Left demands debate in Parliament on Indo-US nuclear deal

New Delhi, Aug 10 (UNI) The Left parties today demanded a structured debate on at least 11 issues of urgent public importance during the Monsoon Session of Parliament including the Indo-US nuclear deal, grave flood situation, galloping price rise and unorganised sector social security bill.

Urging the BJP to not indulge in "disrupting" the proceedings of the House for petty vested interests, the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc said Parliament, being the People's House, must not be denigrated to the extent that pressing issues like the "crippling" of the PDS system, government allowing FDI in retail, grabbing of land in the name of SEZs are not debated.

At a news confernce, Left floor leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Basudev Acharia and Gurudas Dasgupta said they would also raise the issues of unabated agrarian crisis, farmers' suicides and Khammam police firing in Andhra Pradesh.

The leaders said the four Left parties including the Forward Bloc and RSP also participated in the meeting and decided to ask for a debate on the nuke deal on which they said their apprehensions had come true.

On government's apathy towards miserable plight of over 370 million workers in the unorganised sector, Mr Acharia said despite assurance in Parliament, the government had not come out with a comprehensive bill to provide social protection, guaranteed jobs, minimum wages, fixed hours of work and health care.

''The bill contains a provision wherein it has been stated that the Central government has no role. It is not acceptable to the TUs.

Only a central government funded scheme can succeed to provide social protection in the unorganised sector,'' he said.

Over 50 million people in the unofficial sector struck work and took to streets on August 8 to press for two separate bills for the agricultural workers and other major sections.

Pointing out to the grave flood situation in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, the Left leaders said they would press for discussion to seek government measures to provide succour.

The Left leaders, however, deplored that the Bihar government had yet to ask for Centre's assistance to contain floods and initiate relief measures for thousands of those ''who have been marooned.'' ''During our meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, we found to our dismay that the state government has yet not asked for assistance. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not ask for the relief even when the Prime Minister rang him up to know the latest position.'' On price rise they said the issue had repeatedly been taken up in Parliament, yet the government had been unable to contain inflation.

The spiralling prices have made the lives of the poor, the lower and middle classes miserable, they added.

UNI