Cpi(M) Demands White Paper On Patnaiks Foreign Trips

The CPI(M)s Orissa unit has demanded a white paper from the state government on frequent foreign trips of Chief Minister JB Patnaik-led delegation to various countries to attract foreign investment.

The party state secretariat yesterday said that while the state was reeling under floods, the chief minister was making trips to foreign countries. It said the government should release a paper comprising details about the foreign investment attracted so far by the visits to Israel, South East Asia and the United States.

The indifferent attitude of the state government towards flood and drought situation in the state has come for a flak from the Left parties recently. Even the Janata Dal is likely to use this issue to intensify its anti-Congress tirade.

Janata Dal state president Ahok Das recently asked the central leadership to define its stance vis-a-vis the Congress and took strong exception to Prime Minister IK Gujrals reported view that the Janata Dal should be soft towrards the Congress.

When the delegation had returned with nothing except a few MOUs from its earlier visits with little evidence of any concrete investment proposal, what was the need for yet another foreign jaunt asked the party in press release at Bhuvaneshwar yesterday. The party also opposed the governments proposal at a meeting of newly-elected chairmen and vice-chairmen for raising holding tax in the municipal councils and said such a move was anti-people.

The party plans to launch an agitation if the holding tax was raised, despite the chief ministers assertion that he would firmly deal with such agitation.