People's Democracy

  CPI(M) Is Opposed To Disinvestment In Principle: Yechury

 B Prasant

THE CPI(M) stood opposed to the process of privatisation and disinvestment on principle: how much was disinvested was not the basic concern.  This was said by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Sitaram Yechury at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan in Kolkata during a media conference in the evening of 2 July.  Yechury is in Kolkata to file nomination for Rajya Sabha election.

Yechury pointed out that the CPI(M) and the Left parties drew the attention of the UPA government twice, first on June 19 and then again on June 26 on the point of their opposition to privatisation.  In this connection, the CPI(M) leader pointed out that the Left’s opposition was against the principle of disinvestment and not around the percentage of shares being divested. 

The Left, said the CPI(M) leader, had noted how the CMP was being violated and how there was no scope at all of bargaining over the disinvestment of BHEL or for that matter of such PSUs like the navaratna, in particular.  Erosion of equity in the PSUs, said Yechury, was never in the interest of the nation. The fall out saw the Left deciding to suspend participation in the coordination committee.

Yechury said that in participating in the parliamentary struggle, regarded by the CPI(M) as a political forum, the aim was to influence the political scenario in the manner in which the CPI(M) would like it to develop.  He believed that Rajya Sabha nomination would increase his responsibility in carrying out the political assignments. 

Answering various questions on Bengal, Sitaram Yechury said that his aim would be to make contributions that would make Bengal an even better state than it was, and he pointed out that the under the Left Front government, Bengal was successfully undergoing development as per a carefully thought out plan and programme.

On the Darjeeling question, Yechury iterated the CPI(M)’s position on the inclusion of the district in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.  He also pointed to, while answering a question on the states reorganisation commission’s views, the CPI(M)’s opposition to the formation of a separate state of Darjeeling, just it was opposed to the creation of Telangana state on a linguistic basis.  The CPI(M) had opposed the formation of small states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttaranchal.

On the Imrana issue, Yechury noted that the CPI(M) championed the rights of women.  On the issue of common civil code, he said that an atmosphere and ambience must be created for the common civil code to be put in place across the country.  The CPI(M) leader commented to say, answering another question, that anti-Indian activities should not be allowed to flourish on the border.