CPI demands fresh elections in Karnataka

Asserting that Congress should not get the opportunity to govern Karnataka through President's rule, the CPI today demanded that the state assembly be dissolved and elections conducted immediately.

"BJP has no right to continue in power. We appeal to the government of India not to allow horse-trading to go on for a
long time and take immediate action, dissolve the assembly and go in for elections. We do not want President's rule to be imposed in Karnataka. We do not want Congress coming to power through backdoor," senior CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta told reporters here.

He alleged that democracy is in peril in Karnataka and in other parts of the country due to black money and misuse of high offices like that of the speaker.

Highlighting how hundreds of crores of ill-gotten wealth is being spent in elections, Dasgupta demanded that state funding of elections be introduced as a remedy to curb huge expenditure by contestants.

The Election Commission should monitor the expenditure by candidates in the elections scrupulously, he said.

"If horse-trading is not stopped, if the manipulation of the office of Speaker is not stopped, if the assemblies become a boxing ring, then Indian democracy will go the way in which democracy in Pakistan has gone," he said.

Observing that the ill effects of black money and muscle power have become serious malaises in Indian democracy, he said the CPI would raise the issue in Parliament.

"Alone CPI cannot set right the country, we appeal to all citizens to come together," he said.

Alleging that the UPA government has failed to rein in price rise, Dasgupta, a veteran trade union leader, said a meeting will be organised in Delhi to protest against food inflation.

"Since the government of India has not taken any step to curb price rise, today food price inflation is nearly 17%. We have decided to intensify our struggle and go to Delhi with lakhs of people to compel the government to take action against hoarders," he said.

The UPA government has failed to take effective action on a number of issues but it is holding Commonwealth Games, he
said.

"The barometer of our success is Commonwealth Games. The barometer of our success is that we are becoming a member of
Security Council with the blessings of America. These are all
points of concern," he said.

Dasgupta also alleged that Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah is not able to reshuffle his cabinet because of lack
of permission from the Congress high command.

"When there are so many problems, the chief minister goes to Delhi to take permission from the high command to expand his cabinet. He looks at Delhi for everything. If he cannot expand his cabinet, why he is there for," he asked.

Highlighting the harassment of the poor by micro-finance firms, CPI deputy general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said his party would raise the issue in Parliament and also write to the Union government.

"About a dozen people committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh in the last couple of weeks as they were unable to withstand the harassment by micro-finance firms. We will hold an agitation on the issue," he said.