CPI-M on Wednesday said corruption was an offshoot of the economic policies followed by "neo-liberal" regimes and only a Left-democratic alternative could fight the nexus of big business, ruling politicians and bureaucrats "looting" public funds and scarce resources in the country.

"Loot of natural resources had reached unparalleled heights during the UPA regime," CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat claimed, inaugurating the 20th party Congress here.

Karat said a strong and effective Lokpal to check corruption among public servants alone was not enough. "The fight against corruption should be directed against neo-liberal regimes and the corrupt nexus which facilitates the loot of public funds and resources," he said.

Karat said two decades of liberalisation in the country had led to unprecedented increase in inequalities. "As a result, India has produced some of the richest people in the world while keeping the vast millions deprived of the basic necessities of life," he said.

On economic policies, he said there was no difference between the Congress and BJP, which were "wedded to liberalism".

The recent elections to five state Assemblies had proved that people had discarded the two combines led by Congress and BJP and were looking for an alternative.

CPI-M would concentrate on strengthening Left unity and joint actions with other democratic and secular parties on people's issues, federalism and defence of secularism, to forge such an alternative, he said.

Karat said CPI-M would seek to apply Marxist-Leninist theories to the "concrete conditions of India to chalk out its revolutionary path, without emulating models from abroad."