Patna,(BiharTimes): The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Friday called upon all secular parties to come on one platform for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to provide an alternative government that would fight communalism and corruption, ensure food security, women safety and tackle price rise and inflation.

Addressing Jan Akarosh rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan the CPI leaders for the first time in the history publicly praised the Nitish Kumar government and Bihar Model of development.

However, they were critical of the state government on one count––for not implementing the recommendations of the D Bandyopadhyay Committee report on empowering sharecroppers.

Senior party leader A B Bardhan, while addressing the rally, supported chief minister Nitish Kumar’s demand for according special status category to Bihar.

It needs to be recalled that after the split with the BJP the lone CPI MLA in the state Assembly supported the Nitish Kumar government during trust vote on June 19.

He said the special category status would help promote agriculture and agro-based industries in Bihar.

Incidentally, the party leaders had good words for the Nitish government just five days ahead of Convention Against Communalism to be held in New Delhi on October 30. The Bihar chief minister has been invited for the Convention. None of the party leaders chose to take the name of RJD chief Lalu Yadav during their speech.

Bardhan dubbed the BJP’s Hunkar Rally as a “Maharaja ki baarat”.

Much to the surprise of the political observers the rally attracted relatively huge crowd.

The party general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said on the occasion that the faulty economic policies of the government have led to financial crisis and unemployment. Instead of emulating US or Western European nations, India should look at China, Venezuela and Brazil that are not facing financial trouble.
Reddy, however, criticized the state government for the acquittal of 26 Ranvir Sena men in the massacre of 58 Dalits in Lakshmanpur-Bathe village in 1997.

State secretary Rajendra Prasad Singh, and other leaders like B N Lal and U N Mishra also addressed the rally.