Left says it's paranoia, not security concern

NEW DELHI: First came the Vizhinjam port case, now the scrapping of a telecom joint venture. The CPM just can’t digest the blacklisting of Chinese firms. The party, which has been arguing against blocking Chinese companies from projects in India, is dubbing the blacklisting of countries as “more of a paranoia than a security concern”.

The CPM has also hinted that this might be the result of possible American pressure on New Delhi, which has cited security concerns for barring Chinese companies in infrastructure sector. Envisaging a “new economic synergy” if India and China get together, the CPM said powerful vested interests would not like to see such a development and may perceive it as a threat.

“It can only be hoped that the current Indian concern is not the product of pressures from interested quarters. The country has recently seen the proclivity of the present government to bending under US pressures on the Iran nuclear issue,” an article in the forthcoming issue of People’s Democracy said.

The decision to scrap the joint venture bid floated by BSNL, and won by Chinese enterprise ZTE, comes amid the Left’s battle with the government over the refusal to a consortium of Chinese companies to build a port at Vizhinjam in Kerala.

Under the telecom JV, rejected at the last minute, ZTE was to bring in technology and revive the BSNL plant in Kolkata. The CPM, which had opposed raising the FDI cap in telecom sector citing security implications, said such concerns should be expressed sector wise and should not be country specific.

“It is ironic that such a decision should come in the declared year of friendship between India and China. Further, it comes barely a month before the official state visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao,” the party said.

Insisting that the government should ensure a level-playing field, the CPM said otherwise India’s policy of attracting FDI will lose credibility. The CPM has set three conditions for allowing FDI — augmenting India’s existing productive capacities, upgrading India technologically and enlarging employment opportunities.

“Omnibus banning of countries smacks more of a paranoia than concern for security interests,” the CPM said. The party said the government was reportedly finalising a new FDI policy that will include China in a list of countries considered sensitive for India’s national security.