HYDERABAD: The two-day Central Committee meeting of the CPM has realised that the mistakes with regard to Singur and Nandigram "proved costly" for the party in the recent elections in West Bengal and wants to take corrective steps at the political and organisational levels to retrieve the lost ground."Negative factors accumulated after the prolonged rule in WB," the party leadership noted. After 34 years of ruling, CPM is learning how to play the role of an "alert opposition" in the state. "If the governments in West Bengal and Kerala reverse the good things done by the Left government in the past, we will oppose them. We will stand by the people," CPM general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters after the deliberations.The party also observed that the very idea of land acquisition in West Bengal led to the party's debacle in West Bengal. The party's review report also identified the organisational defects and shortcomings which had alienated various sections of the people in West Bengal. "There were weaknesses in some of the policies and measures adopted for the welfare of the people. Besides, the people also wanted a change in West Bengal," the party observed.However, the Central Committee rejected the motivated propaganda that the electoral defeat in West Bengal rendered the CPM and the Left Front politically irrelevant. "The Left Front, despite the adverse circumstances, has got 1.95 crore votes which is 41 per cent of the total votes," Karat pointed out.Though, the UPA-2 government's corruption and anti-people policies were rejected in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the voters in West Bengal did not consider them as important and they mainly opted for a change in West Bengal, Karat admitted.On alleged corruption in UPA government, Karat said the Left, particularly the CPM, had a blemishless record in fighting against corruption, and mooted an effective Lokpal legislation to bring the prime minister also under its purview. He also suggested setting up of a national judicial commission to oversee the judiciary, electoral reforms to curb the use of money power and firm measures to break the nexus of big business,ruling politicians and the bureaucracy.On the absence of former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya from the meeting, Karat said Buddha had informed him in advance that he would not be able to make it. "Bhattacharya's health is not permitting him to travel outside Kolkata," Karat said.On Telangana Karat said that as the consultation process was over and the Srikrishna Committee had submitted its report, it was for the Centre take a decision now.
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