Communist Party of India (Marxist) may move cut motions in the Lok Sabha to demand restoration of over Rs. 60,000 crore subsidies on fuel, food and fertilizers, withdrawn by the government.
Talking to reporters here on Thursday, CPI(M) leaders Basudeb Acharia and Sitaram Yechury said the party was examining all options, including moving cut motions, to amend these budget proposals.
The demand was raised as fuel prices were rising almost every fortnight, leading to hikes in the prices of food and other essential commodities.
Withdrawal of subsidies, including over Rs. 30,000 crore on fuel alone, would impose a hefty burden on the people, Mr. Yechury said.
On the CAG report on the farm debt waiver scheme, Mr. Yechury said the government would be made to commit to Parliament that a proper time-bound investigation by the CBI should be carried out under the supervision of the judiciary.
The CPI(M) may also review its participation in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the VVIP helicopter purchase scam if other Opposition parties did not join it.
“If CPI(M) MP T.K. Rangarajan is the only member in the JPC opposing the government as all other Opposition parties are not joining it, then there is no point of having the JPC and we will have to rethink,” Mr. Yechury said.
So far only Mr. Rangarajan’s name figured in the list of the 30-member JPC, apart from those of the Congress, he said.
The BJP and some other Opposition parties have expressed their unwillingness to join the JPC on the grounds that without an FIR registered in the case, such a forum would be “useless” and “an attempt to fool” the people.
However, parties like the Shiv Sena, the BJD and the JD(U) have reportedly expressed their intent of joining the parliamentary body, though they staged a walkout when the JPC was announced in Parliament.
Explaining his party stance on the JPC, Mr. Yechury said normally a JPC was set up on an issue of policy. “But this is a straight-forward criminal investigation. So there is no scope or necessity for a JPC.”
“We wanted the CBI to probe under judicial supervision. But the judiciary seems to be unwilling to supervise this investigation,” he said. “Notwithstanding this, if the government still wants to have a JPC, we will not oppose it or boycott it since such a parliamentary committee is a representative body of the House,” the CPI(M) leader said.
