Will give Modi govt negative marks on performance: CPI

New Delhi, May 19: A day after Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi graded Narendra Modi government's performance at "zero out of 10", the CPI today said it will give "negative marks" to the NDA dispensation for its "anti-farmer, anti-labour and pro-corporate" policies.

Launching a scathing attack on Modi, the party said he is a "secretive" and an "arrogant" leader and "far different" from former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who would listen to the views of others.

"Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi said he will give zero marks to Modi Government for its performance over the past one year. But we give it negative marking like for writing wrong answers....for bringing in wrong policies," CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy told PTI.

Reddy said the CPI doesn't intend to target Modi on personal front, but added there is a difference between the way he and other leaders function.

"He is a secretive type, not open. He is arrogant though it doesn't reflect in his day-to-day activities. He is dictatorial. People are afraid of talking to him. Though we do not agree with their brand of politics, there is a lot of difference between him and Vajpayee who would listen to people," he said.

The former MP said that Modi not taking along with him External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when on foreign visits "is an example of how secretive he is". "Normally, the practice is the External Affairs Minister will accompany the Prime Minister on foreign visits.

But, he takes only those loyal to him like (Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra) Fadnavis to visits abroad," he added. Reddy criticised the Government's decision to reduce income tax for the "rich" and allow hike in FDI in insurance and other sectors.

He claimed that Centre's labour and land acquisition reforms won't help India attain development. "Nearly 50 per cent of the country's population is dependent on agriculture. If they are thrown out of their lands, then there will be complications... crisis of employment it will lead to.

You can't make hasty changes (like the promulgating Land Acquisition Ordinance)," Reddy said. Reddy said the Left parties will hold campaigns at national and local levels, conventions and yatras to reach out to people on issues of secularism, democracy and "wrong" policies of government.

PTI