Patna: Slamming the Congress and BJP for pursuing `identical pro-capitalist economic policies`, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat on Friday expressed confidence that the Third Front would come into being ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Stating that the country needed new ideas and initiatives to contain price rise, corruption and growing inequality among the people, Karat said that Left parties and other parties got together recently for a Third Front to provide an alternative to the BJP and the Congress.
Given the similarity of their economic policies, both Congress and BJP could not be an alternative to each other which left the Third Front as the only viable alternative at the national level, he claimed at a public meeting at the Gandhi Maidan here.
He said that 11 political parties had recently come together to discuss the idea of a Third Front and a crucial meeting will be held in New Delhi on February 25 to work out its contours and policies and programmes.
Criticising the Congress-led UPA government for being unable to contain price rise and corruption during its ten-year rule, Karat said that inequality among the people has widened due to a pro-capitalist leaning of the incumbent government.
The UPA government has virtually jeopardised sovereignty of the country which was attained through hard struggle and sacrifices of countrymen, Karat said.
Questioning BJP`s claim as a natural alternative to the Congress, he said on the corruption issue, the party had nothing concrete to offer to contain it and a number of its top leaders have been accused of corruption.
Karat tore into the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi`s `Gujarat development model` claiming that the state`s performance on education, health and unemployment have not been satisfactory.
A firm believer in free market economy, Modi has pursued a pro-capitalist economic policy in Gujarat and given freebies like land and other concessions to corporate entities to set up industrial units in his state, the CPI(M) leader said.
Karat also raked up 2002 Gujarat riots to attack Modi and said that his ascent as the Prime Minister might jeopardise the unity and integrity of the country.
If Modi, claiming himself to be a `Hindu nationalist`, succeeded in his designs by polarising the voters on religious grounds, then other communities too might seek a similar plank which would eventually be counter-productive for the unity and integrity of the country, he added.
