Karat wary of US help for UNSC seat

Days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for the US, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has warned the government that its keenness to enlist American support to procure a permanent seat for India in the UN Security Council can detract from New Delhi's credibility as an independent power, required for representation in the UN body.

"Giving in to the US on such vital issues will be counter-productive and will actually detract from India's credibility as an independent power which necessitates its representation in the security council", CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat has written in the forthcoming edition of the party mouthpiece, Peoples' Democracy.

Observing that so far the US government has only declared support for Japan's membership in the council and indicated that it may support one or two more countries, Karat says, "This is a clear attempt to inveigle India into granting more concessions and be amenable to becoming a junior partner of the US in Asia."

Karat, however, contends that "unfortunately" New Delhi has already sent a signal to go along with Washington by signing the framework of the Indo-US defence relationship in US Capital last month.

Karat also said the Prime Minister should find out about the "fate of social security reforms that (President) Bush wanted to push through".

Pointing out that Bush had also proposed to privatise the American social security fund to which US citizens contributed and put the money into the stock market, Karat said, "The proposal has met with widespread opposition and the President has been forced to backtrack."

However, in India, government employees' pension funds are proposed to be privatised and invested in the stock market. "The people of India, who consider pension a social security benefit, oppose what the American people oppose -- the privatisation of the social security fund," Karat said.

Talking about the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, Karat said the Prime Minister should "convey in clear terms India's determination to pursue the project. The US should be told that it cannot hamper India's quest for energy security".