Left in talks with 'secular' parties to corner goverment in Parliament

Left parties are in talks with 'secular' parties to corner the government in Parliament on the price situation and today submitted adjournment notices to demand a discussion on the issue.

Left parties are in talks with 'secular' parties to corner the government in Parliament on the price situation and on Monday submitted adjournment notices to demand a discussion on the issue.

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While informal consultations have been held with some parties, top Left parliamentary leaders would meet their counterparts from parties like TDP, BJD and AIADMK on Tuesday to discuss the strategy as to how they would take forward their struggle on rising prices, Left sources said.

Leaders of the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc, who met on Monday, said they have sent notices for adjournment of the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday to take up a discussion on rising prices and deregulation of prices of petroleum products.

The sources were hopeful of support from the NDA on the price rise issue even though the Left parties do not have any floor coordination with the BJP led opposition alliance.

While the government has made it clear that it would not agree to an adjournment motion on the price rise issue on the ground that it was not a "recent occurrence", Left parties maintained that de regulation of prices of petrol and diesel was a decision taken after the budget session of Parliament.

Today's meeting was attended by Sitaram Yechury and Basudeb Acharia (both CPI M), Gurudas Dasgupta and D Raja (both CPI), Barun Mukherjee and Narahari Mahato (both Forward Bloc) and Manohar Tirkey (RSP).

Besides price rise, the Left parties would raise the issue of mining scam and seek to take the government to task on the Bhopal gas case verdict and its repercussions, the sources said.

They would link the liability and compensation issues in the Bhopal gas case with the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill, which is pending before a Parliamentary Standing Committee, they said.

During the session, members of the four parties would also raise the issue of instances of terrorism by Hindutva fundamentalists and the progress in implementation of Ranganath Misra Commission's recommendations on education and job related problems faced by the minorities.

A comprehensive law on food security that would guarantee a universal distribution system too would be demanded by the Left parties, which would also seek passage of the

long pending Women's Reservation Bill by the Lok Sabha. The legislation has already been approved by the Rajya Sabha.