Telecom FDI may come up in meet

As the Left parties got ready for Wednesday's co-ordination committee meeting with the United Progressive Alliance government, senior Left leaders said the agenda for the meeting was "unstructured".

They, however, claimed that after the Maharashtra elections it was opportune to discuss the political implications of the verdict and other economic policies of the government.

Despite its 'routine' status, the meeting may just see the Left exchanging notes on the contentious issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in telecom.

While one Left leader admitted that it might take another week to formulate the Left's answer to the government's note on the issue, it was likely that the Left would take up the issue at the forthcoming meeting.

Officially, Left leaders are adopting a hard line on the telecom issue. The CPM, for instance, had spoken of launching a pamphlet campaign in the Winter Session of Parliament to generate greater public debate.

CPI, RSP and the Forward Bloc leaders have expressed dissatisfaction at the nature of the government's response.

However, there is little doubt in the Left camp that the government will go ahead with the FDI hike.

The government, for its part, has indicated its willingness to meet the Left half way. Left leaders have also been assured that the proposal will be taken forward only after they are vetted by intelligence agencies for security loopholes.

After the government's decision to hike the FDI cap in the civil aviation sector last week, the view is that telecom is next.