Left sneers, Right jeers PM's reform remarks

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attempts to repackage his persona — from a spear carrier of economic reform to a benefactor of rural India — appear to be a tough task. His friends in the Left and rivals in the Right want his governance track record to substantiate his words.

While the Left politely told Mr Singh he should walk the talk on his promises for rural India, the BJP said that Mr Singh’s “sound good” utterances have lost credibility.

Mr Singh’s tormentors in the Left was just not impressed with Mr Singh’s claim that his government would give a new deal to rural India. “There is nothing as yet to substantiate this promise. The government led by Mr Singh is yet to act on various promises made in the NCMP.

If the government had acted on the legislation for the unorganised labour and taken measures to tackle the agrarian crisis, his words would have carried greater credibility,” CPM polit bureau member M K Pandhe said. He also drew attention to the efforts to bring more FDI in the retail sector.

“If the prime minister thinks that FDI in retail is not a good idea, why is the government not abandoning foreign investment proposal,” asked Left leaders. “There is a disconnect between prime ministerial assertions and government’s action,” CPI’s D Raja said.

But there were some positive remarks from the Left leaders in Kolkata. “We appreciate the PM’s point of view and the fact that he has spoken out on these issues at length. Incidentally, these are some of the issues that we have always championed,” said West Bengal industries minister Nirupam Sen.

“In West Bengal, we are taking steps to ensure the compensation given to farmers is good. For marginal farmers and those who exclusively depend on land for their livelihood, we have decided to provide an alternative means of livelihood,” he said.

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said the prime minister said his latest assertions contained familiar soundbites. “The management of the economy is inversely proportionate to the experience of an economist as the head of government. He’s willing to proclaim on economic issues, but unwilling to act, ostensibly because of contradictions within the alliance,” Mr Jaitley said.

Political parties also said that the suicide toll is climbing in Vidarbha even after the prime minister’s visit. Reports from Akola said that two debt-ridden farmers and daughter of another farmer committed suicide in Akola, Amravati and Buldana districts in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

The incidents came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a special package of Rs 3,750 crore to “bail out” debt-ridden farmers of Vidarbha region.

On labour reforms, the Left once again made it clear that they will not allow the Manmohan Singh government to rewrite the laws. “The prime minister has of late been talking about Gandhiji’s vision.”