Cpm To Review Support If Uf Goes Soft On Graft Cases

The CPI(M) believes that the days of the United Front government are numbered, and has decided to push it into speeding up the anti-corruption drive while the government lasts.

Party leaders want some positive signals from the government on the issue of fighting corruption, failing which the CPI(M) may even review its ties with the Front. 'If the government tries to protect any of the accused in corruption cases (Bofors, fodder, hawala and Indian Bank), we will seriously review our ties with the United Front,' CPI(M) politbureau member S Ramachandran Pillai told 'Business Standard.' Party leaders say that they will not make any attempt to pull down the government till the situation becomes such that mid-term poll is the only option. 'If we will allow the Front to fall on its own before convincing other Front partners to go for polls, the President may give the Congress a chance to form a government. We do not want this to happen,' another politbureau member said.

Party leaders are of the view that unless some corrective measures are taken immediately on the issue of corruption, the Left parties will lose one of its most potent election planks. 'The hawala case sent down the signal that all parties save the Left are involved in corrupt cases. This gave some moral authority to us. How can we let that slip now,' one senior Left leader said.

Upset at the way the Gujral government has handled corruption cases, the politbureau member said 'Congress president Sitaram Kesari is using Gujral to wash his dirty linen. Once that task is accomplished he will dump Gujral.' 'It is no secret that CBI chief Joginder Singh was replaced by RC Sharma just to stall investigations into the Bofors case and the transfer has been done at the behest of Congress leaders,' the politbureau member said.

The Left parties's disenchantment with the government does not confine to the handling of corruption cases alone. They are upset at Union finance minister's handling of the country's economy. CPI secretary D Raja said the finance minister had failed to have a coordination with other ministries, commerce and petroleum for instance.

And the government's problems with regard to two issues, the issue of oil price hike and the issue of lifting quantitative restrictions on import of goods, emanated from such lack of coordination, he added.

The finance minister went to town saying the country's balance of payments situation was good which deprived the country of its bargaining power to negotiate a better deal at the WTO conference, the CPI leader said.