Saturday, February 12 2005 10:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kamarhati (WB): Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu yesterday (Feb 11, 2005) called for self-criticism by the Congress of its own policies, particularly in the economic sphere, pursued for the past 45 years 'that has spelt disaster for the country' in running the Government.

"We want that the Congress-led Government remain in power for a full five-year term, but Congress should also stick to implementing the Common Minimum Programme (CMP), which is agreed upon... A lot of differences are there in Left and Congress, which should be sorted out in the interest of cohesive functioning of the Left and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) alliance,'' Basu told the concluding session of the 21st State Conference of CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) in Kamarhati.

Basu said that the CPM has been supporting the UPA Government from outside ''because we want to work unitedly with the alliance ... but it is also their responsibility to see that there is no deviation from the CMP and policies are tailored to serve the interests of the poor.''

He said that benefits of the Government's programmes and policies should not be limited to a privileged few.

''If we withdraw support to the UPA Government, it will fall ... but we want it to remain in power.''

Basu reiterated that the CPM's support to the UPA Government from outside was to rid the country of communal forces, ''since the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) brought ruination in all fields, especially its economic policies.''