CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and MP Sitaram Yechury said on February 4 in Chandigarh that to contest Lok Sabha elections, the Party was open only to non-BJP, non-Congress formations that accepted the basic assumptions of an alternate economic policy and was steadfast on secularism. He was talking to reporters before addressing a gathering organised by the Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh units of the Party to mark the centennial of the Ghadar Movement. He said, "What we have been saying all along is that people are looking for relief from burdens that are being imposed on them. They are disgusted with rampant corruption.They are looking for an alternative. What we believe is people want that kind of alternative that will follow policies that will provide them relief. So, an alternative merely to cobble up majority is not what people want."
When asked about Aam Aadmi Party, he said, "So far they (AAP) are not clear on policies. They are against corruption, which is our fight too." He claimed that AAP does not have a clear stand on several issues including economic policies being followed in this country and on communalism. Yechury said that coming together of various non-BJP, non-Congress outfits was going to have "very good impact".
Asked about their strategy in Punjab for LS polls, Yechury said they have a tie-up with Manpreet Singh Badal-led People's Party of Punjab and can have understanding with like-minded outfits. About the Ghadar Movement, Yechury stated that the "Entire history of freedom movement from British imperialism had a very deep imprint of the Ghadar movement launched by those who had gone abroad for earning their livelihood but soon formed an organisation for the national liberation of their motherland on the lines of 1857 revolt. Yechury reminded the people that leaders of the Ghadar Movement were from all communities-Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs as well as from all regions of India. The legacy of the movement therefore, is secular to the core and needs to be defended with all our might, challenged as it was today from communal forces like Hindutva. He also mentioned that economic policies of both BJP and Congress were almost the same and it was the Left parties who were consistently resisting the ruinous policies of liberalisation and privatisation inside the Parliament as well as struggling on roads.
February 6, 2014