Yechury stumped by PM

CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury was stumped by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, when he met him along with a Left delegation to oppose the four-year degree course introduced by Delhi University. When the Left leaders went in a delegation to oppose the move, the Prime Minister reportedly remarked in a lighter vein, "Only the Left seems to have a problem against it."

The Prime Minister's dig was prompted, as only the Left took a leading role in opposing it simply because the United States has a similar model, which was taboo enough for it! Far from discussing the merits and demerits, the Left merely highlighted lack of additional infrastructure or teaching posts needed. Grapevine has it that far from mobilising sound intellectual reasons for opposing it, the Left is falling back on simplistic arguments like taking hurried decisions without addressing legitimate concerns may not be wise decisions seemed to suggest that the Left had no major argument against it, except that it is Western idea, which is a taboo in itself. The Left leaders implored for intervention of the Prime Minister to defer implementation of the four-year programme to enable greater debate on it.