VS bats for Cong, Yechury says party needs to take a call

Veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan today said he is in favour of forming a "broader unity of Left and democratic forces including Congress", while party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury felt that the party needs to take a call on its "political-tactical line" in order to stop the march of the RSS-BJP in the country.
The three-day CPI(M) central committee meeting which began today to finalise the political and tactical resolutions to be adopted in the Party Congress in Hyderabad in April, witnessed debates with a section favouring adjustments with the Congress in order to stop the BJP-RSS.
Yechury in his introductory speech urged the party leadership to take a call on the "political-tactical line" as the party will be facing elections in Tripura where it is in power,

CPI(M) sources said.
"Yechury said the party has been debating this political-tactical line for quite sometime. Now the party should make a consensus decision and take a call on it," a senior CPI(M) leader said.
Yechury and the Bengal unit of CPI(M), which is favour of aligning with the Congress, received a shot in the arm when Achuthanandan in an email to the party leadership advocated in favour of 'forming greater unity of Left, secular and democratic forces including Congress," another leader said.

Two draft resolutions were placed in the central committee meeting.
One draft favoured adjustment with the Congress to stop the BJP and has the support of Yechury, the sources said adding that the party's West Bengal unit and a large section of Tripura unit are in its favour.

It proposed that CPI(M) should be open to a UPA-1 like political adjustment when the party had extended outside support to the Congress government at the Centre.
Another draft is against any alliance with the Congress and proposes broader unity of the Left parties in the country to stop BJP-RSS. It is supported by the former general secretary Prakash Karat and the party's Kerala unit, the sources said.
A senior CPI(M) leader said despite internal differences, everybody in the party agreed that the BJP-RSS is the "biggest threat the country is facing presently".
The draft which will be accepted by the central committee will be placed at the Party Congress, scheduled to be held in April.

"If the Central Committee fails to arrive at a consensus, voting may take place", he said.
The political tactical line adopted by CPI(M) in the last Party Congress was against any adjustment with the Congress or the BJP.