Sending out a strong message to the Congress, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau has demanded that the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh revoke NSA invoked against five Muslim men for cow slaughter.
“This stringent legislation was meant to be used against anti-national terrorists. Instead, its invocation over such allegations displays an effort to appease the communal elements,” the Polit Bureau statement said.
The party has argued that the existing provisions of the law would be sufficient to deal with such allegations.
These comments have come at a time when the party is once again facing the question whether to ally or have an understanding with the Congress in West Bengal.
In a resolution cleared by the Polit Bureau, the party has also resolved to increase the strength of the CPI(M) and the Left in the Lok Sabha. The CPI(M) currently has nine members in the Lok Sabha: two from West Bengal and seven from Kerala. The party is looking at alliances in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar and Rajasthan. The highest decision making body of the party, the central committee, will take the final call on March 3-4 on whether the party will have an alliance with Congress in West Bengal. Overall, the party is expected to fight close to sixty seats.
The party has also demanded a joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the Rafale Deal. “We have three more days of Parliament before the next Lok Sabha polls. Parliament must constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe Rafale in the next three days. It should submit its report in a time-bound manner and pin down the guilty,” CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said.