CPI leader A B Bardhan on Wednesday said it is vitally important to strengthen the unity of the Left to build a strong alternative to Congress and the BJP "to save the country."

Alluding to the spat between CPI(M) and CPI in Kerala, he said the Left should not lose sight of this principal aim by indulging in mutual acrimony and blowing minor differences out of proportion.

"Let us ignore all this. These are not the subjects for our discussion. We are assembling to discuss how a strong alternative can be built to save the country from the neoliberal policies and corruption they have bred," the veteran leader said in his opening address to the 21st state conference of the CPI here.

Lambasting the UPA Government, Bardhan said these policies had only helped big corporates grow in strength while basic issues affecting masses were totally ignored.

On the case of two ministers viewing porn film on mobile handset in the Karnataka assembly, Bardhan said this showed moral values had been destroyed very badly in the country.

As in capitalist countries including U.S.A., the UPA government was also shifting the burden of the economic crisis on the common man while helping big business come out of the morass, he alleged.

It was against this that all trade unions in the country had joined hands to organise a countrywide strike on February 28, he added.