Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Country’s foreign policy mortgaged to US: Karat

MADURAI: The Congress propaganda that the Indo-US nuclear deal was to provide electricity for the people was fraudulent since it involved an “enormous” cost of Rs. 2,80,000 crore, Prakash Karat, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary, has said.

Reacting to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement on the issue made at Howrah, he said the country’s foreign policy had been mortgaged to the US by signing the deal.

Mr. Karat was addressing an election meeting seeking votes for party candidate for Madurai Lok Sabha constituency P. Mohan here on Friday.

He stated that corruption level in the United Progressive Alliance government had touched a record level. Citing the alleged Rs. 1 lakh crore telecom spectrum scam, Mr. Karat charged that the “ill-gotten” money was being used in the election in Madurai. Unless the Election Commission prevented it (money distribution to voters) free and fair election was not possible.

Mr. Karat attacked both the Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party for adopting the same economic policies and that was why the Left parties along with regional parties were trying to form a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative at the national level. The Congress and BJP were afraid of the new alternative. “The five-party alliance in Tamil Nadu will register a resounding victory,” he said.

Mr. Karat said the working class all over the world were preparing to defend their rights at a time when millions of jobs were being lost due to global economic crisis. “In India too, 25 lakh jobs have been lost in the last six months. But the UPA has not been doing anything to protect the jobs. It is silent about this major problem in the election,” he said.

Stating that the achievement of the UPA government was only the agrarian crisis, he said the Congress-led government at the Centre in which Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was an ally should be defeated for the five year of failures, he said.

Mr. Karat said that the Congress pursued harmful economic policies like allowing foreign direct investment in retail trade and more foreign capital for bank and insurance sectors, which the Left parties blocked. “(Otherwise) India would have suffered like the US (because of the global economic crisis) and the financial sector (in India) would have faced a collapse. It is for these reasons, we want the Congress and its alliances to be defeated,” he said. Stating that the BJP had reiterated its communal agenda, Mr. Karat said that it (BJP) wanted to rake up the issue of building Ram temple at Ayodhya.

“Attacks on the minorities in BJP ruling States were continuing. So the BJP should be rejected,” he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

ESI scheme extended
Country’s foreign policy mortgaged to US: Karat
IGNOU extends date
PIL against setting up of distillery unit
“Remove side middle berths”
Experts to guide students today
“Protect the interests of domestic servants”
Water level
CPI(M) alleges money distribution
“Libraries promote social and cultural progress of humanity”
“Jayalalithaa let down minorities and Dalits”
Madurai today

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu