CPM against CPI forging poll alliance with Congress

HYDERABAD: The CPM is persuading the CPI state unit to reconsider its decision to forge electoral alliance with Congress, CPM Telangana unit secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the 'Meet the Press' programme organised by Telangana Union of Working Journalists, Veerabhadram said his party leadership was in touch with CPI top leaders and persuading them not to forge alliance with Congress.

'Congress was responsible for the backwardness of Telangana region and joining hands with such a party will send a wrong message to the people. I think they should reconsider their decision,' he remarked.

He said since the CPI leadership has not yet made an official announcement of their proposed alliance with Congress we are trying to persuade them to not to join hands with that party.

'We want to work with CPI and do justice to the people of the state and this was only possible if the former dissociates itself from Congress', he said. 'Our main aim is to keep Congress and BJP out of power and for this we would join hands with all such parties who are opposing these two,' he said.

He said if TDP leaves BJP, then we are ready to join hands with it and create a grand alliance against these two parties. 'TDP and other parties are not realising that joining hands with BJP means strengthening communal forces in the country,' he pointed out.

Replying to a question, the senior CPM leader said film stars are joining BJP not to serve the people but for personal gain. He said as of now his party was only negotiating with CPI and was ready to join hands with all like-minded parties.

He said his party is opposed to the way Polavarm project was being constructed. 'If it is constructed in the present form, the project will be useful to neither Seemandhra nor Telangana, but helps the financial institutions funding the project.

The Centre should change the design and construct it in such a way that it is useful to the people of both the regions,' he asserted. He said that his party would raise the issue during the poll campaign.

On actor Pawan Kalyan's decision to support BJP, he said that Pawan, by supporting the saffron party, was only strengthening communal forces. He said that his party would contest 17 Assembly and four Lok Sabha seats if it contests alone. If it forges alliance with any party then it will go for seat adjustment, he said.