Left to pin govt on rising price

NEW DELHI: With prices of essential commodities spiralling and agrarian crisis looming large over parts rural India, the Left will seek decisive interventions from the government at Thursday’s meeting of the UPA-Left coordination committee.

The agrarian crisis, Left leaders feel, has not been addressed adequately by the government as in Vidarbha alone, there have been over 450 suicides by farmers since June last year. The Left parties, which submitted a note on the two-year performance of the UPA government to the prime minister, have been charging the government with weakening the public distribution system and ignoring the needs of the rural sector.

“Lots of words and little concrete action” is how the Left has summed up Mr Manmohan Singh’s two years in office. The Left, which is angered over the attempts of the Centre to outmanoeuvre them in the fuel price hike issue, will seek immediate rationalisation of central taxes.

They feel that the hike at this juncture will push the prices of commodities higher and hurt the interests of the aam admi. In any case, there has been an increase of 15 to 20% in the price of essential commodities since the UPA took charge at the Centre.

The Left, which is wary that the Manmohan Singh government’s inability to tackle the price rise issue will put the allies in a disadvantageous position, has been demanding a review of the food management policy. Prime minister’s advisors like MS Swaminathan are critical about the government’s handling of the food economy.

He had recently blamed the government’s procurement policy for the crisis. The Left is, however, pleased with the National Rural Employment scheme as it is being implemented efficiently by many state governments. Sensing political dividend from the scheme, states have been prompt in implementing it.

designing various programmes. Barring a few Congress-run states, big states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Jharkhand — which have BJP governments at their helm — have taken the lead in realising the scheme’s full worth.

Even Bihar, which has been considered as a laggard as far as the implementation of centrally-funded schemes are considered, is not doing too badly.

While Madhya Pradesh has so far provided jobs to 12.06 lakh people against the total employment demand of 16.66 lakh, Rajasthan had provided employment to 7.27 lakh persons against the total demand of 7.52 lakh. “The Congress should have reasons to feel worried as the scheme is not implemented properly in states run by the party,” said a Left leader.

At the coordination panel meeting, not much action is expected as ministers manning economic ministries are not in the capital. The Left parties, however, are planning to seek the progress on peace intiatives for tacking domestic security problems.