Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday called for a debate on state funding of elections, underscoring the urgency by drawing attention to how one party has had access to 90 per cent of the money going to political parties. Singh flagged the issue while addressing a meeting to mark the birth centenary year of former CPI general secretary Indrajit Gupta. Addressing the gathering, former Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi urged the Left parties to continue their struggle for the people. With newly elected CPI general secretary D. Raja by his side, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the two parties should work harder to set up state coordination committees so that the Left parties can work together better. This, he reminded the gathering, had been initiated when Gupta was CPI general secretary and Harkishan Singh Surjeet headed the CPM but sadly was not followed through.

Source: The Telegraph July 21, 2019 21:13 UTC