New Delhi: CPI(M) today alleged that there was a possibility of a “deal” between BJP and Trinamool Congress to get “anti-people” laws passed in Rajya Sabha as was reflected in the support given by the Finance Minister to West Bengal government's recent ‘Bengal Global' summit.
“BJP, that is increasingly finding it difficult to get its anti-people legislations, particularly regarding neo-liberal economic reforms, endorsed by Rajya Sabha, requires the acquiescence of TMC to make its life easier in the Upper House.
“May be, that such a deal is in the offing was reflected in the rather enthusiastic support offered by the Finance Minister to TMC at this ‘Bengal Global',” senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said in an editorial in the party organ ‘People's Democracy'.
Referring to the recently concluded global industrial summit in Kolkata, Yechury said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was present there to offer all cooperation of the Narendra Modi government for “these efforts” in Bengal.
“Many eyebrows were raised. The public posturing is one of antagonism between BJP and TMC. Such promised cooperation, though couched under the cloak of self-righteousness, smacks of a new political deal that is underway,” he said.
He said TMC, “whose leaders are increasingly being summoned by CBI for questioning in the humongous Saradha and other chit fund scams, with the needle of suspicion pointing towards the Chief Minister, desperately needs the protective umbrella of the central government.”
Referring to Modi's remark that “India has three things to its credit - democracy, demography and demand”, Yechury said that these three attributes continue to remain for the country and the people as “non-performing assets”.
“As long as this continues, the illusions created by the Modi campaign will continue to remain intangible and elusive. The gas balloons of high hopes have been released. But they are not raising high to float on the clouds realizing the promised ‘ache din aanewale hain'.
“As these balloons continue to stand still in the smog of this cold winter, the heavy air of uncertainty and insecurity of the future lurks our people. Stagnant balloons are bound to burst sooner than later. This will further worsen the livelihood health of our people,” Yechury said.
On the economy, he said that the government was “prisoner of international finance capital” as well as India Inc. which heavily funded in the election campaign. “...The government out of its own compulsions is aggressively pursuing neo-liberal economic reforms that permit higher and fast ways of maximising profits at the expense of further exploiting the Indian people and mercilessly looting Indian material and mineral resources,” he said.
Yechury said that the government, in order to continue to maintain its hype of improving the well-being of the Indian people - ‘ache din aanewale hain' - continues to spread longer the red carpet for foreign investors and domestic big capital to invest more in India.
“As the product of such increased investment cannot find either a global or a domestic market, this strategy is bound to fail,” he said.
