By IANS,
Agartala : The Left-ruled states are being victimised by the central government for not following the economic reforms policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a Tripura minister alleged here Wednesday.
“The UPA government has been trying to politically victimize the Left-ruled states as West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura are not executing the new economic reforms policies,” state Finance Minister Badal Chaudhury, a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee member, told reporters.
According to Chaudhury, under the new policies, no new posts in the government can be created and vacancies can not be filled up, the new pension policy of 2004 must be followed and loss-making public sector undertakings (PSUs) should be closed down or handed over to private management.
“Pension of the retiring government employees is a right earned through many struggles. Central government has been trying to invest the pension fund in the share market and allowing foreign investors to use it. Besides, the employees have to contribute 50 percent amount to this fund,” Chaudhury said.
He said the conditions of the fiscal reforms are anti-people.
The minister said that if the Tripura government closed or disinvested 17 PSUs, then over 10,000 people would lose jobs and lakhs more would be indirectly affected.
Referring to a letter from union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Chaudhury said: “Mukherjee has advised the Tripura government to curtail developmental works.”