Left seeks course correction by UPA govt

New Delhi, July 14 (UNI) The Left parties today demanded a course correction by the UPA government in the face of serious challenges in matters of internal security, the reported 'freedom' given to public sector companies to hike fuel prices once a month, and the 'backbreaking' impact of price rise on the poor and the lower and middle classes.

The leaders of the CPI, CPI(M) and Forward Bloc also took serious note of the government's ''dilly dallying'' tactics on introduction of several laws, as committed in the CMP, mainly the Tribals Bill, Unorganised Sector Workers Bill and the Women's Reservation Bill, among others.

All these issues will dominate the proceedings of the UPA-Left Coordination Committeee meeting to be held here on July 22, two days before the monsoon session of Parliament beginning on July 24, the Left leaders told UNI.

''The government must change its track and approach to the FDI it wants to invite in almost all sectors. From the beginning, the Left have opposed the Government's blatant policy of liberalising sensitive sectors like civil aviation and telecommunications, which can put internal security at risk,'' CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said.

The Left had been warning the Congress-led coalition about the dangers of privatisation of airports also, he said, adding that the government seemed to be losing sight of the aspects of internal secuirty ''in its over-enthusiasm to please its masters in the World Bank, the IMF and the MNCs.'' On the government's reported move to allow public sector companies to hike fuel prices once in a month, Mr Bardhan said they would oppose this move, besides asking the government on steps it proposed to contain rise in prices, resurgence of terrorist activities and the compromises it made while signing the Indo-US nuclear deal.

CPI (M) veteran and and Polit Bureau member M K Pandhe said it was ''unfortunate'' that the Manmohan Singh government had not paid any heed to the Left's point of view on all these sensitive matters, ''even as its very survival depends on our support.'' Urging the government to rescind its decision on allowing 74 per cent equity in the telecommunications sector, he said no foreign company should be allowed to operate in this or any other sensitive sector.

Mr Pandhe also asserted that the Left would oppose any move to raise fuel prices. ''It will lead to unrest in the society... A customer has to pay as much as Rs 52 for one litre of petrol which includes Rs 25 as taxes... Is it justified?'' he asked.

CPI's National Secretary Shamim Faizi deplored the fact that the government was out to invite FDI in strategic sectors like defence.

On reports about another fuel hike in the offing, he noted that any further attempts to raise fuel prices would ''ruin the family budget even of the upper middle classes, what to talk of the poor and the lower and middle classes,'' and advocated that the Manmohan Singh government should rather give serious thought to reducing the taxes and excise duties on fuel to nullify the impact of rising fuel prices in the international market.

On the upcoming UPA-Left Coordination panel meeting, Mr Faizi, editor of the party organ 'New Age', said the Left was expecting a ''concrete reply'' to their nine-page document assessing the performance of the UPA government's two years in power.

Forward Bloc National Secretary G Devrajan said that according to his information the government was dealing with their concerns.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was preparing a reply on political matters, while Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was working on agriculture and Finance Minister P Chidambaram was dealing with economic matters.

''We expect that the government will give its response in the UPA-Left Coordination meeting,'' he added.

UNI KSA VD AT KN1555