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Union govt should condemn Bush's war cry : Basu
http://www.kaumudi.com/
KOZHIKODE: CPM politburo member and former West Bengal chief minister Jyothi Basu criticised the union government for not condemning the war cry of the George Bush government against the Iraq. He said though the Union Government took an anti-war step, the Vajpayee is not condemning the Bush government because of the obligation towards them. The US government is not showing any value to the comments of United Nation and he asked the students to come with anti war protest and to share the shoulders with the anti-war organisations around the world. The former West Bengal Chief Minister said addressing a public meeting at a rally to mark the beginning of the five-day national conference of the Students Federation of India here.
The ongoing war of attrition between the Congress and Communists reached a new pitch with veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu mounted a scathing attack on the former and accusing it of ''surrendering'' to communal forces. The Congress had surrendered to the communal forces though it was not a communal party, he added.
Criticising the Congress for not having any programmes for students, Mr Basu said the party, having lost faith in the country's self-reliance, went in for globalisation and market economy. These programmes were now being intensively followed by the Vajpayee Government.
He accused the BJP-led NDA government, aided by Sangh Parivar forces and supported by ''opportunistic parties'', of ''distorting history to poison the students.'' He extended the party's full support to the SFI's fight against such ''communal and evil forces'' and their ''anti-student'' policies.
Noting that students were made the ''first target'' by reactionary forces, he called upon them to carry on the battle against them.
Mr Basu, a CPI(M) politburo member, also urged the SFI to join peace-loving forces across the world to put pressure on the United States to desist from its war designs against Iraq.
Calling for a battle to save the farmers and the poor, he said globalisation had led to an increased gap between the poor and the rich and ''increased the number millionaires and the poor'' in other countries as well.
CPI(M) Politburo member and Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, Marxist leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, SFI president P Krishna Prasad and secretary Samik Lahiri were among those who addressed the meeting.
The crucial conference will finalise major changes in the SFI's programme and policies, including a nod to the role of the private sector in education.
Party politburo members Sitaram Yechury, E K Nayanar, noted poet Javed Akhtar are among those will address the conference, being attended by more than 750 delegates.