New Delhi, Jan 7 : Supporting Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) veteran Jyoti Basu’s comments on capitalism, party general secretary Prakash Karat today said that Basu’s remarks were reported in a “contradictory manner.”

“Only those ignorant of the programme of the CPI (M) can talk of the Party saying 'goodbye to socialism and welcome to capitalism,” Karat said.

Basu had been quoted last week as saying, "We have been working within the capitalist system and private capital has to be used while social welfare programmes by the state government would continue."

“Socialism is a far cry. Socialism is our political agenda and it was mentioned in our party document, but capitalism will continue to be the compulsion for the future,” Basu had said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had brought American firm McKinsey and Company to attract multinational corporations to the state. As a result, US fast food chains like McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Subway started coming to Kolkata and shoe company Reebok has built one of its largest showrooms in Asia here.

IBM, Pepsi, and Mitsubishi too are investing tens of millions of dollars in the state.

Karat also said that his party “knows fully well that in states where the Left is in government, they cannot build socialism, but undertake some alternative policies within the capitalist system.” (ANI)