'Cong should seek mandate it wants ties with US'

The Left would not allow the UPA Government to forge strategic alliance with the United States and if the Congress was keen to pursue these policies then it should seek a fresh mandate, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat on Monday said.

"We have made it clear that no government supported by our party and the Left would allow the government to forge such an alliance with the United States. We would like to tell the Congress that if it likes to have a strategic alliance with US, take these issues to the people in the next Lok Sabha polls," Karat said in his opening address to the state conference of the CPI-M here.

He also criticised the Centre for allowing ISRO to launch an Israeli spy satellite. The Left would not allow the UPA to cement and forge ties with the US including the nuclear agreement, he said.

On domestic issues, he claimed that the Left had been able to check, to a certain extent, the government from implementing policies like opening up of banking and insurance sector, privatisation of PSUs and free-entry of MNCs in retail sector.

Also, under the Left's pressure, the government was made to take up certain pro-people legislations like Rural Employment Programme and the Forest Tribals Act, he added.