Come out of clutches of corporate houses: CPI to Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Asking the NDA government to rethink its policies introduced in the past one year, CPI today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come out of the "clutches" of corporate houses and stand with poor people.

In a letter written to Modi, CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy also asked the Prime Minister to "introspect" and decide whether he stood with the people of India.

"One year is certainly a review time. Rethink about your policies, come out from the clutches of corporates and stand with the poor and exploited people of our mother land.

"Introspect with heart and soul. Decide whether you are with the exploiting corporates or with the people of India," Reddy said in the letter.

Reacting to Modi's open letter to people on the occasion of completion of one year of BJP's rule, Reddy expressed concerns over the Prime Minister's foreign visits terming them of being "business than political." In a sarcastic remark, Reddy urged the Prime Minister to "change the balance" and tour India, instead of foreign countries.

The former parliamentarian also labeled as "unfounded" the Centre's claims that it is trying to improve the lot of the poorest on the principles of 'Antyodaya' and cited examples of Land Acquisition Ordinance and proposed labour reforms in this regard.

Reddy also raised issues of government's alleged failure in dealing with price-rise, corruption, farmers' suicides, atrocities on women and dalits and terror on minorities.

"The threat to abolish special status to north-eastern states is against federal principle on the pretext that the Finance Commission has recommended 42 per cent to states. But on the whole, it is less by 1 per cent than it was earlier to states' share (6 per cent to 5 per cent)," Reddy claimed.

He also said that some BJP-ruled states banning beef "is interfering with food habits of people".