‘Left parties only alternative to both NDA, UPA’

Left parties were the only alternative to both NDA and UPA for secular and stable government, CPI(M) leader Balakrishna Shetty said on Thursday.

He told mediapersons that despite claims of UPA government’s so called high growth, the lives of ordinary people had not changed.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is no alternative to the Congress.

BJP is a pro-business and right wing party which is based on the Hindutva ideology, he said.

Elaborating over the programmes assured by the CPI(M), Shetty said the CPI(M) would be reversing moves towards full capital account convertibility by introducing Tarapore Committee recommendations.

It will reimpose control on the outflow and inflow of finance capital, prohibit Participatory Notes used by the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and discourage speculative finance, he added.

Shetty said the party would immediately halt the process of issuing fresh licences
for banks in the private sector and will review the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act 2012.

It will revert takeover of Indian banks by foreign bank, take strict measures to ensure that big business houses are prevented from transferring the risks of their projects to banks and will also take action against defaulters.

He, further, said the party would withdraw the proposal to increase the FDI (foreign direct investment) cap in the insurance sector from 26 to 49%, no privatisation of pension funds and no diversion of pension and provident funds to stock market.

He also lamented on the merger of Vijay Bank with that of Bank of Baroda.

Shetty added that GST and demonetisation will have a disastrous impact on Indian economy.

The democracy is being undermined by the power of money in politics.

Rampant corruption at the highest levels of government and public life is corroding the vitals of the democratic system.

The communal forces headed by the BJP-RSS combine are making a bid for power which poses a threat to the secular democratic values of the Republic, he added.

The people should assert their rights and bring about a change in the policies. The problems of women, unemployment and tribal can be sorted out only by the left parties.