New govt will not last long: Namboodiripad

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

Communist Party of India-Marxist patriarch E M S Namboodiripad does not see any future for the just sworn-in United Front government.

The new government, headed by Inder Kumar Gujral, will suffer the same fate as the 10-month-old H D Deve Gowda rule, Namboodiripad warned in a talk on the Asianet television channel.

"There is no guarantee the Congress will not adopt the same tricks it employed to bring down Deve Gowda," the Politburo member, who did not take part in the recent New Delhi parleys owing to ill health, said.

The basic weakness of the new government was its dependence on the Congress. The CPI-M leader, however, agreed the Congress support was unavoidable under present circumstances, and called for an effective mechanism to settle disputes between that party and the UF.

Namboodiripad expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the 10-member coordination committee under the chairmanship of the prime minister. The Congress, he feels, might misuse the forum to control the government -- and if that happens, it will be the end of the Gujral ministry.

The UF, made up of parties with different ideologies, cannot associate with a decadent party like the Congress, he said. After Independence, the Congress lost its glory and image and the party used its power for furthering corruption.

"Mahatma Gandhi called for the Congress dissolution foreseeing this prospect. But leaders like (Jawaharlal) Nehru and others rejected his calls, resulting in the destruction of an organisation that fought for a noble cause," Namboodiripad said.

"Congressmen are prepared to do anything for power. A coalition like the UF cannot ally with such a party. Some of the other constituents may think otherwise, but the Left parties cannot agree," the veteran leader said.

Namboodiripad said though the Left parties have serious differences with the UF economic policy, they will continue to support the government. He cautioned the leadership to solve the problems which might crop up through direct dialogues with the Congress. This, he said, was the only possible way to ensure the stability of the government.