Red Star over Vizag

 Published on  9/8/2007 

VV Balakrishna

Visakhapatnam, Sept 7: A day ahead of the mock war as part of the five-nation joint naval exercise 500 nautical miles off the Visakhapatnam coast, the Left parties are all set to mock the exercise at a huge public meeting scheduled in this port city tomorrow. The Left is likely to issue a stern warning to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government demanding that it snap military ties with the imperialist US. The Left-Congress relations are already under tremendous strain following the nuclear tango. Strongly protesting the naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal on September 4-9 codenamed Malabar-2007, the Left parties are organising two vehicular jathas which will culminate in a public meeting tomorrow at RK Beach. Though the Malabar series is in its 13th year, this year’s is the biggest-ever peacetime show, having been expanded to include Japan, Australia and Singapore. The participating nations claim that the joint naval exercise is an anti-piracy and anti-marine terror drill, but the Left parties have made it clear that the naval exercise is an integral component in a grand strategic military alliance in the making. They have already sent strong signals that they would oppose any move taking the country into the American fold. ‘‘The Left parties are organising jathas to build mass support opposing the naval exercise and the N-deal with the imperialist US which is against the country’s sovereignty,’’ CPM district secretary Ch Narasinga Rao, told Express. The two jathas — one flagged off in Kolkata on September 4 and the other in Chennai the following day — will converge at Siripuram Junction in the city and then head for the meeting at RK Beach.