HYDERABAD, India, 23 January 2006 — India’s ruling Congress party yesterday reiterated its commitment to coalition politics but decided to confront and fight aggressively the left parties in the southern Kerala and eastern West Bengal and Tripura states. The left supports the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in Delhi.

Spelling out its stand on the party’s role in these the states where the left parties are strong, the draft political resolution presented at the 82nd Congress plenary said: “It is conscious that in some states its main political opponents are parties that are supporting the government at the center. As Congress President Sonia Gandhi has said, there is no contradiction. National challenges demand cooperation and coordination among secular parties.

In states such as Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura, there is no question of any understanding or compromise. Congress will aggressively confront and fight the left.”

The party also reiterated its commitment to political coalitions. “Congress recalls that at Simla in July 2003, we had formally recognized the political reality and consequent possibility that, for the present, coalition of political forces and opinions was inevitable. The discipline of coalition politics was honestly and strenuously followed by Congress from that day, making the UPA possible and successful,” the draft added.

At the same time, the party said it would like to place on record its firm belief that a coalition meant that all parties in partnership followed a basic discipline, especially in public, the draft resolution said.

Expressing concern at the acts of cross-border terrorism, Congress urged the government to press President Pervez Musharraf to deliver on his promise that Pakistan would not allow territory controlled by it to be used for heinous acts of violence against India.

The party commended the government for its bold and creative steps in the management of human crisis caused by the “painful conflict” in Jammu and Kashmir. “India’s position that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India is not just a political position, it is a deep-rooted conviction that symbolizes India’s secular ethos,” the draft resolution said.

The party supported the government for its generous and prompt response to the human tragedy at the time of the terrible earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir. “This may well be the first time that the two sides have shared a tragedy. Instead of fencing apart our respective pain and loss, we were able to join hands to wipe away tears of same color and to comfort hearts that shared the same pain. Congress hopes that what we shared today in sorrow, in times to comes we will share in joy as well,” the resolution noted.

The party congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for announcing a series of measures for the welfare of people of Jammu and Kashmir, including a huge development package, the launch of the bus service across the Line of Control and his signal to all groups of opinion of his desire to talk to all of them.

The party urged the government to give the highest priority to tackling the Maoist menace. However, it suggested that the government not foreclose the possibility of dialogue in appropriate situations.

Congress viewed with concern the growing incidence of Maoist violence in various parts of the country. “Indeed the talk of a corridor of violence extending through the heart of India, from the Nepal border to Andhra Pradesh in an unwholesome threat to Indian democracy and the peaceful life of our people. Linkages with the Maoist movement in Nepal would enhance this to the level of a major security concern for both our countries.”

The problem has to be addressed as a serious law and order issue, but with underlying socioeconomic causes, the party said.