Body behind UNPA seminar has some unlikely patrons

Open Forum, the NGO which jointly organised Saturday8217;s seminar on inflation with the United National Progressive Alliance UNPA, describes itself as a 8220;development organisation8221;. As per its credentials, 8220;Open Forum works towards use of Information, Communication and Technology ICT for promoting sustainable development and human rights, in India and in all the five south Asian countries.8221;

Its main patron is Samajwadi Party secretary Amar Singh. But, interestingly, the forum has certain names not quite in tune with the political line of the Left and the UNPA. Among them are Indian National Trade Union Congress INTUC national organising secretary Rakeshwar Pandey and Anupam Kher, who was criticised by former CPIM general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet for his alleged RSS links. Other patrons include former CBI director D R Kaarthikeyan, former UN under-secretary general Shashi Tharoor and Prof Subbiah Arunachalam, Distinguished Fellow at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai.

Motivation guru Shiv Khera, who had described the Other Backward Classes education quota as 8220;atrocious and anti-national8221; and fought it in the Supreme Court, was also present at Saturday8217;s seminar. Other speakers included former RBI governor and Rajya Sabha MP Bimal Jalan, Forward Bloc secretary G Devarajan, RSP8217;s Abani Roy, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference8217;s Farooq Abdullah and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.