Date:09/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/09/stories/2009010951110500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Government should take over Satyam, says Raja

Special Correspondent

“All IT firms should be brought under government control”
“Probe the role of auditors and SEBI”

CHENNAI: The government should take over Satyam Computers in the interest of the investors and 53,000 employees, CPI national secretary D. Raja said on Thursday.

“Take-over will be the better option, as the company has also taken loan from public sector banks,” he told reporters. All the IT companies should be brought under the control of the government.

Pointing out that PricewaterhouseCoopers, auditors for the Global Trust Bank (GTB), were employed by Satyam Computers, Mr. Raja demanded an investigation into the role of the auditors and the SEBI. “Take action against all the directors of the company,” he said.

Mr. Raja attributed the development to the economic policies of the Congress-led UPA government, which had relied on the private sector and weakened the public sector.

As for the Sri Lankan issue, he accused the Indian government of betraying the interests of the Tamils. “The Prime Minister had said he would send External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Sri Lanka for talks. Is he going to send him only after the war is over,” he asked.

Mr. Raja also urged the Indian government to renegotiate the Katchatheevu agreement, arguing that it was denying Indian fishermen their right to fishing around the island.