The Left parties are meeting here on Friday and may in all probability agree to arm twist the government on issues like the price rise and the Indo-US nuclear deal.
New Delhi, May 20 : The Left parties are meeting here on Friday and may in all probability agree to arm twist the government on issues like the price rise and the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The four parties -- CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc -- are to review the government's report card of four years and decide on their next course of action if it does not pay heed to their demands.
Left sources said Friday's meeting would depend on the health condition of veteran Marxist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who has gone into coma at a hospital near here.
The sources said they would await the fourth year's report card of the UPA before formulating their stand on major issues.
The meeting comes in the wake of the CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat observing that prospects of operationalising the nuclear deal as per the American deadline were fading away and a "desperate" attempt was being made to urge the government to go ahead with it, ignoring the Left's opposition.
The CPI has also renewed its threat to withdraw support if the government moved ahead on the issue, with its General Secretary A B Bardhan saying the government "will have to do it without us."
These parties, who have given outside support to the UPA Government, have been conducting nationwide protests against the price rise.
Their demands include curbs on private companies buying food grains by amending the Essential Commodities Act, universalisation of public distribution system, restoration of cuts in the food grain quotas of states and prohibiting forward trading in 25 agricultural commodities.
Top Left leaders like Sitaram Yechury have also warned the government of making "a wrong diagnosis" of the price problem, saying "factors like high rate of interest and appreciation of the rupee were compounding the problem, far from slowing it down."
CPI leader D Raja has also said that government's fiscal and monetary measures have failed to yield any result.
The meeting is also likely to discuss the results of the Panchayat elections in West Bengal and the fallout of the violent incidents, especially those involving supporters of the ruling Left Front.
ANI