New Delhi, April 23: Brinda Karat today rubbished speculation about a "change of line" under Sitaram Yechury, ruling out an "alliance or front with Congress", in a move that was perceived in the CPM as an attempt to draw a "Lakshman rekha" for the new general secretary.
Yechury, who succeeded Brinda's husband Prakash Karat to the top post, is seen as a moderate and his elevation has fuelled hopes of closer ties between the Left and the Congress.
Brinda sought to rule out such a possibility in an article she wrote in The Indian Express today, titled "The Vizag line".
The article quickly became the subject of hushed discussions in party circles, with several leaders chafing at the "tone and tenor" of the write-up that comes only four days after the CPM congress in Vizag where Yechury was elected.
"The article appears a blatant and churlish attempt to draw the line for the new CPM general secretary. It reads like a hit-back after the Karats failed to stop Yechury from becoming the general secretary," said a senior party leader.
Brinda refers to the buzz about a "change of line" but rules out the possibility and suggests that Yechury cannot transgress the path finalised at the congress.
"There is no difference between it (the Congress) and the BJP where economic policies are concerned. Therefore, any alliance or front with the Congress in the name of fighting Hindutva is ruled out," she writes.
The assertions were viewed within the CPM as directed towards Yechury, who shares a good rapport not only with senior Congress leaders but those across the political spectrum.
Brinda's article drew comments on social media, which the CPM has belatedly taken to in a big way to connect with youths. "CPM politicking in the pages of the Express. Brinda Karat insists that Yechury has no right to change a THING," tweeted Mihir Sharma, who writes and edits opinion at Business Standard.
Another tweet, re-tweeted and commented on by several others, said: "Karat couple thinks CPM is their private company. Both can't win single seat for CPM in Kerala/Bengal."
Party insiders suspected that the Karats had not been able to come to terms with Yechury's ascent to the top, and saw in the article an effort to assert their authority.
The Karat camp had tried to block Yechury's elevation at the Vizag congress last weekend, according to party insiders. They were forced to back off because of pressure from the Bengal unit that insisted on a vote if there was no consensus.
Yechury has not spoken of any truck with the Congress since becoming general secretary. Like the Karats, he has ruled out the possibility but at the same time stressed that the "biggest enemy" was the Narendra Modi government.
"The biggest enemy today is this combined force of anti-people economic policies and communalism. It can no longer be differentiated. Both have melded together in the Modi government," Yechury told The Telegraph in an interview hours after he became the general secretary on April 19, when asked to identify the "bigger enemy" between the Congress and the BJP.
The Karat camp sees in the response an indication of the soft line towards the Congress they suspect Yechury could pursue.
Party insiders said apart from other reasons, Yechury's choice as general secretary was opposed by Karat's loyalists because of his moderate image. The former CPM chief advocated the "hard line" - shunning both the Congress and the BJP.
Despite the concept of "collective leadership" in the CPM, the general secretary can influence the majority in the leadership. The Karat camp and a section of the leadership suspects that Yechury could use the threat posed by the Modi government to align with the Congress and other secular parties, insiders said.
The late Harkishen Singh Surjeet had succeeded as general secretary in getting the Left to be the fulcrum of the Third Front when V.P. Singh became Prime Minister in 1989.
In 2004, the communists extended outside support to the Congress-led UPA-I. When Karat took over, he used his "hard line" to withdraw support to UPA-I.
