The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The
UPA government is out to mortgage the economy to foreign capital. The
raising of the FDI cap in certain sectors and allowing FDI through the
automatic route in some others are desperate measures being adopted by
the government faced with mounting economic difficulties.
The
CPI(M) is opposed to the 100 per cent FDI in the basic and cellular
services in the telecom sector. The decision to allow foreign capital
beyond 26 per cent in defence production is fraught with serious
implications. This will open the way for foreign control of the vital
defence production sector.
This bankrupt policy of the
government is motivated by the need to attract more foreign capital
flows to meet the widening current account deficit. But the supine
attitude of the government to foreign capital is only going to lead to
further flow of profits and resources out of the country. Already the
government has given up the claim on the capital gains tax which the
Vodafone has to pay. The government is proposing to dilute the norms for
investment in multi-brand retail which is going to adversely affect
domestic industry.
The proposal to increase FDI in the
insurance sector has to be adopted through a legislation in parliament.
The CPI(M) and other opposition parties should thwart this move in
parliament.
The Polit Bureau demands that the government not proceed with these FDI proposals.
