Pointing out that the neo-liberal policies as pursued by the Congress-led UPA 2 government is the root cause of the ongoing financial crisis plaguing the country, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat on Tuesday said that what was needed was a complete reversal of it.
“Contrary to the government’s approach, what is required is the strengthening of financial sector regulations. All attempts to privatise banking and insurance and to enhance the presence of foreign finance capital in these spheres need to be resisted,” Mr Karat said, adding that it is a paradox that the government of India is doing just the opposite. Mr Karat was speaking in a seminar organised on the occasion of the party politburo meet in Kolkata.
Putting the blame on the UPA government, the CPI(M) party boss said: “Besides pushing ahead with the move to enhance the cap on FDI in insurance sector to 49 per cent, the government is keen on amending banking laws to remove the 10 per cent cap on voting rights. This will only enable foreign banks to take over Indian banks more easily.”
He also claimed that the global economic meltdown, which has been plaguing the US and the Europe, had a little impact on the Indian economy only because of resistance by the Left in the UPA 1 regime.
Mr Karat said, “We had prevented the then government led by Dr Manmohan Singh from letting the foreign banks buy the Indian banks and had also protested against the entry of FDI in insurance, pension and banking sectors. Had we not opposed this move of the government, the Indian economy would have collapsed totally.