Friday, August 26 2005 15:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Maintaining that there was no difference between the stands taken by it and the West Bengal Chief Minister on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the Communist Party of India (CPI) Marxist (M) yesterday (Aug 25, 2005) said if the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government was praising Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, it should also emulate and implement his policies across the country.

Responding to a question on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's interview to foreign journal McKinsey Quarterly, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters that if Bhattacharjee's stand had been appreciated, the Government "Should emulate him and implement his policies of land reforms, empowering the landless and poor peasantry and other such policies throughout the country".

Asserting that there was 'no difference' between the Chief Minister and the central CPI (M) leadership, Yechury reiterated the party's stand that FDI must satisfy three conditions of augmenting productive capacity, upgrading technology and expanding employment opportunities.

"All FDI in West Bengal adhere to these conditions. That is exactly what we want the UPA government to say as well. But they are not saying this", he said.

PM himself recently ordered a revival package for 15 PSUs

Referring to the Left parties stand that profit-making PSUs should not be divested and loss-making ones revived, he said the Prime Minister himself recently ordered a revival package for 15 PSUs.

"If such revival is not possible, divest them with an agreement involving workers, management and the Government. That is what we have been doing in West Bengal".

On the issue of subsidies, the CPI-M Politburo Bureau member said subsidising the rich through tax concessions were called incentives, whereas those for the poor are called wasteful expenditure. This mindset has to change.

To a question on the outcome budget tabled in Parliament yesterday, Yechury said the party would react after studying it, but described it as a 'good exercise, which will provide greater transparency'.

Regarding oil PSUs, he said while these were facing cash crunch due to international pressure of prices, the government was trying to pin the blame on subsidies.

Out of Rs 40 per litre of petrol in Delhi, Rs 23 went as taxes. The policy of "milching" the oil sector to cover budget deficits should change, he added.