By IANS,
New Delhi : Few can beat the Communists when it comes to opposing something. They can oppose even those who agree with them.
The Congress and the Left party MPs from Kerala had given a notice for discussion in the Lok Sabha to oppose India’s decision to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the ASEAN nations.
During zero hour, Speaker Meira Kumar first invited Congress MP K.C. Venugopal to present the matter. He said the farmers and the political leadership of the state had some “apprehension” over the agreement and the central government should “clarify” all the doubts over the deal.
But the Left parties, while agreeing with the Congress MP, disagreed with the word “apprehension”.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP P. Karunakaran added: “The deal should not be signed as it would cause the collapse of the state’s economy based on agriculture.”
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Chinese invasion in time of India-Pakistan heat
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has generated heat in parliament over India’s new stance on Pakistan, it was the Chinese ‘invasion’ of the Indian market that took the limelight during question hour in the Lok Sabha Monday.
Congress’ Anto Antony wanted to know what the government was doing about the “dumping” of Chinese goods in the Indian market. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma was quick to allay fears of the members on this count.
Only those Chinese toys that meet international standards were allowed to be imported to India, he said, pointing out that this applied to toys from all countries.
Sharma said dairy products from China had also been banned and so have chocolates and other related products.
About Chinese mobile phones, the minister said: “The government has already imposed a ban on all those mobile phones which do not carry International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI).”
The ban was imposed from this month for security considerations.
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Media friendly, but not always
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Prithviraj Chavan is usually quite friendly with the media, but on Monday he was tight-lipped. Journalists tried
to get him to say something on the joint India-Pakistan statement but he wriggled out.
“You will come to know about it on July 29,” was all that he would say when reporters tried to get him to comment.
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Taking on Maya, getting away with it
What is it that gives the Congress confidence to take on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati despite her outside support to the government?
A senior Congress leader said she would not withdraw support “as she is scared of the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) cases” about her alleged disproportionate assets.
“We will continue our fight against Mayawati both inside and outside parliament. She has lost touch with the ground reality in Uttar Pradesh. We know the ground reality,” he said.