|
PM’s call for drastic power reforms irritates the Left |
 |
The Left parties have expressed surprise at the Prime Minister’s statement calling for drastic power reforms and unbundling of state electricity boards. Dr. Manmohan Singh had told a Conference of Power Secretaries in Shimla on May 29 that power sector reforms need to be tackled urgently if it is to become the engine of economic growth. The Prime Minister said that the growth of the rest of the economy is depended on availability of quality power at the right price. Electricity boards’ losses of over Rs. 21,000 crore are a matter of concern.
The Left parties reacting to the Prime Minister’s statement said that they are against any withdrawal of power subsidy to farmers. They called for a “selective approach” to the matter which if improperly handled, they said, would severely harm the interest of the poor and marginalised farmers in the country. The Left Front leaders wondered at the possible reason for him to make such a statement when the Government had already put in abeyance the implementation of the Electricity Act 2003, for the next six months and was engaged in reviewing the various provisions of the Act.
CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat said the Government should rather rationalize the power-billing structure, making a clear distinction between rich and poor farmers and levy charges accordingly.
The Left parties have opposed any increase in petrol and diesel prices. At their meetings with the Prime Minister, the Left parties made a number of suggestions to avoid increase in the prices of petroleum products. Veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu has said that the Left parties would launch a nation wide agitation if the Government increases petrol and diesel prices.
The CPI(M) is furious with Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for his reported role in the disclosure that the party had assets worth Rs. 4,000 crores. The Economic Times had recently published details of the Marxists huge assets in Kerala, apparently after being prompted to do so by Chidambaram who had worked as the newspaper’s guest editor for a day.
The Marxist leaders believe that this has something to do with their opposition to many of the Finance Minister’s key policies. The CPI(M) owns huge assets in Kerala, runs a major TV channel and is in the process of constructing an amusement park. Despite this, the disclosure was a major embarrassment to CPI(M) which terms itself a people’s party, different from other “bourgeois” outfits.
|
