The CPI(M) on Friday came down sharply on the central government for its handling of the global economic crisis.
NEW DELHI: The CPI(M) on Friday came down sharply on the central government for its handling of the global economic crisis, which is also affecting India adversely, and suggested its own prescription where it said the government must give the highest priority to ensuring protection of domestic jobs and announcing a moratorium on job or wage cuts in the organised sector.
The CPI(M) also suggested that the Centre announce a special fiscal package to increase public investment in infrastructure to give more income in the hands of vulnerable sections.
At a press conference in the capital, CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said that aviation fuel prices have been brought down, but petrol and diesel prices have not been cut. He demanded that the recent hike of Rs4 in petrol and Rs2 in diesel should be withdrawn immediately.
The party also demanded that the issue price of foodgrains be cut in sync with falling global prices and a policy be framed to restrict the operations of domestic corporate retailers.
The CPI(M) says that several countries have gone in for a rethink on their economic policies, but India refuses to move away from neo-liberal policies. They say that the entire approach to pump in more liquidity is warped, because it will lead to inflationary pressures. Instead they say the government should follow its prescription to pump the real economy.
Yechury said, “Instead of making an objective analysis of why the crisis occurred and therefore target policy prescriptions accordingly, the government was making a mistake in diagnosis and prognosis and concentrating on increasing liquidity.”
The CPI(M) also targeted the prime minister for going back on his statement in September that India’s foremost challenge was to insulate the country from the global turmoil. Yechury said the government is doing exactly the reverse. The party has demanded the banning of participatory notes, reversing partial capital account convertibility and a reversal of the government’s intent to increase foreign direct investment in the insurance sector from 26 to 49 per cent.
l_divya@dnaindia.net
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