The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Implement Left proposals to save the economy: Yechury

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Implement Left proposals to save the economy: Yechury

Staff Reporter

Public investment, creation of jobs to overcome crisis suggested

— Photo: Vipin Chandran

Espousing a cause: CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury speaking at a session on ‘Global financial crisis and its impact on IT sector’ at Cusat on Saturday.

KOCHI: Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to implement the proposals given by the Left parties to save the country’s economy from the current global financial crisis.

Delivering the inaugural address at a plenary session on ‘global financial crisis and its impact on the IT sector’ at the national conference on free software held at the Cochin University of Science and Technology here, Mr. Yechury said that a newspaper had reported that the Prime Minister had given in writing all the proposals of the Left that he had rejected earlier, as India’s suggestions at the G-20 summit.

“Come back to India and implement the proposals. We are not taking the credit, but telling you that if you had done more on what we have said, the impact would have been less,” he said.

Elaborating on the four issues that the Left had opposed, Mr. Yechury said the Prime Minister had said in 2006 that the country was ready to go in for full capital account convertibility in order to integrate itself with the world’s financial market.

“When the crisis happened, the Prime Minister said in September 2008 that the greatest challenge was to insulate ourselves from the world financial market. It was a U-turn but a good U-turn. But then, the Prime Minister is pumping in liquidity instead of insulating,” Mr. Yechury said.

Stating that the country’s insurance companies would have collapsed if foreign insurance companies were allowed to hold 49 per cent stake in it, Mr. Yechury said that the Cabinet has now decided to increase the cap on foreign capital in the insurance sector.

Recalling a move by the Centre to privatise the pension fund and which the Left had opposed, Mr. Yechury said lakhs of Indian employees would have been affected if the pension funds were privatised. Mr. Yechury said the Left had also opposed the government move to allow foreign banks to own equity up to 74 per cent in private Indian banks. “When they collapse, you would have also collapsed. These four measures taken by the Left have saved the country from total devastation. We are not resting on our laurels saying that at least we have stopped you. Recognise the problem. Strengthen the consumer and not the lender,” he said.

Pointing out that the crisis cannot be solved unless steps are taken to empower the borrower, Mr. Yechury referred to the government decision to reduce the aviation fuel rates to help the aviation sector.

He said the government also abolished the customs duty and reduced the excise duty for aviation fuel to help the airline owners.

“However much you give concessions to the owner, the industry cannot be revived unless people have the money to buy a ticket and travel,” he said.

K. Chandran Pillai, MP, Anjan Banerjee, Director of Capgemini Consulting, and Gangan Prathap, Vice-Chancellor, CUSAT, spoke.

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