CPI-M not to boycott Obama speech

The Communist Party of India-Marxist Saturday said that it will not boycott US President Barack Obama's address to MPs Nov 8 as he is the first American black president.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Saturday said that it will not boycott US President Barack Obama's address to MPs Nov 8 as he is the first American black president.

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"We boycott in a particular context," CPI-M politburo member Brinda Karat said, referring to the party's views on former US president George W Bush and Bill Clinton. "We don't see any necessity (to boycott Obama)."

Asked what makes Obama different, the Rajya Sabha MP said the difference was that he was the first black president of the US.

Basudeb Acharia, the CPI-M leader in the Lok Sabha, said the party had decided it would not boycott Obama, who visits Mumbai and New Delhi Nov 6-9.

He will address a joint meeting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members Nov 8, a day before he leaves for Indonesia.

But he said the Left parties would hold a massive protest here and other parts of India Nov 8 against the "imperialist policies" of the US.

The Left parties Friday said that their protest Nov 8 would demand, among other things, justice for victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy for which US multinational Union Carbide was blamed.