Left's massive campaign against joint naval exercise

The Left parties in Bhubaneshwar on Monday announced plans for a mass campaign against the joint naval exercise, involving India, the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore, scheduled to begin in the Bay of Bengal from Tuesday.

Addressing a joint press conference, CPI, CPI-M and Forward Bloc leaders hit out at the Centre for joining the joint exercise and said a 'jatha' from Kolkata would pass through Orissa from Tuesday to reach Vishakhapattanam on September 8.

The jatha, to be flagged off by CPI-M veteran Jyoti Basu in Kolkata, would enter Orissa on Tuesday at Jaleshwar, where a public meeting is slated to be held, CPI state secretary Dibakar Nayak said.

Over a dozen public meetings are expected to be held during the Jatha at different places including Baleswar, Soro, Bhadrak, Chandikhol, Tangi, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Balunga, Rambha, Ganjam, Chhatrapur and Berhampur, Nayak, CPI-M state secretary Janardan Pati and Forward Bloc state secretary Santosh Mitra said.

Around 50 leaders and workers from Orissa would join the jatha as part of the campaign against the joint exercise, being held as part of an "imperialistic design", they said.

On the cholera situation in Orissa, they said Left parties have already given a call for a state-wide bandh on September 10 though they are not asking Naveen Patnaik government to step down, as done by Congress.