People's Democracy

As our December 8 issue was to be a special issue, it could not carry Subhas Ray’s column. Hence we are reporting here the parliamentary proceedings during two consecutive weeks together

 On December 5, one day before the 10th anniversary of Babri demolition, opposition members sat on a dharna in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the parliament complex. They raised slogans denouncing the demolition and demanding the arrest of deputy prime minister L. K. Advani, HRD minister M. M. Joshi and the coal and mines minister Uma Bharati. They also demanded action against the Sangh Parivar outfits.

 Demolition: An Act Of Terrorism

Members also took up the issue in both houses. In Lok Sabha, some members trooped into the well of the house and disrupted the proceedings. They tried to raise the issue as soon as the house assembled. Hannan Mollah (CPI-M), Ramjilal Suman (SP), Ramvilas Paswan (Lok Janshakti) and G M Banatwala (Muslim League) gave notices for adjournment motions on the issue. But the speaker rejected their notices and asked them to raise the issue during zero hour. The opposition termed December 6 as a black day in the country’s  history and the demolition as an act of trrorism, saying there could be no compromise with terrorism.

In Rajya Sabha, the CPI(M)’s Nilotpal Basu raised the issue as soon as the house assembled.

 IDBI BILL

In Lok Sabha, the opposition fought tooth and nail against the government’s move to privatise the IDBI through Industrial Development Bank (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Bill 2002. At the introductory stage of the bill, opposition members forced a division in order to stall the bill’s introduction.

Opposing the bill’s introduction, Basudeb Acharya, CPI)M), reminded that the IDBI was established for planned and balanced industrialisation and for removing the regional imbalances and backwardness. But the government intends to wind up the IDBI instead of toning it up, he charged. The IDBI’s role has been lauded by many, including the parliament. So, he asked, is there any valid reason to convert the IDBI into a commercial bank? Its corporatisation is just a step towards its privatisation, Acharya added.

HFCL & FCIL ISSUES

On the closure of Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Ltd. (HFCL) and Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited (FCIL), Acharya moved a call attention motion in Lok Sabha. He said the question of FCIL’s and HFCL’s  revival was raised in the last session but the minister’s reply indicated an intention to close these concerns. It was unprecedented that within three days of a decision of the group of ministers, the cabinet had hurriedly decided to close down seven units of the HFCL and FCIL. In the past, the opposition had given a number of suggestions for the revival of these units. But production in the Gorakhpur unit was stopped in 1990, in Barauni unit  in 1999, in Durgapur (Bengal), Talcher (Orissa) and Ramagundam (Andhra Pradesh) in 1997. Even though we have abundant coal reserves, we have phased out all our coal-based units. In West Bengal, growth in fertiliser consumption is higher than many other states. Yet there is a proposal to phase out the provision of freight subsidy for the state. Once this subsidy is phased out, farmers in Orissa, Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand will get fertilisers at higher prices as these will have to be brought from western India and Punjab. Thus the government is bent upon destroying our agriculture. Farcically, it is out to close down indigenous units but wants to set up a joint sector fertiliser unit in Oman!

Acharya also asked the minister to clarfy as to how the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers gave instructions that workers of Barauni, Sindri and Durgapur will have to vacate their quarters within a month while the verdict on the issue is yet to come. How inhuman this government is, is clear from the fact that under its instructions all the schools where the children of these workers are studying are being closed down, in the middle of the academic session. Hospitals too are being closed. The government has introduced a voluntary separation scheme, and those unwilling to take the VSS, will be dismissed. An order has been issued not to supply water to the workers’ quarters. They have asked the Durgapur Project Ltd not to supply power to the workers’ colony. The Bengal government had asked some NRIs from the US to build a methane-based unit and was to lay a pipeline for gas supply by April 2003. But the centre closed the unit. Acharya forcefully demanded withdrawal of the cabinet decision and the VSS.

During the discussion, Lakshman Seth, CPI(M), refuted the minister’s contention with facts and figures. He said there would be a gap in fertiliser supply to the extent of 55 lakh metric tonnes. He asked how this gap would be filled up. Certainly, we will depend on fertiliser imports. May be farmers will initially get fertilisers at a low cost. But with the ruination of indigenous units, importers will hike the prices at will, imposing a severe burden on farmers and seriously damaging our self-reliance. Seth also said the government has not announced any fertiliser        policy to date. The issue of naphtha, gas or coal is not yet finalised. It is not clear how private investors will come forward to invest  in the industry. So Seth demanded that no unit must be closed   down till a fertiliser policy is announced.

NON-PERFORMING ASSETS ISSUE

Rajya Sabha held a discussion on the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Bill 2002. During the discussion, the CPI(M)’s Dipankar Mukherjee said this issue involves Rs one lakh crore and has been confronting the country for many years. “I have got the evidence and names of the defaulters,” Mukherjee claimed. As for the minister’s claim that people have come for settlement in 10,000 cases, the member asked the minister to come out with the details of these cases to show how many of them are big defaulters.

Expressing apprehensions about the bill’s efficacy, Mukherjee said political will is required to implement it. As an example, he said Rs 100 crore have been diverted by Dunlop India that is now sick. Workers are starving; some have committed suicide. Banks want its assets to be seized. But, has the government done anything to see that the company is back on its feet?

