The Hindu : Left parties identify issues for monsoon session

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Monday, Jul 21, 2003

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Left parties identify issues for monsoon session

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 20. Developments on the Ayodhya temple issue, the CBI's move in the Babri Masjid demolition case, the spate of rail accidents, disinvestment policy, confusion over the Conditional Access System and problems of the Indian economy are among the major issues the Left parties would focus on during the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning here tomorrow.

At a coordination meeting of the four Left Parties — the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party— here today, the leaders expressed satisfaction that the Government had decided not to send troops to Iraq. Yet, they stressed on the need to be vigilant and disallow the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq to gain legitimacy through the United Nations.

On the political front, the Left parties said the manner in which the Government was trying to lend legitimacy to the VHP/RSS on Ayodhya was "threatening to vitiate the atmosphere" in the whole country. Referring to the "Government-sponsored effort" of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, the parties said it seemed that the Government was only "interested in reaping electoral harvest" over this contentious issue which they had promised to keep on the back burner before the elections, a CPI(M) parliamentary office release said.

On the economic front, the parties charged the Government with apathy towards the problems affecting the people. The situation was particularly distressful for the peasants who were under debt and did not receive a fair price for their produce. Pointing out the contradictions, the release said that while foodgrains production was coming down and granaries were overflowing, vulnerable sections continued to starve. The WTO process was threatening to add to the misery of the Indian farmers. With this end in view, it was necessary to take up the Government's negotiating position at the upcoming Ministerial meeting of the WTO at Cancun, Mexico, they said.

Those who attended the meeting included Nilotpal Basu, Rupchand Pal and N.N. Krishnadas (CPI-M), V.V. Raghavan (CPI), Bir Singh Mahato (Forward Bloc) and Abani Roy (RSP).

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