Thaindian News

Kolkata, April 20 (IANS) Left Front chairman and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) West Bengal secretary Biman Bose Wednesday alleged that the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance for the assembly elections was formed due to US pressure.

“Recently the WikiLeaks website and rediff.com leaked that the alliance was formed due to pressure from the US,” Bose said at a press conference here.

“Not only the grand alliance between the Trinamool and Congress was formed due to the intervention of the US, but several ministers at the centre, including Natwar Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar, were changed because of US pressure,” alleged Bose.

He recalled that 61 Left front MPs, including 35 from West Bengal, had opposed the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s nuclear policy, “in which US interests were involved”.

The Left had withdrawn its support to the government over the India-US civil nuclear deal, prompting it to seek a confidence vote in parliament in July 2008.

“WikiLeaks leaks also revealed that huge money was spent to influence voters during the confidence vote in parliament July 2008,” Bose said.

According to Bose, the US “decided to take revenge against the Left Front in Bengal and the alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress was formed”.

“When any US national will write a book admitting that they had intervened in Bengal elections and invested money in the polls during 2009-10 and 2010-2011, then the people will believe,” said Bose.

However, he denied the news report of a leaked diplomatic cable that claimed Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in a purported conversation with US financial secretary Henry Paulson, had favoured economic liberalisation.

Bose said: “It was not true. Bhattacharjee has sent a rejoinder to the media house.”