The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had adopted policies that were "nakedly pro-rich", Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat said in New Delhi on Monday.
"We want an alternative secular government in the country," Karat said while releasing
his party's manifesto for the elections.
"We place the UPA squarely responsible for this unacceptable growing divide between a handful of rich people and vast masses of our people," he told reporters.
Referring to the public distribution system (PDS), he said the Manmohan Singh-led government had weakened it instead of strengthening it.
He said the government had adopted an "attitude of hesitation and compromise" on communal issues and referred to attacks on minorities in Kandhamal in Orissa and in Karnataka.
Promising an independent foreign policy, Karat said: "The biggest betrayal has been on the foreign policy.
"The Manmohan Singh government has turned its back on non-aligned foreign policy."