West Bengal polls: Brinda keeps guessing game alive

Ranchi: Former Rajya Sabha MP and CPM politburo member Brinda Karat continued to hold her cards close to the chest while fielding the question of forming an alliance with Congress in the coming West Bengal assembly election.
The veteran leader, who is on a two-day trip to Jharkhand for reporting duty after the party plenum in December, said a final call will be taken following the party's politburo meeting scheduled for February 16-18.
Brinda's statements come at time the CPM leadership in West Bengal is gearing up to endorse the alliance in the politburo meeting.
Calling West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee a "dictator", Karat said the ruling TMC party is shielding the perpetrators of the January Malda riot. "On the other hand, the RSS and the BJP are adding a communal colour to the incident," said Brinda. Karat rubbished BJP's allegations of her party keeping mum on the episode.
Speaking on the Rohith Vermula episode, Karat said the ruling BJP government is deliberately adopting an anti-Dalit stand and added a political tint to an inter-student skirmish on campus.
Speaking on the upcoming Union budget session, Karat said her party will put pressure on the Narendra Modi government with regard to the high price of fuel despite a slump in crude oil rates globally. "The government has gained Rs 1.2 lakh crore in petroleum excise so that the finance minister can compensate fiscal deficit," she said at the party's state headquarters here. Karat said CPM will raise questions on why the wages of MGNREGA workers have been stopped.
Karat also attacked the ruling BJP-Ajsu Party alliance and the opposition parties for not sealing the future of the domicile policy. "No party has genuinely addressed the issue in all these years," she said. She held chief minister Raghubar Das guilty for the ongoing resentment among health, Ranchi municipal corporation workers and teachers.