Left to raise price rise, internal security in Parliament

New Delhi, Feb 20 (UNI) The Left parties will raise the issues of price rise, internal security, agrarian crisis and farmers suicides during the three-month-long Budget session of Parliament commencing on February 23.

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

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

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said, ''Much will depend on what sort of Budget the government brings. The common people have been very much inflicted by the price rise. They will like to know what steps are being taken by the government to contain inflation.'' Mr Bardhan, the veteran Communist and freedom fighter, reminded the government of the Left demand for doing away with the forward trading in foodgrains and essential commodities.'' Besides the PDS should be restored, import of foodgrains must be stopped and if necessary, higher prices be given to our farmers.'' On the price rise, the CPI veteran said the indirect taxes were increasing which hit the man in the street the most, whereas the corporates got several tax exemptions.

CPI(M) Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Mohammad Salim said, ''price rise is the first and top most priority. A national level debate is presently taking place on the relevance of 9 per cent growth for the countrymen while the inflation is touching two years high at 6.73 per cent, breaking the backbone of the poor, the downtrodden and the lower middle classes.'' The Left parties will also like to know which way the government wanted to tread- carrying forward with its chosen economic agenda or change the course of the policies, Mr Salim said. ''Much of the Left strategy will also depend on whether the Manmohan Singh government prefers to correct its mistakes on the economic front.'' The CPI(M) senior leader said the Left will also see when the government would withdraw the tax exemptions given to the corporates and industry in 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 attack on the Samjhauta Express with the sole purpose of derailing the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan will also figure prominently.'' RSP leader and Rajya Sabha member Abani Roy said the Left will take up in a big way the" grave" agrarian crisis, the unabated farmers' suicides and the government attempts to bring in FDI in retail.

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

Party National Secretary G Devrajan said the Left would also press for an amendment to the Essential Commodities Act to contain price rise. ''According to the Act at least 14 essential commodity items come under the purview of the Finance Ministry, which keeps on asking the Food and Supplies department to raise prices of essential commodities in the light of increase in the inflation.'' The Left leaders said the Indo- US nuclear deal, which was yet to be finalised and the friendly relations with the neighbouring countries in view of SAARC summit in April would also be discussed.

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

UNI