The Hindu : National : Parliament must oppose U.S. imposing changes in nuclear deal, says Brinda Karat

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Monday, Aug 07, 2006

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Parliament must oppose U.S. imposing changes in nuclear deal, says Brinda Karat

Staff Reporter

CPI(M) wants Manmohan Singh statement in the current session

MADURAI: When the U.S. Congress can discuss the nuclear deal reached with India last year and impose new conditions, the Indian Parliament should make a strong statement against any changes in the accord, Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) told a public meeting here on Sunday.

She said the CPI (M) had insisted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh come out with a statement that would reflect the sense of the House in the current session of Parliament.

"Will never bow"

"We have told the Government that the people of this country will never bow before American imperialism."

On the domestic front, she opposed the Government's support to futures trading in essential commodities, a scheme initiated by the previous Government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Such trading was equivalent to gambling, she said and demanded that the Government come down hard on hoarders.

The international prices of crude oil were skyrocketing, she said, but the Government could still keep the prices of petroleum products down by reducing the duties and taxes levied on such products.

"Out of every rupee spent for petrol/diesel, 55 paise was taken by the Central Government and State Governments as taxes."

She wondered why Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who supports PDS rice at Rs. 2 a kg scheme in Tamil Nadu, did not show the same enthusiasm across the country and had instead cut the Central subsidy by Rs. 3000 crore.

"Enacting a drama"

She said the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had `failed' with its communal politics, had now resorted to `enacting a drama' in which the protagonist is played by a "mole."

Since BJP leader Jaswant Singh had claimed that an "American agent" was functioning in the Prime Minister's Office during P.V. Narasimha Rao's regime, she said the previous National Democratic Alliance Government, headed by the BJP was equally responsible for not revealing the `secret.'

She said her party was demanding a law to protect the rights of the workers in the unorganised sector.

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