More than 200 left-leaning intellectuals, including journalists Tarun Tejpal and Praful Bidwai and social activists Shabana Azmi and Habib Tanveer, made an appeal on Sunday to the CPM and CPI to be a part of a Congress-led Government instead of lending it outside support.
"There is a need to reject the concept of development advocated by the forces of globalisation and dismantle the ideological structure created by communalism," they said in a letter written to CPI(M)'s Harkishen Singh Surjeet and CPI"s AB Bardhan.
"The Left can undertake this task only as a part of the Government and not by supporting it from outside. The latter is a negative approach, which the people are likely to interpret as shirking responsibility," they said.
Those making the appeal include social activist Asghar Ali Engineer, theatre/film personalities AK Hangal, Anand Patwardhan, Baba Azmi, Nandita Das, Govind Nihalani, Shabana Azmi, historian KN Pannikar, writer Namwar Singh and scientist Prof Yashpal.
They said the Left should adopt a 'creative and constructive' approach and not shy away from sharing power at the Centre.