Stick to agreed agenda, Surjeet tells UPA govt

Communist Party of India-Marxist General-Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet yesterday said the success of the "co-ordination mechanism" between the Left parties and the government depended on the latter's sincerity in following the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP).

"We can strengthen their hands if they are serious about the one policy document that is keeping us together," he said.

The co-ordination mechanism came under strain yesterday, when Left parties decided to make public their 'notes' on the issue of hiking the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in telecom and insurance.

The Left move was prompted by information that the Cabinet was preparing to clear the FDI proposals. In their last co-ordination meeting with the Left parties on August 25, the United Progressive Alliance government had said it would "actively consider" the Left's reservations on the proposed FDI hike.

Surjeet also said it was too early to assess the performance of the present government as the BJP had been in a disruptive mood.

"The government's 100 days have been wasted by the BJP," Surjeet said. He added that the role of the Left in the days to come would be shaped by the government's ability to stick to the implementation of the NCMP.

On the Left's strategy in the event of the government refusing to halt the FDI process, Surjeet said: "The UPA leadership is aware that they cannot ignore our views. They will have to rethink their decision. We are not defeated."

Left parties had put forth their views to the government through the notes that were made available for 'public debate' yesterday.

CPI(M) Politburo Member Prakash Karat said yesterday that the Union Cabinet had begun preparing and circulating papers on FDI in telecom before the last co-ordination committee meeting. He added that these papers were being "actively considered" right now, along with the Left's demands.

So far, there have been two such co-ordination meetings, where the government tried to find common ground with the Left on contentious issues, like the decrease in the rate of interest on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) deposits, the FDI cap hike in the telecom, civil aviation and insurance sectors and privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Though the government has supposedly agreed to maintaining a status quo rate on the EPF rate (currently at 9.5 per cent), it has not announced its decision yet. "We are waiting to hear what the government has decided on the EPF rate," Surjeet said.

The co-ordination mechanism, envisaged as a method of consultation between the Left and the government, has no fixed working pattern.

While Left sources said its party leaders constantly apprise the government on their views and opinions, the 'meetings' are where the government publicly responds to the Left's demands on major policy issues and events.