Opposition blasts Govt. stand on WTO

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 6. A mass rally in the Capital today vowed to mount a coordinated challenge to the ``onslaught of the process of globalisation, marketisation and recolonisation being led by the WTO''.

Leading the charge was the former Prime Minister, Mr. V.P. Singh, who expressed apprehension over the Government's resolve to stand firm at the Doha meeting of the WTO stating that there was little evidence to back the noises the Vajpayee Government was making.

Though the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, had promised that India would not succumb to pressures, the Government did not even earmark unacceptable clauses or portions in the draft declaration before returning it, ahead of the November 9-13 Ministerial meeting.

Lending weight to the rally organised by the ``Indian People's Campaign against WTO'' were prominent leaders including the former Prime Minister, Mr. H.D. Deve Gowda, the Samajwadi Party president, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, the CPI(M) general secretary, Mr. Harkishan Singh Surjeet, and his CPI counterpart, Mr. A.B. Bardhan, the CPI-M politburo member, Mr. Sitaram Yechury, the CPI national secretary, Mr. Atul Kumar Anjan, Prof. Madhu Dandavate, Ms. Medha Patkar and Dr. Vandana Shiva among others.

Deploring the BJP-led NDA Government's policies of lifting the quantitative restrictions much ahead of schedule, the declaration adopted at the rally said the WTO-propelled integration of Indian agriculture and industry with the global market must be halted and rolled back.

The plight of the vast masses of poor working people on farms and factories, peasants and those working in small and cottage industries was miserable. If the problem was not addressed, it could result in a revolution.

They also opposed the proposed round on issues such as global investment regime, a global competition policy, the `so- called' social clause, environment and trade linkages, open and zero tariff trade in e-commerce and a multilateral discipline on government procurement. The insistence was on ``implementation first'' and focus on a substantial review of the previous commitments that have not been met.

Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav asked the Government to inform the people of the ``benefits'' of globalisation during the past decade. The new regime was pushing the country towards economic slavery, he said. Mr. Surjeet asserted that if the Government did not realise the problems and act, people had the right to ``pull its ears''.

Mr. Bardhan felt that the Government should pull out of the WTO if it did not take corrective steps. ``The WTO cannot ignore a country as large as India''.

Mr. Yechury said that no international agreements that could bind generations could be entered into by a Government without prior Parliament approval.

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