Left not to attend UPA function

NEW DELHI: : The Left parties on Tuesday decided not to attend the May 22 function being organised by the United Progressive Alliance Government to mark the completion of one year in office.

"It is the right of the UPA Government to publicise its achievements. We are not part of the Government, we are supporting parties and we are not attending it." The decision should not be construed as a boycott or walkout, Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan told correspondents after a meeting of the four Left parties here.

The Left representatives would attend the meeting called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for Wednesday and present an assessment of the Government. While there were some achievements, most of the steps taken by the Government did cater not for the poor but for the better-placed sections, Mr. Bardhan said.

The Left parties said several pieces of legislation which could have come, for instance, for unorganised labour and agricultural workers, were not even introduced. The Government made little effort to expedite the employment guarantee bill.

Similarly, there was no sign of the women's reservation bill. Though the Bharatiya Janata Party MP, Kalyan Singh, who is the Chairman of the Standing Committee, which is to examine the Bill, could be blamed, the Government made little effort, Mr. Bardhan said.

Besides, Mr. Bardhan, those who attended the meeting were CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat, Polit Bureau member S. Ramachandran Pillai, CPI national secretary D. Raja, All-India Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas, secretary G. Devarajan and RSP MP Abani Roy.