Cpm Sees Red As Sharma Hints At Opening Up Of Insurance Sector

The opening up of the insurance sector to foreign investment found a mention in President S D Sharmas address to both Houses of Parliament yesterday, immediately raising the hackles of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which declared that it would oppose the move during the ongoing budget session.

We are taking steps to attract long-term pension and insurance funds from abroad, Sharma stated in his address.

After the address, the CPI(M) said that it found several references in the Presidential speech to be objectionable and decided to seek clarifications from the government. However, the party made it clear that their reservations would not be carried as far as to pull out of the United Front (UF).

 

This was also evident during the meeting of Front MPs in the evening, when CPI (M) Parliamentary Party leader Somnath Chatterjee said that he was aware that his party cannot always have its say and way within the UF.

Party politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai said that the message conveyed from the address was that the government had not only followed the economic policies of the previous Congress government, but in many respects had gone far beyond.

Pillai said that his party would not only vote against the Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill, but also mobilise support against it in Parliament. The party has also raised objections about some of the provisions in the bill on broadcasting.

A meeting of the CPI(M) Parliamentary Party decided that the party would go to any extent, short of bringing down the government. The meeting decided that the party would try and dissociate itself from some of the economic policies of the government during the session, party MP Biplab Dasgupta said.

The meeting was attended by party general secretary H S Surjeet, who briefed members about the decisions taken at the recent central committee meeting and the partys strategy in Parliament.

The party has been critical of the governments economic issues like the proposed opening up of the insurance sector and mines, the liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal, disinvestment in public sector undertakings and increase in the prices of essential commodities.

The meeting also decided to put pressure on the government for the introduction and passage of some of the pending bills, mainly the Lokpal bill, a bill on electoral reforms, agricultural workers bill and womens reservation bill.