Consult us before policy declarations, CPM tells PM

On the sidelines of the central committee meeting, a senior CPI(M) leader today opposed FDI in the retail sector and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take the party into confidence before issuing public statements on economic issues.

"The Prime Minister is giving many statements with which we totally disagree. He must talk to us before making such statements," CPI(M) politburo member and general secretary of its trade union arm Citu MK Pandhe said.

He was referring to Singh's statement in Kuala Lumpur on Monday on a "positive" decision opening up the retail sector in five or six months.

"If the government is going to continue such measures, we will have to review our suspension of staying away from the co-ordination committee meeting," he told reporters when he came out the party's central committee meeting.

Pandhe said, "We are opposed to privatisation of the pension fund or investing it in stock market or seeking contribution from employees. This is totally unacceptable to us and there will be no compromise on the three basic issues."

Asked about Singh's statement on allowing FDI in the retail sector, he said the party will raise the issue with the Prime Minister soon.

The three-day central committee meeting, which began this morning, will review national and international developments and will chalk out the strategy on raising all contentious issues with the government.

Pandhe said the CPI(M) and the Citu was ready for discussions with the government on the pension Bill, but would not allow any deviation on the three basic issues that affect lakhs of workers across the country.

"The salary for employees is decided by the pay commission, then let the sixth pay commission decide the pension policy as well," the veteran trade union leader told reporters.

On the reduction of EPF interest rate, he said the government should increase the interest rate for special deposit scheme for provident fund organisation rather than telling it to manage within its resources.

He also criticised the government's foreign policy, saying it has surrendered meekly before American pressure and took a dig at the prime minister for being "totally committed" to the World Bank.

Another Citu leader and central committee member Varadarajan said trade unions will go ahead with their proposed protest proceedings against the government for reducing the interest rate of EPF.

Asked if there was any political compulsion from the CPI(M), which is a constituent of the UPA coalition, he said trade unions are not part of the common minimum programme and they have their own agenda.

"We are free to take the movement forward as we are not party of the coalition or cmp. Only Left parties have extended support to the government," he said.