Interview of Com. Prakash Karat

http://www.pragoti.org/node/1624

Q) Why have the Left parties withdrawn support to the government at this juncture?

Four years ago the Left parties decided to extend support to the UPA government to keep the communal forces at bay. But now the prime minister and the Congress leadership have decided to go ahead with the India-US nuclear deal. By this they have gone back on their word given in November 2007 that they will go to IAEA for negotiations, come back and place it before the Left parties and if the Left opposes, the government will not proceed.

The first reason for the withdrawal of support is Manmohan Singh government going for a strategic alliance with US, in which nuclear deal is the key. Such an alliance will have serious repercussions for our independent foreign policy and entangle India in a military alliance of US. Our economic policies will also be geared to what America dictates.

Bush has proved to be the most aggresive imperialist president America has seen. What is India's interest in aligning with such a government? Bush is now threatening to attack Iran. Can India go along with this? Under US pressure we are maintaining close military ties with Israel. The Left cannot be party to such policies.


The second reason why we are withdrawing support is because of the UPA government's utter failure to check price rise and inflation. For the past one year we have seen how the prices of all foodstuffs –– rice, wheat, edible oil etc –– are shooting up, making the life of ordinary people unbearable. This government which is wedded to neo-liberal policies refuses to take steps necessary to check price rise. They do not want to expand public distribution system. They still want to maintain the bogus distinction between Above Poverty Line (APL) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards. All the proposals of the Left to curb the price rise have been rejected. Why can't they stop future trading in essential commodities? Why are they refusinig to impose windfall profit tax on private oil refineries such as Reliance?

When the Left parties met the prime minister, he told us “Political parties should not politicise the misery of people”. What are political parties expected to do except to take up people's issues. This is the outlook which pervades the government.

It is the neo-liberal policies being pursued by the Manmohan Singh government which has resulted in its failure to tackle the agrarian crisis and distress of farmers.

The Left parties had expected the UPA government to make a break from the BJP-led NDA government's right-wing economic policies. That is why pro-people measures were suggested in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP). But you cannot expect those who look up to Washington, the World Bank and the IMF to put in place pro-people policies.

(Q) Is not the Left isolated on the nuclear deal?

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From July 2005 when the first announcement of India-US nuclear deal was made during prime minister's visit to Washington, the CPI(M) and the Left parties have been opposing the strategic alliance with US and the nuclear deal. It is the consistent opposition of the strategic alliance and deal by the Left that has brought out the dangers of these moves into mainstream discussion. It is not we but the government which is isolated on this issue. The discussion in parliament in November-December 2007, in both the Houses, showed that the government is in minority on this issue.

We have already asked the Congress party to go to people in the next election on this issue. We are confident the people will reject their stance.

Oil price n Politics.

Fill it, shut it and forget it. Set aside worries of an impending hike in auto fuel prices and of costlier cooking gas.

While global oil prices climbed record high this week pushing the benchmark Indian basket to the year's high of $76.13 a barrel, the troubled UPA coalition at the Centre abandoned thoughts of raising fuel prices and withdrawing the subsidy on cooking gas for the non-poor.

The Indian basket comprises Oman-Dubai sour grade and Brent dated sweet crude in a 60:40 ratio.

It is the government-owned oil companies that will bear the brunt of Rs 5.75 a litre loss on sale of diesel, Rs 3.35 on petrol and Rs 15.47 on kerosene and Rs 174.75 on every cylinder of LPG.

The petroleum ministry had earlier this month, through a status report meant for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, drawn the government's attention to domestic oil marketing companies losing heavily because of the growing mismatch between global and domestic fuel prices. However, petroleum minister Murli Deora has ruled out any hike in domestic fuel prices.

A senior government functionary said the government is struggling with the difficult task of political management over the Indo-US nuclear deal and the Ram Setu row.

"It has little political capital to expend on taking the hard and potentially unpopular decisions of increasing fuel prices."

More than the price hike, it is the lack of political will to issue oil bonds to the companies for compensating losses is what is disturbing their investment plans.

"Normally, the administrative ministry pushes the case of petroleum companies for a hike when it sees they are going in red but the response of petroleum ministry is timid though it is well known now that oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum may close the second quarter with losses," said a senior official.

Government sources said the petroleum ministry has been told that hike in consumer prices of petroleum products is not a viable option in the current political situation facing the government but at the same time no alternative mechanism has been worked out.

Parliament's monsoon session ended without the government getting approval for oil bonds to compensate for around Rs 50,400 crore annualised losses.

"Fuel price hike is a difficult political task at most times. It is more so now," said a minister engaged with the current trouble-shooting efforts with the government's Left allies on the nuclear issue.

Decisions such as hiking the prices of petrol and diesel and cutting subsidies on cooking gas would require consultations with not only the Left parties, which are bound to see red, but also within the UPA coalition. UPA constituents including RJD and DMK are not in favour of any increase in fuel prices now.

"With inflation staying below 4% for the latest four weeks, there was perhaps a window of opportunity to pass on to the consumer a little bit of the burden of the global oil price increase," said a finance ministry official, "but clearly the government is politically not in a position to bite the bullet. It has no appetite for opening another front (of confrontation within the ruling coalition)," he said.

Opposing any increase in petroleum prices, the CPI(M) refuted reports that it had been kept informed by the government on the matter and announced plans to coordinate with the Left and other parties to launch a nationwide agitation in case of a hike.

"We are totally opposed to any rise in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas...We don't want to negotiate on this matter. If they (government) want to discuss cuts in duties (on oil products), we are ready to discuss," party general secretary Prakash Karat said here.

About reports of petroleum minister Murli Deora saying the Left parties had been kept in the loop on the proposal to hike prices, he said, "He has not spoken to any one of us."

Demanding cuts in the customs and excise duties on oil products by the Centre, he said state governments should also carry out similar cuts. "On our part, we have asked the (Left-ruled) governments in Kerala and West Bengal to see what can be done."
Karat said the government should first cut duties on crude and petroleum products.