Karat posturing

By targeting righteous leaders like V.S. Achuthanandan, Prakash Karat has shown himself in a poor light. Actually, it is Karat and his coterie who are responsible for the Left’s electoral defeat and hence Karat himself should resign from the politburo first.
It is a pity that Achuthanandan, thrown out of the party for ‘manipulated indiscipline’, still obeys Karat’s diktat. Karat’s attempts to cobble together a Third Front with a possible aim to become prime minister were an indication of his greed for power. Although that experiment has failed miserably, Karat still says that there is a need to remodel the Front. Surely, Karat’s move is intended to hide his weakness as a leader. Before the election, Karat had asserted that bereft of Left support, the Congress would be in no position to form a government. His predictions have been proved wrong, but he still sticks to his post. The fact is that the CPI(M) is losing its influence in West Bengal and Kerala. Leaders of all factions have deviated from communist principles. When most have distanced themselves from the people, it is only leaders such as Achuthanandan who still sustain the party in these states. But Karat pretends to be unaware of this.

K. James Williams,