Apropos Cannons to the Left (October 2), Finance Minister P. Chidambaram seems to be between Scylla and Charybdis. Although he earnestly desires to carry forward the economic agenda initiated under the Rao government, he seems to be hamstrung by the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) which aims to please all the partners of the coalition. The communist parties cannot get away with saying that the CMP does not reflect Leftist views. Rightly so, it should then have been called the CPM’s programme instead of the CMP. The communist parties must shed their adherence to textbook socialism. They should look at ground realities and set targets accordingly. Prakash Karat’s threat of agitating against the people-unfriendly programmes of the United Front does not sound politically correct. It shows that the CMP contains some negative aspects. Will the CPM please relent on the issue?
Bichu Muttathara, Pune