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ELECTION'99
ELECTIONS '98

 

'This is the best chance for the Left'

New Delhi, 14 May 2001: Sitaram Yechuri was only a bit late and answered questions with panache.

Sitaram Yechury : I am here. Sorry for being little late.

deokail : CONGRATS SIR.
Sitaram Yechury : Thank you for congratulating us on our victory in West Bengal.

kalyan : Mr. Yechuri cpm are idiots fit for nothing
Sitaram Yechury : The opinion can only be reciporcated.

Madan : Probably ur one of the best politician to understand India better.What is ur opinion on what should happen in TN
Sitaram Yechury : Thanks for the nice words. After such a massive sweep it is only natural that the AIADMK would form the government in Tamil Nadu. It would have been an act of supreme grace if the AIADMK chief would not stake claim to be the chief minister of the state. Since that is unlikely to happen the law would have to decide.

freeagaininKerala : What happened in Kerala? People realized what good liars the communists are
Sitaram Yechury : The biggest problem in Kerala was the disasterous impact of the crash in the prices of commercial crops. Apart from runing the lives of lakhs of people this also resulted in severe short fall in the government's revenue.Consequently much of the payments and relief work could not be undertaken. We could not successfully convey to the people that this was the result of the central government's polices and not the state.In any case Kerala has a habit of changing the government every five years.This was unfortunately there was no exception to this rule and we were voted out of power.

biju : do u think the governance in kerala was bad or was the violence has effected the minds of people?
Sitaram Yechury : Both in part. We have to self-critically examine these aspects. Definitely, there has been a disenchantment which resulted in our defeat in Kerala. But more importantly the UDF victory was more due to a shift of atleast 4% of the BJP votes. The BJP however, hoped to enter Kerala assembly this way but even this gamble did not pay off.

Atal : , Has your party lost it's principles, In Kerala you fight the Congress and just next door you are camapigning with Congress and you do not have any problem with the Mother of Corruption Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu and you talk a lot, it reminds me of your hopelessness in Politics, what is your opinion? if you have one
Sitaram Yechury : You have not even rephrased the prime minister's speech. You have only asked a question in his name.The people have answered these questions in the elections.

Shuklajee : I am very much excited to know that when you are going to officially declare the formation a third front, This govt' should go now and and congress has been given enough chance, So the court is in your ball,what do you say?
Sitaram Yechury : Soon. The ball is our court and we shall play it soon.

eave : the industry is unhappy about the state of affairs in west bengal and are not satisfied with the results...comment?
Sitaram Yechury : That is not entirely true. Given the alternative to the left in Bengal the industry preferred us. CII has in its survey placed Bengal at no 3 in terms of positive industrial climate.

maheshvishnu : mr yechuri what are you reds doing in a place like in india after you do not exist in anyother place other than north korea/cuba.
Sitaram Yechury : Making it red, obviously.

mohan krishna : What is sooo special about Bengal? Why there is no anti-incumbency waves? there are many failures of the communist government there. When it comes to achievements, UR party always harps on only one issue - Land Reforms...Is there no other devlopment possible?
Sitaram Yechury : It is the party's sincerity towards the people. We candidly admit our shortcomings and seek to correct them. The people have faith in us and respect our integrity and honesty. There have been many other achievements in Bengal apart from Land reforms. For example the devolution of power to the grass roots to the panchayats.

mahamad : Mr. Sitaram .... would you consider giving short and ot the point replies. This will not only up your image but will allow you to answer more questions.Suji says, Kaliyan Behave ur self or u will be kicked ms says, Mr Yechuri, I think all communists r part of a dying brigade... your comments please
Sitaram Yechury : Far from it we are alive and kicking.

vk5651 : hello,I think this is the last chance to Left parties to proove themselvs in WB ?What do you say ?
Sitaram Yechury : This is the best chance for the left parties to prove themselves. We shall be making sincere efforts in this direction.

