if necessary that would be proved at the appropriate time. Asked if the House would be called before the mandatory date in January he said his coalition constituents had to be consulted.

Reacting to the latest statement by Antony, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President K. Muraleedharan said the CPI-M was sitting in the opposition and it was doing its duty by trying to topple the State Government.

The Chief Minister's statement that the opposition was trying to buy MLAs supporting him showed that he had no faith in them, Muraleedharan added.

Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan said if any one replacing Antony was worse than him, the opposition would not support the new government. Antony was faking his anti-BJP stand, he added.