|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 22 August 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Indian mandate concerns four real issues
Sitharam Yechury, Rajya Sabha Member of Indian Parliament, Politbureau Member and Head of the International Department of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in an exclusive interview with Sunday Observer staffer P. MUTHIAH speaks about India's struggle in the World Trade Organisation,Indian economic and political situation, Sri Lankan peace process, Kashmir problem and Indo-Pakistan talks. Question: Your Party Central Committee last week reviewed the recent General Election that brought Congress Party to power. What is the conclusion of your Party on this election result? Answer: Our Party thinks that the Indian people have given a clear mandate, not necessarily to one party or another, on four real issues. The first is rejecting communalism. India is a plural society, and its diversity cannot be disturbed. The Constitution should guarantee this. And this guarantee should be upheld ant not be undermined. The second is the economic reform. So the focus on economic reforms must be peoples' welfare and not interests of the corporate sector alone. The third is political morality, countering corruption that was rampant in various sectors including defence and petroleum during the last few years. The fourth, the most important, is foreign policy of India. It should return to its original position, that of being with the developing countries, in resisting American domination in the world. This policy should not be an appendage of the United States. These are the clear mandates given by the people. Q:The Congress and the CPI(M) have different political agendas. What are the differences and how do you solve them? A:We do not oppose Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in general. But we say FDIs must be properly evaluated to see whether such investment meets the interests of the people. For example, the FDI in Telecom would have dire consequences to the security of the country. That is why many countries in the world did not hand over Telecom to foreigners. China has six large public companies in the Telecom sector but nothing in the private sector. Former government wanted to invite FDI in the Telecom sector and later it limited such investment for security reasons. Insurance is the other biggest sector that contributes to the country's planned economic development. If it was handed over to foreign companies or if they were allowed greater access, the contribution made by the Insurance sector to the country's economic development would be considerably reduced. Foreign investment should contribute to three important things: It should expand the country's economic capacity, upgrade India technologically and generate employment. The present government has clearly stated that profit making public sector concerns will not be privatized. As for the loss making concerns, the first priority is to try and revive those institutions. But if it was not successful, then the government would consider privatizing them. This is the change brought about by the new government. CPI(M) supports the Congress led government from outside. After the elections the Congress, the CPI (M) and other Left parties agreed to a Common Minimum Program. This should help speedy implementation of programs. This is a new factor. Therefore a Committee consisting of parties represented in the government and Left parties had been formed. This Committee discusses issues that need priorities. And differences are sorted out at this Committee. As the Chairperson of the Committee Ms. Sonia Gandhi plays a vital role and guides the political stratagem. Q: Unity of the Left parties play an important role in lending support to the Congress Party and in implementing Common Minim Program. How do you view Left unity at the present juncture? A: Merger of CPI and CPI(M) is not an immediate task. But both parties move towards greater Left unity and greater co-operation between them. There are two ways for these parties to unite. One is the leadership of the parties to meet and thrash out ideological issues and shake hands. This top level unity would not be very sustainable. The unity is needed at the grass-root level and possible only through joint actions. Left parties drew common election manifestos in Kerala and West Bengal and won many seats together Q:The recently held World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva had been a battle field between developed and developing countries. How do you assess this meeting? A:There had been pressure of the Western Countries on the developing countries. However, the Third World countries did not succumb to this pressure. India is committed to the fact that there cannot be a one-sided liberalization of world trade. So far the European Union and the United States continued to heavily subsidize their agricultural products, that we import. The result was that their products were cheaper and our Third World farmers could not survive as they are unable to sell their products for cheaper prices. The product of western countries are cheaper not because they are more efficient, but because of subsidy. Therefore, India and Third World countries demand Western countries to stop their subsidies But the struggle is going on. Q: India and Pakistan are moving closer in their approaches to solve longstanding problems. What are the prospect? A: The prospects are good. The new government wants to continue the talks initiated by the Vajpayee government. It has taken several constructive measures to continue that process. For the first time the talks on Siachen area has begun. There is a border dispute and the Kashmir issue. They should be solved through talks. But at the same time, we stress the need of strengthening the people-to-people contact and the expansion of trade and economic activities. This would create an atmosphere of better relations. We must also provide relief to the lakhs of people whose families were divided due to partition. Kashmir problem should be solved through discussions and there are agreements such as Simla and Lahore. Both sides should sit and talk on this matter, but they should not stop other areas of co-operation until then. There should be dual strategy, the double-track diplomacy. Both countries should have state-to-state, government-to-government and people-to-people contacts. On the other hand, talks between India and China have also commenced. This problem is also a colonial legacy. India's National Security Advisor J.N.Dixit and the Chinese Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo are the interlocutors. These talks would consolidate the successes achieved so far. Q: What is your party's stand on the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis? A:Tamils and other minorities should be given maximum autonomy within a united Sri Lanka. The framework of a united Sri Lanka should not be disturbed. It is a matter for Sri Lankan people and the government to work out details. As well-wishers of Sri Lanka and as good neighbours, we want the unity of the country and at the same time respect for all the rights of minorities. We wish the peace process a success. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
