Time not yet ripe for third front: CPI

Kolkata, April 20 (IANS) The Communist Party of India (CPI) Friday said the time was not yet ripe for giving call for a third alternative comprising non-Congress and non-BJP parties, but predicted a realignment of forces with some of the regional parties leaving the two leading coalitions.

Addressing a media meet here, new CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy stressed on developing a programme-based alternative to the economic policies being pursued by the central government.

"We don't want to give a call (for a third front). I don't think the time is ripe for such a call now. 2014 is still two years away. What we need now is a programme-based alternative, ... which parties will accept change of economic policies. We have to see if such an alternative is possible before 2014 or beyond," Reddy told mediapersons here.

Predicting a realignment of forces, Reddy said some of the regional parties now with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) or with the National Democratic Alliance headed by the BJP would come out of the groupings.

"Some of the friendly parties are with us. And some that are now with the two alliances will come out, leading to a possible realignment of forces that can come through people's agitation."

He conceded that the defeat of the left forces in West Bengal and Kerala has reduced their capacity to intervene in national politics.

However, Reddy referred to the "stinking corruption" in both the UPA and NDA, and issues like rights of proletariat and land to the tillers, rising unemployment, failure of the government's "so-called attempts to carry out reforms with a human face" have set the stage for a people's agitation to be led by the left and democratic forces.

He said the CPI would make all out efforts to make a breakthrough in the Hindi belt. "Without a strong presence in the Hindi belt we cannot intervene in the national politics substantially," he said.

On the issue of reunification of the two Communist parties - CPI and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) - Reddy said it was being debated for one and a half decades.

"CPI is for reunification of the Communist movement. But it does not depend on the CPI alone. At the same time we don't want to make it a point of controversy. We want to take up programmes that will bring the cadres of the both parties together that will ultimately lead to unification".