Sharleena : Dear Sir, please tell me from which state you come from ?
Sitaram Yechury : Andhra Pradesh.

deshpremi : Mr yechuri what are the financial assets of your family ie your wife,kids,and u?
Sitaram Yechury : Very meagre. I have some inherited property which is not yet come to me since it is part of the HUF( Hindu Undivided Family) operated by my parents. In the CPI(M) all leading members submit an annual statement to the party. These are public documents that can be examined by anybody.

vramesh_2000 : What is your next plan
Sitaram Yechury : To forge a left democratic secular alternative that would on one hand protect the economic soverignity and strengthen secular democracy.The beginning towards this has been made with the formation of the People's Front.

animeshr : mr. Yecuri, what do you thinkthe future of lolemorcha. laloo jadav already been charged by court. in west bengal cong(I) joined aitc. what will be the alternative now.
Sitaram Yechury : The future does not lie in the present correlation of the parties. Many of the BJP allies are in the bind of a contardiction : continuing with being in government means losing the mass base. This discontented mass will move towards a genuine alternative. That is the future.

huey : what's is yr parties position on kashmir
Sitaram Yechury : The continuatiuon of the ceasefire should have a stretegic objective of restoring peace in the state.This requires that India should adopt a two-track approach of talking to both Pakistan and the extremists seperately.

sangeet : sitaram ji can u tell us something about ur childhood, ur alma matter,.. the grades
Sitaram Yechury : I did my schooling mostly in Andhra and Hyderabad. I graduated from St Stephen's College in Economics ( Hons ) with first class, MA from JNU first class. Discontinued my Ph.D as a UGC scholar when arrested during Emergency.

shyam : what do u think ur party must do to get the strongholds in kerala back?
Sitaram Yechury : We have to rebuild our bridges with sections of the people and create a situation where the people trust us most to defend the country, its integrity and the livelihood of the people.

coolest : Mr. Yechuri, how far is communism is relevant today?
Sitaram Yechury : More relevant than it ever was.

SGoyal : Do you think, the BJP helped you in winningelections in West Bengal ?
Sitaram Yechury : Not at all. In no constituency has the BJP polled more vote than the victory margin. On the contrary in Kerala, they openly voted for the Congress. Between the Congress and the Left, the BJP considers the Left as the greater enemy.

raghunath : who will be the next cm of tamilnadu according to your view
Sitaram Yechury : Whether we like it or not, it is going to be Jayalalitha.

REVOLUTIONARY : WHAT I FIND HERE IS QUESTIONS OF THIRD RATE.THE YOUTH ARE REALLY NOT INTERESTED IN POLITICS.THEY ARE CARRIED AWAY BY THE CAPITALIST MEDIA.THE FARMERS,WORKERS ,....ARE NEGLECTED BY THESE MEDIA.THEY GIVE IMPORTANCE TO SENSATIONAL NEWS LIKE MISS UNIVERSE CONTEST..THEY WANT TO APOLITICISE THE PEOPLE SO THAT THE SYSTEM CAN BE RUN WITHOUTB ANY DIFFICULTY..YOUR COMMENTS..
Sitaram Yechury : It is precisely against these attempts of the system to run without difficulty that the youth will have to come forward. We have to continue to make our efforts for this. We cannot blame the youth.

Amit12 : With criminals aspiring to be Chief Ministers, corrupt politicians calling the shots, how do you expect the youth to come forward and join politics ?
Sitaram Yechury : Precisely to change this sort of situation. And this is happening. Further there is a need to establish the politics is not only an electoral politics.It has larger and more noble objectives. It requires the collective effort of all sincere people to create this atmosphere.

maal : consider the victory in bengal as manupulated or calculated..
Sitaram Yechury : Neither manipulated nor calculated. But vindicated.

ajithu : The West Bengal CM's nephew was a IG in Bengal, and it is also reported that the police go along with the CPM during elections. IS that the reason for being in power for more than 2 decades?
Sitaram Yechury : What you are saying is sheer nonsense.

Amit12 : Sorry to inform, Mr. Yechury is no longer among us !
Sitaram Yechury : Hi, I am still here. But the time is up. In any case, there are no new questions. It was nice chatting with all of you. Bye for now.

Sitaram Yechury : It was nice talking to you. Time is up so bye for now
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