After PM speech, Left puts Centre on notice

Even as Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Deb has gone on record that BHEL disinvestment has been put on hold, the Left is waiting for a formal intimation before taking the next step. There has been no formal decision by the Government over putting BHEL divestment on hold — there are only signs that the divestment has slowed down.

The Left feels it is not yet time to applaud even over the Nanavati panel. “Some progress has been made. But we have to see how they move on the specific recommendations,” CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said. “They have given us some assurances. We would like to see how they get implemented and how the investigations proceed,” Karat said.

He insisted that his party had not woken up late in naming Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar and demanding action against them the day after the Nanavati panel report and the ATR were tabled. Karat said the CPI(M) needed time to read the report before responding.

Even so, the Left parties are jubilant at having prodded the Government into action. After the Government accepted the Left’s demands on the Nanavati report issue, CPI’s D Raja said last evening that he had reason to be satisfied. But he said the Left was opposed to the BJP’s attempt to “draw political mileage”.