Swadeshi Manch Meet To Sharpen Opposition To Mncs

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and other affiliates of the Sangh parivar are scheduled to meet in Hyderabad from February 14 for a three-day brainstorming session on how to sharpen the manch's opposition to foreign multinational corporations.

The meeting will take place in the context of a general questioning of liberalisation from leading industrialists. The SJM takes that as a compliment to its swadeshi agenda, said SJM convenor Murlidhar Rao. The manch's leaders' are elated at the pospect of some United Front leaders supporting the Swadeshi plank, particularly Union minister CM Ibrahim's opposition to the Tata-Singapore airlines tie up.

In contrast, some SJM leaders are peeved at those BJP leaders who don't back their Swadeshi line. A BJP leader even lobbied for the Tata-SIA tie up, a SJM leader complained. Rao refused to comment on this but said the Manch would take help from all parties to oppose total liberalistion of the economy. He pointed to differences in the UF and said the Manch would use this to strengthen the Swadeshi movement.

Prominent RSS leaders like KC Sudarshan and Madan Das, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh's chief Dattopant Thengdi, BJP general secretary Govindacharya and others are to attend the conference.Rao said the SJM would launch a nationwide movement after the conference to mobilise people against MNCs' entry. The conference would begin by trying to identify the gains from the entry of MNCs. It would ask basic questions like whether there has been an increase in employment after liberalisation, whether MNCs had contributed to capital formation, technology transfer and preserving the environment.

From these questions, the conference would go on to debunk liberalisation and to try and hammer out short-term and long-term remedies, Rao said.