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Centre’s report card not satisfactory: Karat

Vinay Kumar

It has failed to address agrarian crisis and price rise

— Photo: K. Ananthan

Critical appraisal: CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat has a word with his CPI counterpart, A.B. Bardhan, at the inaugural session of the 19th CPI(M) Congress in Coimbatore on Saturday. To Mr. Karat’s left are: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee; veteran CPI(M) leader and chairman of the reception committee R. Umanath; CPI(M) Polit Bureau member S. Ramachandran Pillai; and Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan

COIMBATORE: Reiterating its commitment to uphold the supremacy of the people’s interests, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday cautioned the United Progressive Alliance government that it failed to address two major problems — the agrarian crisis and price rise.

With the issue of spiralling prices and rising inflation weighing on his mind, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat reminded the Left-supported government that wholesale price index had shot up to 6.68 per cent.

“The recent loan waiver scheme for farmers can provide limited relief if it is suitably modified. But the basic problem is that agriculture is becoming unremunerative for farmers for a variety of reasons. We are all the more convinced that the nature and trajectory of the growth is wrong. We do not want the spectacle of the ranks of the dollar billionaires in our country amidst suicides by farmers, growing unemployment and reduced per capita consumption of foodgrains,” Mr. Karat said in his opening speech at the 19th party Congress here.

Alternative measures

Setting the tone for the six-day event, being held in this industrial city of Tamil Nadu for the first time, he said the Left parties had in the past four years set forth a series of policy measures which should become the building blocks of an alternative platform. “Such a platform should give prominence to the fight against caste oppression and discrimination against women and [for] protecting the rights of the Adivasis and minorities,” Mr. Karat told nearly 900 delegates, including veteran party members and the Chief Ministers from the Left-ruled Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura.

Assessing performance

If the 18th party Congress held in April 2005 in Delhi explained the rationale behind the party supporting the UPA government, this one saw the CPI(M) general secretary critically assessing the Congress-led coalition government’s report card of the past four years.

In his 30-minute address, Mr. Karat dwelt on the need to fight communalism, attacking the BJP for pursuing communal agenda, and stressed continuing the struggle to disentangle India from the strategic embrace of the U.S. He spoke on foreign policy and strategic matters, the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal and the need for a third alternative.

Posing questions on the UPA government’s performance since mid-2004, he said it was not able to convince the Left why Indian private banks should be handed over to foreign banks or why the insurance sector should be opened up further to Foreign Direct Investments.

Mr. Karat’s other queries were: “How is FDI in retail trade beneficial when it will lead to the loss of livelihood for millions of shopkeepers and traders? Is putting pension funds of government employees in the stock market the best way to ensure social security? Why can’t the government strengthen the PDS by restoring the universal system?”

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