Will support Grand Alliance in Bihar but won’t join cabinet, says CPI(ML)
There will be no ministers from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation in Bihar’s Grand Alliance cabinet headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar, but the left outfit will provide “strong support” to the government, the party’s general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said
PATNA: There will be no ministers from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation in Bihar’s Grand Alliance cabinet headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar, but the left outfit will provide “strong support” to the government, the party’s general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said on Saturday.
“The CPI(ML) will not be part of Nitish’s cabinet, but we will give strong support to the government,” Bhattacharya said after a meeting of party leaders in the state capital. It has 12 legislators in the 243-member Bihar assembly.
The party, however, expressed happiness over the ouster of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power in Bihar and called it a “positive development for the whole country”.
“The formation of a non-BJP government in Bihar is in the direction of liberating the country from BJP conspiracy and disaster,” Bhattacharya said. “It creates new hope for the forces fighting against the attack on the Constitution and democracy.”
Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) severed ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on August 9 and joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress to form a Grand Alliance government.
The CPI (ML) leader said he hoped the new state government will move forward with a positive attitude. “Our party will play an important role in creating a meaningful dialogue between civil society and the government,” he said.
The CPI(ML) demanded a wholesome change in field of education. “Through the governor, the BJP has made universities a haven for loot and smuggling. While limiting the role of the Chancellor, the new government should make a complete action plan for reforms and changes in the education system,” said Bhattacharya. “There is a need to intensify the campaign to make Patna University a central university.”
The party also demanded that the report on land reforms and by the education commission should be implemented. “There is an urgent need to take concrete steps in the direction of allotment of land among the landless poor, guarantee to provide all the means of agricultural development, including registration of sharecroppers, construction of Kadavan reservoir and repair of Sone and other canal systems,” the CPI(ML) leader said.
The promise of 1.9 million jobs should also be fulfilled, said Bhattacharya. “Action should be taken against liquor mafia. People in jails should be released under the law, as there is a need to rehabilitate them,” he said.
Reacting to left party’s comments, BJP state spokesperson Nikhil Anand said all parties involved in the Grand Alliance have buried their ideology to form an “opportunistic alliance”. “When CPI(ML) collaborated with the RJD, whose leader (Mohammad) Shahabuddin masterminded the killing of former JNUSU president Chandrasekhar, we can expect any low from this Left wing party,” he said. “They want to create a country where Islamic fundamentalist and Taliban mindset is given free hand, but the BJP will fight tooth and nail to liberate India from anti- nationals, fundamentalists and urban Naxals who are constantly trying to destabilise this country.”
Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.