Sunday, February 12 2006 14:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Despite the UPA Government 'violating' the Common Minimum Programme in respect of foreign and economic policies, the Left parties would let the Congress-led coalition complete its five-year term as mid-term poll was not a solution, CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said today (Feb 12,2006).

In an interview to PTI here, Bardhan said both in matters of foreign and economic policies, the Left partiesfelt that the UPA government has violated the CMP.

"We are very much offended by that," he said.

Asked if the Left parties felt that the Congress takes their support for granted, he said: "It's true. Because people have a feeling that we (Left parties) oppose, we protest, we also make statements, ask them to stop what they are doing. But they (Congress) go ahead. They do not listen (to us)".

He said the Left parties would put pressure on the Government to follow the CMP in letter and spirit.

"We want the pressure to be sufficiently powerful," he said.

Bardhan said the Left would let the Government continue its full term, "We will keep it under pressure whenever it does something wrong, according to us, not in the interest of people or the country at large whenever it violates the CMP".

When it was pointed out that the Congress was not listening to the Left parties and the latter, therefore, had a limit to what they could do, Bardhan observed, "That's the way democracies are run. Otherwise, you can everyday pull it down.

What's the point. Any government that does not have a majority on its own can be pulled down at any time. But that is not the way we want to play the game".