Cong ridicules CPI-M's bid to lead Third Front

Congress ridiculed the CPI(M) for trying to 'give leadership' to the Third Force when it had no strength to fight the BJP in some of the crucial states and told the Left party that it would be impossible to defeat 'communal forces' without it.

Congress on Tuesday ridiculed the CPI(M) for trying to 'give leadership' to the Third Force when it had no strength to fight the BJP in some of the crucial states and told the Left party that it would be impossible to defeat 'communal forces' without it.

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"Confined to West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, CPI(M) is giving leadership to the Third force when they don't have the strength to fight the BJP in MP, UP, Gujarat and Rajasthan," senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee told election rallies in this border town of Murshidabad district.

"The CPI(M) should know that without Congress, it is not possible to fight communal forces," Mukherjee, the WBPCC chief, told roadside meetings while driving through dusty village roads under the scorching sun, a day after filing his nomination papers for the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency.

He accused the CPI(M) of pursuing 'unprincipled politics' by joining hands with communal forces for petty electoral gains.

"At times, the CPI(M) is found with the communal forces. They did not hesitate to join hands with the BJP in its unsuccessful bid to topple the UPA government. The Marxists have failed to keep their pledges, made in July last, of keeping communal forces at bay," Mukherjee, the external affairs minister, said.