The Supreme Court's directive to the Union government to distribute rotting grain to the poor free of cost was an “order” and the Bihar government must demand free grain from the Centre to alleviate the plight of the drought-hit people in the State, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said here on Thursday.

Despite the Prime Minister's reservations, the Centre must comply with the court order of August 12, which made it clear that the grain rotting in FCI godowns should be distributed among the poor. Instead of the grain rotting in godowns, the Centre would do better to distribute them to the people combating severe drought in Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal,” he said.

Mr. Karat, who is here to review the party's preparations for the coming polls, held two meetings on Wednesday.

The party had forged an alliance with the other Left parties in the State, including the Communist party of India (CPI) and the Communist party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation. Talks were on with both the parties and the seat-sharing arrangement with the list of the nominees would be announced shortly.

Mr. Karat criticised Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee's recent Lalgarh rally. The CPI(M) would hold a countrywide campaign from September12-19 to condemn the killing of 272 party workers by Maoists and to expose the ‘conspiracies' being perpetrated by the Trinamool and Maoists.

“It is known that the paramilitary forces and the Railway Protection Force were deployed during the rally,” he said when asked whether the Centre was complicit in the affair. They [the Maoists] cannot fight us politically…they are trying to destroy our adivasi base. But they will not succeed in isolating us in the districts of Midnapore, Purulia and Jhargram,” Mr. Karat said adding that the party's tribal base was the strongest in Jhargram.