March against price rise on March 12: Karat

The general secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prakash Karat has said his party would organize a mass march to New Delhi in association with other Left parties on March 12 to protest against the unprecedented rise in prices and the wrong policies of the Central government.

Inaugurating the birth centenary celebrations of veteran Communist leader late E.M.S. Namboodiripad at Pattambi near here on Sunday, Mr. Karat said the Centre has given a tax concession of Rs.80,000 crore to the corporate sector in the Budget which represents just five per cent of the country’s population.

Instead of giving tax concessions to the corporate sector, the Government should tax them to mobilize funds for taking up welfare measures for the poor sections of the society, the CPI (M) general secretary said.

He asked the Central government and private sector companies to lift the ban on recruitment of employees.

He said the government should implement land reforms and distribute land to all landless agriculture workers and other poor sections of people.

He said Left parties have an alternative economic policy which is against surrendering the country’s interests to the U.S. and other imperialist forces.

He said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatheeya Janata Party (BJP) are trying to create communal division to further their political interest. Some from the minority communities are playing into the hands of militant organizations, he said.

The meeting was presided over by CPI(M) district secretary P. Unni. It was addressed by A. Vijayaraghavan, M.B. Rajesh (both MPs), M. Chandran, MLA, C.T. Krishnan, former MLA, among others.

Centre to blame for price rise: Karat

Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), has said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre has failed to solve the relentless and unprecedented price rise as it is not giving up the neo-liberal policy framework.

Inaugurating a one-day seminar, “EMS and Kerala development,” organised by the Keluettan Studies and Research Centre in connection with the conclusion of the EMS birth centenary celebrations here on Monday, Mr. Karat said the Centre had refused to acknowledge that its approach to the public distribution system (PDS) had destroyed the very system and eroded the livelihood of millions of working people.

He said the genesis of the price rise did not lie in any natural calamities or in the dislocation of supply and distribution of food grains. The Centre wanted the prices of food grains and basic consumer necessities to be controlled by the market forces.

He said the government cut the allocations of wheat and rice for the above poverty line (APL) category by 70 per cent. “Now it is offering an additional allocation of 10 kg per person but not at PDS price. The Centre is offering food grains at Rs.17 per kg, including the transportation cost, to the State,” he said.

He said the Centre imported wheat at Rs.14-15 a kg when wheat prices skyrocketed. At the same time, the government procured wheat from farmers at Rs.9 a kg.

Similarly in the case of sugar, Mr. Karat said, the government adopted a policy which benefited the sugar mill owners enormously. It did not build a buffer stock when sugar production was high.

“And now when farmers shifted from sugarcane production because they were not getting a fair price, we find that the government is now importing sugar or allowing the import of sugar at Rs.40 per kg,” he said.

He said 33 sugar mill companies increased their profit from Rs.30 crore to Rs.900 crore in over one year. “The farmer who produces the sugarcane has suffered and the consumer who buys sugar is suffering,” he said.

Mr. Karat said all the policies being pursued by the Centre in the name of registering economic growth “is the growth without jobs.” The number of jobs had increased only by 2.6 lakh in the organised sector, both in the public and the private sectors, during the period from 1991 to 2006. But the Centre claimed that “we are registering 8-9 per cent growth.”

He said land reforms did not figure on the agenda of the Centre. The government had been able to distribute only 73 lakh acres out of the 500 lakh acres of surplus land during this period. Of this, only 53 lakh acres was finally distributed to the small farmers and 20 per cent of this was in West Bengal.

He criticised the UPA government’s proposal of large-scale divestment of 50 profit-making public sector units.

CPI(M) State committee meeting begins

A three-day meeting of the State committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) began here on Friday. On the agenda are a host of issues including a rectification campaign for the party, organisational matters and the present political situation in the State. These will be taken up at an extended meeting from Saturday.

Senior party leader Shyamal Chakraborty said issues like the ensuing municipal polls in the city are also likely to be discussed at the headquarters at Alimuddin Street. Party general secretary Prakash Karat and Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechuri were also present at the meet.

The plan to initiate such a rectification campaign was first discussed in November last, at a meeting which was presided over by Mr. Karat. The campaign aims at removing the wrong trends and shortcomings of the party so that it becomes stronger and more unified.

As for the municipal elections, party sources said the opinion of the party leaders and workers would be sought during the meeting. The elections due in May 2010 are being seen as a run-up to the State’s Assembly elections scheduled for 2011.

Chinese delegation At the start of the meeting a Chinese delegation from the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament visited the CPI(M) office and met Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for half an hour. Sources said they discussed the India-China friendship and world peace. They were also briefly present during the meeting.

Basu remembered Departed leader Jyoti Basu was also remembered and homage was offered to him at the meeting. The conclave also discussed the February 7 meeting of party workers and supporters proposed to be held at the Brigade Parade  Grounds as a tribute to the party patriarch.