By IANS
New Delhi : Angered over the economic policies of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Communist Party of India (CPI) Sunday asked its Left partners to “review the situation and redefine their approach” to the government that they support from outside.
“The CPI is of the view that the four Left parties, which together extend outside support to the UPA government, should also review the situation and redefine their approach to it,” CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan told reporters after a three-day meeting of its national council here.
Asked to elaborate on what was meant by “redefining”, he said: “I am not saying that we should withdraw support right now. What I am saying is to redefine our attitude towards UPA and decide on how to go about our relationship.”
Earlier, Bardhan had met Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat. The four Left parties will meet July 19 to discuss these issues as also the upcoming vice-presidential election.
Keeping up its attack on the policy for the retail sector, he warned the government against allowing big businesses in this area.
He alleged that the government was misleading people on the job opportunities said to be created in this sector by the entry of big businesses. “May be some 50,000 people get employed by these stores. But at the same time, it would threaten the livelihood of about 40 million retailers in the country.”
Listing several other issues on which the government had “failed” to deliver, the CPI national council sought a review of the UPA’s performance in the past three years and stressed “the need for a mid-course correction”.
The UPA partners also should review the performance of the government seriously as “only two years are left” for them to face people in the next general election, Bardhan said.
In a strong indictment of the UPA government’s flagship legislation, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the party said its implementation was disappointing, as it had failed to tackle the problem of unemployment, a party resolution said.
It wanted the government to undertake a mid-term review of all its policies relating to price rise, employment, livelihood, special economic zones (SEZ), and farmers.
“We are not going to withdraw support to the UPA government on these issues, but along with other Left partners, we would press for a mid-term correction in the government’s policies and also review our relationship with UPA in the context,” Bardhan said.
CPI accused the Congress party, which leads the ruling coalition, of reversing land reforms by allowing big businesses to divest farmers of their land through contract farming.
The party has threatened a countrywide agitation to protest against UPA’s “failure” to change the economic conditions of farmers.
Bardhan alleged that party workers in Andhra Pradesh who were spearheading a land reforms campaign, were being subjected to police atrocities.
“Our state general secretary was to be charged for sedition as he demanded land reforms, and it was only under pressure from the media that police relented,” he said.