In an assessment of how the government implemented the common minimum programme and faced challenges of the times, the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc accused the Centre of "surrendering" independent foreign policy.
NEW DELHI: Charging the United Progressive Alliance government with turning the Planning Commission into a hub of pushing "anti-people" economic policies, the supporting Left parties on Monday said the Centre had failed in containing the agrarian crisis, reviewing the taxation structure for petroleum products and reintroducing measures to contain another stock exchange scam.
In an assessment of how the government implemented the common minimum programme and faced challenges of the times, the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc accused the Centre of "surrendering" independent foreign policy to pressure from the United States, which was directly asking for further liberalising the financial sector and services and infrastructure development.
The Left parties, however complimented the Congress-led coalition for certain "positive" achievements -- mainly, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Right to Information Act and the abolition of the POTA, ST (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, legislation on domestic violence and property rights for women.
In a four-page joint statement, they said, "The Left parties will soon sit together, further discuss the government's role and chalk out an appropriate course of action which can strengthen the secular and democratic forces in the country."
Referring to the unabated suicides by farmers in various parts of the country, they said, "Farmers suicides continue at a disturbing rate and rural unemployment is increasing. The allocations for agriculture lag behind what is required. The policy on agriculture is flawed with foodgrains production not increasing."
CPI(M) leaders Basudeb Acharia and Rup Chand Pal said that according to latest figures, about one lakh farmers had committed suicide due to indebtedness (generally the figure has been that of 40,000).
The recent decision to import three lakh million tonnes of wheat manifested "this wrong policy'" they said, adding that with declining procurement, food security and the public distribution system were bound to be affected, they said.
The Left parties made a strong case for introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill, central legislation for agricultural
labourers,social security provision for 370 million unorganized workers and adoption of the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill.
The government had not shown the eagerness and seriousness to contain spiraling prices of essential commodities -- sugar, cement, pulses, vegetables.
On the government's pro-US shift in foreign policy, they said, "Under the guise of a nuclear cooperation agreement, the US is extracting a heavy price from India." To buttress their claim, they cited the government's anti-Iran stand, the US directly exercising influence on domestic policy-making, the energy policy and the knowledge initiative in agricultural research.
Besides the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline had virtually been shelved under US pressure, they said, adding that all these are part of the neo-liberal policies which were being implemented in the country with open US backing.
"The Planning Commission has become the hub for the initiation and pushing for such policies contrary to the spirt of the CMP," they added.
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