Govt ringed on both sides

11 parties form a bloc to scuttle any legislation likely to provide govt coalition a plus for polls; UPA wants to push 6 anti-graft Bills

The Congress-led UPA government's attempt at pushing through party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's desired six anti-graft Bills in this last session of Parliament before the 2014 polls seems to be coming to naught.

Not only is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the biggest opposition party, scuttling the effort; 11 non-Congress and non-BJP parties are functioning as a bloc. Leaders of the four Left parties, the Samajwadi Party, JD(U), AIADMK, AGP, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, JD (S) and BJD met on Wednesday and stated this was a taking forward of an agenda they'd discussed in October, at the Left parties' anti-communal convention.

Addressing the media, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, "The bloc has been set up primarily to raise issues affecting the people in Parliament." Asked whether this should be called a third front, Yechury said: "Don't get into abstractions; we are all sitting together."

Incidentally, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has also called upon political parties to form a federal front.

Yechury made it clear that the 11 parties "will ensure no Bill is passed amid the din", as the ruling party and UPA could use the legislations to launch their poll campaign. The UPA is attempting to push through its six anti-corruption Bills in this session.

Yechury said, "We want to have a debate on these but it is the prime responsibility of the ruling party to create conditions to have such a discussion in the House. We saw today that Congress members and even their ministers are on loggerheads over Telangana. They are vociferously and angrily divided and disrupting the House. They are actually helping communal forces. We will not allow them (Congress) to use this as a launching pad for elections."

Asked about the future of a such a front, given its previous record, JD(U) chief Sharad yadav said, "A joint programme will be launched later, which will be the second step."

The programme will contain issues relating to livelihood of people, upholding federalism and secular-democratic foundations, and combating corruption.

The bloc was ambivalent on the status of Samajwadi Party, which continues to support the UPA from the outside.

Those who attended Wednesday's meeting included former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (for the JD-S), M Thambidurai (AIADMK), Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M), K C Tyagi (JD-U), Jay Panda (BJD), Biren Baishya (AGP), Ramgopal Yadav (SP), D Raja (CPI), Manohar Tirkey (RSP) and Barun Mukherjee (Forward Bloc).

WHISPERS OF A THIRD FRONT
11 parties that came together to form a bloc

* Communist Party of India

* Communist Party of India (Marxist)

* Forward Bloc

* Revolutionary Socialist Party

* Samajwadi Party

* Janata Dal (Unit)

* All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)

* Asom Gana Parishad (AGM)

* Jharkhand Vikas Morcha

* Janata Dal (Secular)

* Biju Janata Dal (BJD)