Left Front holds rally against joint naval exercise

Opposing the ongoing joint naval exercise involving India, the US and Japan as well as growing communal polarisation in the country, the Left Front in West Bengal on Friday took out a protest rally in the city.

Besides the Left Front constituents, that included Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), several Left-affiliated students and youth organisations participated in the rally that began from Esplanade area and culminated at the College Square of the city.

"The way joint military exercises are being conducted, be it by the Indian Air Force or the Indian Navy, India's sovereignty is in danger as attempts are being made to establish US supremacy and imperialism in India," Left Front chairman Biman Bose said at the rally.

"The rally is a reflection of the people's opposition against the rising communal polarisation and intolerance," added the CPI-M leader.

Aimed at enhancing maritime security and cooperation in the Indian Ocean-Pacific region, the six-day Malabar joint naval exercise by India, the US and Japan began in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday.

China has expressed its reservations over the exercise, which began in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian and US navies but was later expanded to include Japan.