Left to raise price rise, internal security in House

New Delhi, Feb 20: The Left parties will raise the issues of pricerise, internal security, agrarian crisis and farmers suicides duringthe three-month-long Budget session of Parliament commencing onFebruary 23.

The outcome of the Assembly polls in Punjab, Manipur andUttarakhand and the pending legislations-the Unorganised SocialSecurity Bill and the Women's Reservation Bill- will also influence thedeliberations on the Budget for 2007-08, Left leaders told UNI today.

They, however, cautioned against the recent trend of turning theLok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha into ''assembly'' whenever assembly pollsare due during the session of Parliament. ''There are UP assembly pollsbefore May.'' The Left parties are scheduled to formalise their jointstrategy at a meeting in Parliament House on Friday noon.

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said, ''Much will depend on whatsort of Budget the government brings. The common people have been verymuch inflicted by the price rise. They will like to know what steps arebeing taken by the government to contain inflation.'' Mr Bardhan, theveteran Communist and freedom fighter, reminded the government of theLeft demand for doing away with the forward trading in foodgrains andessential commodities.'' Besides the PDS should be restored, import offoodgrains must be stopped and if necessary, higher prices be given toour farmers.'' On the price rise, the CPI veteran said the indirecttaxes were increasing which hit the man in the street the most, whereasthe corporates got several tax exemptions.

CPI(M) Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Mohammad Salim said, ''pricerise is the first and top most priority. A national level debate ispresently taking place on the relevance of 9 per cent growth for thecountrymen while the inflation is touching two years high at 6.73 percent, breaking the backbone of the poor, the downtrodden and the lowermiddle classes.'' The Left parties will also like to know which way thegovernment wanted to tread- carrying forward with its chosen economicagenda or change the course of the policies, Mr Salim said. ''Much ofthe Left strategy will also depend on whether the Manmohan Singhgovernment prefers to correct its mistakes on the economic front.'' TheCPI(M) senior leader said the Left will also see when the governmentwould withdraw the tax exemptions given to the corporates and industryin the SEZs.

The government's foreign policy will also come into focus in the wake of the growing terrorism in the neighbouring countries.

''People's security is also very important.. The terrorism attackon the Samjhauta Express with the sole purpose of derailing the ongoingpeace process between India and Pakistan will also figureprominently.'' RSP leader and Rajya Sabha member Abani Roy said theLeft will take up in a big way the" grave" agrarian crisis, theunabated farmers' suicides and the government attempts to bring in FDIin retail.

Criticising the government for its ''dilly dallying'' tactics onthe pending legislations, Forward Bloc Group leader in the Rajya SabhaDebvrat Biswas said these included the Unorganised Social Security Billand the Women's Reservation Bill among others.

Party National Secretary G Devrajan said the Left would also pressfor an amendment to the Essential Commodities Act to contain pricerise. ''According to the Act at least 14 essential commodity items comeunder the purview of the Finance Ministry, which keeps on asking theFood and Supplies department to raise prices of essential commoditiesin the light of increase in the inflation.'' The Left leaders said theIndo- US nuclear deal, which was yet to be finalised and the friendlyrelations with the neighbouring countries in view of SAARC summit inApril would also be discussed.

The Left leaders also expected Finance Minister P Chidambaram toincrease allocations for education, health, agriculture, minoritieswelfare and raise the wealth tax among other things in the Budget.

UNI