Management in the Red

NEW DELHI: The comrades have got a pat on the back from an unexpected quarter.

Professors and students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, have requested leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to accept some students as interns to work with party honchos in New Delhi.

This unprecedented request comes after a lecture titled ‘Vision of Future India: Role of Youth’ delivered by CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury at IIM-A on December 9.

Yechury was the third guest speaker at the institute in two months, after Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Many students and even professors were impressed with Yechury, who they said was “articulate” and “meticulous”. Some students submitted their resumes to the leader after his three-hour lecture. Others asked Yechury if they could work as interns with him or other party leaders.

Yechury suggested that the students take up the matter with their director, and sources say IIM-A Director Bakul Dholakia sent the letter conveying the students’ request to the Marxist HQ on Saturday.

After his lecture at IIM-A, Yechury fielded questions about his party’s perceived hostility to reforms. He clarified that the party had reservations about foreign investment in sectors like telecom for security reasons. “But if Nokia wants to set up a manufacturing plant, we will welcome it,” he said.