Thursday, February 17 2005 10:09 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Snubbed by Left Front major, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), the Communist Party of India (CPI) yesterday (Feb 16, 2005) put up a brave front saying it had not spoken of a merger between the two communist parties but only wanted that the two come closer for the sake of unity in communist movement.

"We did not talk of a merger between the CPI and CPM. We have spoken of communist unity on movement issues. There are certain differences between the CPI and CPM on ideology and in programmes. We want both parties to come closer," CPI national council member and the party's West Bengal State secretary Manju Kumar Mazumdar said.

He said that the differences were reflected even in the Assembly elections in Bihar where CPI had to fight against the CPM in some seats. "This is not desirable."

Meanwhile, the draft political resolution to be placed for adoption at the forthcoming CPI party Congress in Chandigarh on 29 March said without unanimity of views on ideological issues and programmes, communist unity was not possible.

It said that since both the parties held similar views on political and other issues, unification was desirable and possible but this could not be achieved alone.

The CPI comment came days after CPM general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet asked it not to 'bargain' on the question of unification of the two communist parties and to reunite with CPM if it so felt.