CPI is taking all efforts to consolidate the opposition alliance to fight the coming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, senior state party leader D Pandian said in Madurai, on Friday .
Speaking to reporters here, he said he did not expect the Congress-DMK alliance to break up under any circumstances as AICC President Sonia Gandhi was firmly in favour of the alliance. "Now we have to strengthen the alliance of all those opposed to both Congress and DMK, including DMDK." He said CPI would soon launch a movement against those 'looting' natural resources of the state and claimed that the party has a list indulging in this exercise.
Pandian criticised Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement that more helicopters would be used for anti-Naxal operations and said other methods, like deploying police, to contain the menace. He said it was high time the Centre found a political solution to Kashmir, Nagaland and Sri Lankan Tamils' issues.
On price rise issue,which has stalled Parliament for the past three days,he wondered why the government was not willing to have a discussion on it and said the Opposition would come up with suggestions to control the prices.
He suggested auctioning of 2G spectrum allocation, which would fetch Rs one lakh crore to overcome the deficit and control prices and pointed out that 3G auction had fetched Rs 1.30 lakh crore.
On the hike in oil and diesel prices, he said the Government should not link it to international crude and suggested that sales tax on petroleum products be temporarily reduced to contain prices. Pandian demanded that the government take stringent action to recover at least 50 per cent of NPA of banks which amounted to Rs 2.50 lakh crore.
He said the Party's three-day state committee meet at Sivaganga from Jul 31 would discuss state and central politics. Senior Party leader Bardhan and Sudhakar Reddy would attend the meet. PTI
