CPI-M mocks at PM’s initiatives to tackle corruption

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The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Monday mocked at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "transformational initiatives" to empower people and fight corruption, and blamed the policies of liberalisation for graft.

"The Prime Minister has said that with honesty and efficiency we all have to work for the development of the country and the transformational initiatives taken by the government will take some time to have their full effect. But the fact is that two governments under Manmohan Singh have gifted the people with corruption, price rise," said an editorial of the CPI-M mouthpiece Ganashakti.

The Prime Minister on Saturday said that his government took some "transformational initiatives" to empower people and fight corruption, and listed five key personal challenges to address as India entered the New Year. "In the beginning of the second term of the UPA government, a senior minister got involved in IPL (Indian Premier League of T20 cricket) scam. Later, on he was removed. Then the 2G scam came out in open, the centre tried to protect the telecom minister but later on he had to resign.

Home minister P. Chidambaram's name was also dragged into the 2G scam," said the editorial.

"These scams made the demand for a Lokpal Bill much stronger but the government couldn't show the will to pass the bill. Charges of corruption against Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi have already been proved with regard to the Commonwealth Games scam," said the Ganashakti editorial.

"How can a Prime Minister promise a honest government after so many scams? One of the root causes of corruption in the country is policies of liberalisation. Both liberalisation and honesty cannot exist side by side. The Congress is more engulfed in tackling the alliance partners as a result the government has turned into an inefficient, corrupt government," said the editorial.