UPA-Left Coordination Committee meets on Oct 4

New Delhi, Sep 28: The UPA government's ''pro-rich'' economic policies, ''deviation'' from the country's independent foreign policy and the controversy over Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will dominate the discussions at the UPA-Left Coordination panel meet here on October four.

Left leaders A B Bardhan and Sitaram Yechury said a detailed discussion would take place on the government's response to their nine-page note detailing their viewpoint on economic and political issues submitted by the Left to the Manmohan Singh government on June 15 besides the pending legislations like the Women's Reservation Bill.

Mr Bardhan and Mr Yechury asserted that they are also likely to reiterate their opposition to opening up sensitive sectors of the economy to FDI. ''We will also press the government to regulate and tax Foreign Institutional Investors.'' ''We will also raise the issue of UNI Board of Directors approval of the takeover of the organisation by a Corporate house and ask the government to investigate the deal and restore the original status of the news organisation,'' the leaders said.

Mr Bardhan, the veteran Communist and freedom fighter, said issues like agrarian crisis and farmers' suicides and financial sector liberalisation have been dealt in the note.

Mr Yechury, CPI Polit Bureau member and Rajya Sabha member, said the Left wanted the Manmohan Singh government to adopt the West Bengal model on SEZs and amend the SEZ Act and Rules in the Winter session of Parliament.

The Left note had also suggested several proposals for mobilisation of resources like re-introduction of long-term capital gains tax, raising of securities transaction tax, rationalisation of tax exemptions and incentives to coporates, increasing wealth tax and introduction of inheritance tax, the Left leaders added.

UNI