Sunday, May 8 2005 09:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Communist Party Of India Marxist (CPM) Polit Bureau will meet in New Delhi next week to discuss the prevailing political situation and evaluate the score-card of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, which completes one year in office on May 22.

The meeting, the first after the six-day 18th Congress, would be held on May 14 and 15 and would also discuss the role of the Opposition in Parliament besides formulating strategies to implement decisions taken at the Congress on organisational matters.

The Central Committee is likely to meet next month in Kolkata.

Besides raising economic issues with the UPA Government, the party Congress had decided to give more thrust to social issues, especially in the fields of education and culture. Sources said that the party, which has always had a "collective leadership", would also work out the division of responsibilities among the leaders of the Polit Bureau and the Central Committee, in line with the broad decisions of the Congress.

However, the thrust of the attack this time round would be on the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which, the CPM said in its mouthpiece 'People's Democracy', had mounted "relentless assault against parliamentary democracy itself".

In an editorial, the party paper said, "Never before in independent India have we seen parliamentary proceedings being disrupted for a whole year".

"The motion of thanks on the President's Address was adopted amidst an Opposition boycott. So was the Finance Bill last year (2004). In fact, there was not a single session of either House without a boycott or a major disruption", it said.