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The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Tuesday, September 22, said it has no intention of bringing down the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government, even as tensions continue between the Left parties and the government over policy decisions.
Addressing the reporters in Madurantakam, where a bye-election is scheduled for October 6, CPI state secretary Veerapandian said the CPI would support the government when it takes decisions in the interests of the people, but would also oppose or protest against it when it deviates from its principles or creates a crisis.
“Our primary commitment remains with the poor and the common people, not with any government,” Veerapandian said.
He said the party’s decision to extend outside support to the TVK government was taken democratically and in the public interest and added that the Left’s support was intended to protect democracy and prevent the imposition of Governor’s rule in Tamil Nadu.
“Now, we extend outside support to the TVK government. We should not be asked to answer for this government’s actions after five years. Our support was for democracy,” he said.
He also noted that any decision on continuing or withdrawing support would be taken by the party’s collective decision-making body and not by an individual.
Veerapandian also asked Minister Aadhav Arjuna and other TVK ministers to exercise restraint while making allegations against the Communist movement.
He also asked Aadhav not to “live in the past” by repeatedly questioning the previous government, and further urged Aadhav to study the history of the Communist movement before making public statements and to share it with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
“The Left had the courage to face the barrage from those in power,” he said.
His reply comes days after Minister Aadhav Arjuna called on Left parties to speak up about alleged corruption during the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime.
He claimed that in the party’s 100-year political history, no Communist leader in India had been convicted of corruption by a court or had faced a corruption case registered at a police station.
He said the party had never accepted bribes and maintained that the CPI had no intention of destabilising the government.
“We will always stand on the side of the people, Tamil Nadu’s interests and the poor,” he said.