People's Democracy

Nationwide Protest Against 

FDI Hike In Telecom

THE Left parties held a nationwide protest on February 7 specifically opposing the FDI hike in telecom and generally in defence of India’s economic sovereignty. This was part of using 'people's power' to pressurise the UPA government to rescind its anti-people policies.

Addressing the protestors in New Delhi, leaders of the Left parties said the government should roll back its decision of FDI hike in telecom as it was detrimental to the country's security. “The nation’s security is paramount and could not be put at stake at any cost.” Merger of banks and disinvestment of profit-making public sector units are other areas where the government should do a rethink, they demanded.

CPI(M) MP Dipankar Mukherjee said the Left parliamentarians would use the power of the people to force the government to change its policies which were harming national interests. Criticising the government for trying to move away from the Common Minimum Programme, he said the various measures on patent regime could lead to a sharp rise in prices of medicines and also loosen the 'control' of farmers on seeds. “These measures are anti-people to the core and will be protested by all possible means”, he warned.

Mukherjee lambasted the decision taken by the union cabinet hiking the FDI ceiling in telecom saying that it had not taken into account the serious points raised by the Left parties in their note submitted to the government on this issue. The main points raised by the Left in the note on the FDI hike in the telecom sector included security concerns; the huge capital resources already available with the existing telecom companies, which does not make more FDI a necessity in this sector; and prioritising rural telephony in the backdrop of the increasing teledensity gap between urban and rural areas, which requires more public investment by companies like the BSNL and not more FDI, since operations of foreign telecom operators remain concentrated in urban areas. While the government could not come out with any satisfactory response to the points raised by the Left parties, it has chosen to go ahead with the decision by ignoring the concerns of the Left. This is not acceptable, said Mukherjee.

National secretary of CPI, D Raja in his speech warned the UPA government of resistance, both within and outside the parliament, if this decision was not withdrawn. The Left, he said, would not compromise on steps that adversely affect the national interest. He asserted that the present decision of the government would severely impair national security.

Prabir Purkayastha, president of the Delhi Science Forum and an expert on the telecom sector, drew attention to the fact that cellular operators Hutch and Airtel already had foreign holding over and above the stipulated total limit of 49 per cent. He said the move by the government is directed more at legalising the illegality that already prevails and has no connection with further investments in the telecom sector. He accused the finance minister P Chidambaram of unduly favouring the foreign telecom companies. His actions become suspect since Chidambarm had earlier represented the foreign cellular companies in the Supreme Court as their lawyer. Citing the recent fine that was imposed by the TRAI on the Reliance Infocomm for violation of its license agreement, Purkayastha said that telecom has become the most scam-ridden sector of the country.

Other Left leaders Amarjeet Kaur of CPI and Devarajan of Forward Bloc also spoke on the occasion. The CPI(M)’s Delhi state secretary PMS Grewal presided over the protest meeting.

Earlier the Left parties, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India and Forward Bloc met on February 3, 2005, at New Delhi and took the decision to organise an all India protest action on February 7 against the government’s decision to enhance the limit of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in telecom sector from 49 to 74 per cent. The meeting was attended by Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), A B Bardhan, D Raja and Pallab Sengupta (CPI) and G Devarajan (Forward Bloc). The RSP was unable to attend but in consultation over telephone agreed with the decisions.

In a statement issued after the meeting the Left parties noted that they have and are continuing to engage the government on various policy matters, which they consider to be detrimental to India’s economic sovereignty, like amendment to Patents Act, allowing foreign banks to purchase shares of private Indian banks upto 74 per cent, other banking reform proposals, disinvestment of profit-making public sector undertakings etc.

These are matters, which the Left parties strongly feel, need to be thoroughly discussed before any decision is taken with the prime objective of defending India’s economic sovereignty.

They stated that February 7 will be observed all over the country and that the Left Parties will continue to mobilise the Indian people on these issues through various forms of popular action.

“A new Electricity Bill has been announced on the basis of the Electricity Act, 2003 which the CMP has promised to review. The Left Parties continue to press for the review of the Act. Till such a review is completed, no new policy measures should be undertaken.

The Left Parties treat with disdain the thoroughly mischievous reports emanating in sections of the media that the hike in the Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) interest rate is linked to the decision on the hike in FDI in telecom as a quid pro quo deal. EPF interest rate decision has been long overdue. Hence, any attempt to link these two issues is completely unethical.” (INN)