Wednesday, April 19 2006 12:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: The Left parties, providing keyoutside to the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, have sought a meeting of the UPA-Left Coordination Committee after the Assembly polls to sort out differences on economic and foreign policy fronts, senior CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu said here today (Apr 19, 2006).

"We have sent a message (to Congress) that we (the UPA-Left Co-ordination Committee) should meet and talk seriously about the differences.

"At the meeting we will speak clearly, where we agree and where we disagree," he told sources in an interview.

"The Left parties do not want to be pushed into a position where the differences are such that it results in the falling of the Government and BJP coming to power," he added.

"In any case if we leave them (UPA), there will be elections and BJP will come to power. We do not want BJP to come back to power.

"They (Congress-led Government) are dependent on usand we are dependent on them. We do not want a communal party like BJP to lead a Government at the Centre," the CPI(M) politburo member said.

Charging the UPA Government with violating the Common Minimum Programme on foreign and economic policy issues, Basu said the Government was following a pro-US foreign policy and going back on its promise in the CMP to have an independent policy.

"Our non-aligned foreign policy has completely changed," he added.

Basu said "We are perturbed because some Congress leaders are saying that the situation has changed since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. They are saying that we cannot go ahead without the US."

"They wanted to sell the shares of BHEL to foreigners. I think, they have stopped that now but they are becoming more and more pro-American and depending on the IMF and World Bank.We do not like that," he added.

On the Government's economic policies and FDI, Basu said Left parties were opposed to FDI with conditions.

"We are not opposed to foreign capital. We are for foreign investment without conditionalities," he said adding foreign investors came to West Bengal for profit and the state also gained. It should be on mutual interest."

The Left Front Government in West Bengal invited foreign investors to set up industries.

"We also received money from World Bank and the IMF but without any conditionalities," Basu said.