So far as non-performing assets are concerned, he asked which category of debts the government was going to target first. As yet, there is no infrastructure for the Debt Recovery Tribunals. The number of benches in the BIFR has not increased in spite of increased industrial sickness. The BIFR has the mandatory power to close down an industry but no power to revive an industry. As for the takeover of a company’s assets by banks, Mukherjee asked who is going to take care of the workers’ dues. Hence he demanded the insertion of special clause in the bill in this regard.

 MOVE ABOUT UTI

Lok Sabha passed this week the Unit Trust of India (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Bill 2002. It seeks to provide for the transfer the UTI’s assets (excluding some specified assets) to a company to be formed under the Companies Act 1956. The bill aimed to repeal the UTI Act 1963.

Moving the disapproval motion against the bill, the CPI(M)’s Basudeb Acharya strongly criticised the government. He said the bill had come after the fourth ordinance promulgated by the government the inter-session period—a wrong practice sans any reason. He said the ordinance was uncalled for and not in the interest of our democracy.

Dealing with the UTI’s problems, Acharya said the former UTI chairman had invested a large part of its corpus in a wrong way and was later on arrested. A parliamentary probe is on. This could have been avoided if the Deepak Parekh committee’s recommendations had been implemented. We saw the US 64 going bankrupt in 2001. Now, to restructure theUTI, the government is splitting it into UTI I and UTI II. But with the repeal of the UTI Act 1963, the objectives of its formation would go haywire. While UTI I will manage the assured return schemes including US-64, UTI II will manage the market-linked schemes and will gradually be transformed into a private company. This shows the government’s real intention, Acharya said, adding that many questions regarding the division of UTI’s assets between the two units  remain unanswered. As for employees, Acharya also wanted to know about the service condition of the employees who will be transferred to the UTI II.

Opposing the bill, Rupchand Pal, CPI(M), reminded that the UTI’s original objective was to mobilise the people’s savings for our developmental process. Moreover, the UTI was a non-profit organisation, with social security as its main objective. It is such an organisation the government wants to privatise even though it did not contribute to its initial capital. The bankruptcy of US 64 meant a betrayal of the trust people had in the Unit ‘Trust’ but the government does not even have the addresses of the people who looted the public money. And now, with this bill, the government is out to destroy the hitherto best mutual fund of the country. The aim is to hand it over to private hands. But, Pal warned, privatisation is no panacea to the UTI’s ills; rather it will be a sin committed against the nation. For, the UTI has been a trendsetter in the capital market and, in its absence, foreign institutional investors will drive the market. The government owes an explanation to the nation about the rationale behind its move regarding the UTI, Pal said.

 DISINVESTMENT BLOOMERS

During the Rajya Sabha discussion on disinvestment of          public sector units, Dipankar Mukherjee of the CPI(M) said there is no consensus on privatisation of profit-making public sector undertakings. In fact, the whole parliamentary system is getting derailed because of the minister for disinvestment. He asked what the problem was in discussing the issues of strategic value       like oil.

Referring to a former chief economist with the World Bank who said that “Perhaps the most serious concern with privatisation is corruption,” Mukherjee said issues like corruption in evaluation and sale of assets were raised, but in vain. He charged that the government is trying to subvert the whole parliamentary system on the issue of disinvestment, and demanded that no profit-making core sector unit must be privatised. Quipping how the minister could carry others along with him when he cannot have a consensus among his own cabinet colleagues, Mukherjee said the whole disinvestment policy has to be reviewed. He concluded by warning that the government would not be allowed to sell the profit-making public sector units.

 OTHER ISSUES

During the short duration discussion in Rajya Sabha on some recent developments in Gujarat, the CPI(M)’s Nilotpal  Basu recalled what the home minister had said the other day, that India would never become a Hindu Rashtra. So in an election, Basu asked, can we allow anyboody to appeal to the voters on the basis of religion? He wanted to know what the government’s attitude towards the VHP is. Can the language it is speaking be allowed? Basu said the house was competent to discuss this issue, as the recent developments and the statements made in Gujarat pose a grave threat to the future of democracy and secularism, the fundamental parts of Indian constitution. He said the government must check the type of campaign the VHP has unleashed, in the interest of holding free and fair elections in Gujarat.

Lok Sabha had a long discussion on the problems facing the peasants. From the CPI(M) side, Hannan Mollah said though 75 per cent of our people depend on agriculture, the peasants are not getting remunerative prices. Their problems are aggravating due to non-receipt of minimum support price. The government has to ponder the matter and find a solution. Moreover, rich peasants garner most of whatever benefits are there. But the problems of 80 per cent middle, poor and marginal peasants are never addressed. They do not get fertilisers, seeds, etc, in time and have no marketing facility. This problem can be tackled if we get rid of the middlemen. Then there is the debt problem, forcing many to commit suicide. All this deprives the peasants of the benefits of new technology in the field of agriculture; the rate of investment in the field of agriculture is declining. The government has to ensure easy loan for the peasantry from financial institutions, ensure remunerative prices for their produce, and take steps to save the perishable goods. while the peasants are in need of fertilisers, the government is closing down one fertiliser company after another, particularly in West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It is also reducing the subsidies for agriculture; it is now only one billion dollars while the USA provides 180 billion dollars to its farmers. This curtailment drive must stop. Mollah also demanded re-imposition of restrictions on the import of agrarian products. The peasants will not keep quiet if the problems facing them are not properly addressed, Mollah warned.