New Delhi, Oct. 30 :    New Delhi, Oct. 30:  If CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan raised hopes by suggesting an unification of his party with the CPM, these hopes were shattered by CPM leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet who lashed out at Bardhan for making the proposal. 'If you have come to an understanding that with the adoption of the updated party programme the differences between our two parties have become a thing of the past, we beg to disagree,' the CPM general secretary says in an open letter to Bardhan. In his own party circles, the CPI leader is known for his fondness of the CPM, which could be a reason for his harping on the unification theme time and again. But the CPM appears to be allergic to any such suggestion and is quick to cut it down before it can gain any substantive weight. Bardhan is held 'guilty' of speaking out in support of unification of the CPM and the CPI at a press conference immediately after the CPM wound up its deliberations at its special party conference. This is not the first time that the CPI general secretary has urged unity and this is also not the first time that he has been rebuffed. But the tenor of Surjeet's letter is more accusing than before, slapping one charge after another on the CPI, taking it back to days when it was supporting the Congress to the hilt and 'disrupting' Left unity. 'The CPI has played the role of disrupting Left unity and placating the Congress. Your collaboration with the Congress party remained firm for years,' accused Surjeet. The Marxist leader denies that the CPM has 'softened' its stand towards the Congress, as reportedly told by Bardhan. 'We do differentiate the Congress from the BJP on secularism, but even here experience shows that the Congress has compromised with communal forces,' stresses the CPM leader. The basic thrust of his letter to Bardhan is that the CPM programme has not made any shifts from its original premise and its differences with the CPI on basic issues still hold good. The CPM general secretary lists out the programmatic differences and tells Bardhan: 'I was rather surprised to learn that despite your vast experience you continue to hold on to old positions, which have been proved wrong by experience as well as developments.' It is common knowledge that, despite more joint actions and closer cooperation, there is a deep undercurrent of tension between the two parties. Regardless of Bardhan's wishes, his cadres at the lower levels are resentful of the 'big brother' and its bullying tactics. The CPM has always accused the CPI of hobnobbing with the Congress, particularly during the Emergency. It took the CPI many years to put behind it the stigma of supporting the Emergency but for the CPM the issue is still alive. 'In Kerala, the CPI joined hands with the Congress party in an anti-CPM alliance and later had one of its incumbents to lead the ministry,' reminds Surjeet.