Saturday, July 9 2005 12:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Not content with only pointing out alleged violations of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, CPI (Communist Party of India) says the document has a limited perspective and wider changes should be sought to initiate land reforms besides taxing the corporate sector more heavily.

"The Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government has a limited perspective. We are looking for wider changes in economic areas to ensure benefit to the people. While asking for implementation of the CMP, we would like the government to go beyond it to serve the interests of the people," CPI leader and MP Gurudas Dasgupta said in an interview.

Asked to elaborate, he said Left parties wanted the government to impose agriculture income tax to bring into the tax net those who had the capacity to pay.

"We want improvement in tax-GDP ratio, more tax on the corporate sector, agricultural tax, more tax on service sectors and initiating of land reforms.

"The tax-GDP gap has to be bridged. India is one of the least taxed countries. The government has no political will to put fingers on the rich. This gap the government would like to fill by inviting FDI and by rolling out concessions. This is a wrong policy and is not going to pay any dividends," the veteran parliamentarian said.

Criticising the UPA government's economic policies and the move to dilute stake in BHEL, Dasgupta said "With regard to disinvestment policies, this government is pursuing it in a transparent way and not in the way Centaur Hotel was divested by National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

"But they are following the same reckless policies of the previous BJP-led government. Disinvestment of profit-making PSUs will impair its character and was inimical to the national interest."

Dasgupta, the All India General Secretary of AITUC, the CPI's labour arm, said "We are planning an all-India strike against the Centre's anti-people economic policies and it is likely in September."

Dasgupta, also a CPI national executive and national council member, criticised the government for not announcing a timeframe for the coverage of the entire country under the Employment Guarantee bill.

"We are not happy that nothing tangible has been done particularly on the question of unemployment. Even the bill providing hundred days employment in a year for one member of each family appears to have been diluted and no timeframe has been announced for the coverage of the entire country."

Asked how long the Left parties would give for the emergence of a third alternative and whether it was possible before the next Lok Sabha election in 2009, the CPI leader replied "A third alternative is not an immediate priority."

Asked how long the Left would support the central government, Dasgupta said "This is a question we are not going answer immediately. At the moment we are continuing to support the government to honour the electoral verdict. This experiment will continue for a period I am not specifying."