Left slams telecom FDI

The Left parties will have to do a strategy rethink on their plan to launch an agitation on FDI hike in the telecom sector after the Centre ...

The Left parties will have to do a strategy rethink on their plan to launch an agitation on FDI hike in the telecom sector after the Centre met one of its key demands and raised the Employees Provident Fund rate to 9.5 per cent this evening.

Earlier in the day, the Left was quite critical of the Finance Minister’s decision to allow 74 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in telecom and there were strong indications that they had no option but to agitate throughout the country in some form or the other.

Soon after P.Chidambaram made the announcements at a press conference, Left leaders were guarded in their response and said they would ‘‘oppose’’ the move strongly.

Story continues below this ad

FDI hike in telecom has been a key area of difference between the UPA and the Left leadership for the past eight months. The Left has been saying it wasn’t necessary and not even a priority area at the moment. It would have been a major yielding ground for the Left if the Government had not made some concession. That is why the increase in EPF rate does counterbalance the FDI move to a limited extent.

The hike would have been a major political slap for the Left, specially with most of its constituents preparing for their respective party congresses, due in two months. Any decision by the Left parties to desist from a strong protest could be interpreted in the lower rungs as a sign of weakness or ideological vacillation.

‘‘We are opposed to the very idea of 74 per cent FDI. You can’t solve problems by injecting FDI alone. It is wrong to say that China is overcoming all its economic shortfalls by allowing the flow of FDI,’’ said CPI general secretary, A.B.Bardhan. CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury said: ‘‘We shall talk about it tomorrow with the Left partners. It is unfortunate that the Government has taken the FDI decision unilaterally…We had sent a detailed note and its reply was pending.’’

Trump announces TikTok deal, surprise China visit ‘early next year’ after call with Xi

World13 hr ago

Trump and Xi had a successful phone call, addressing trade, Fentanyl, and TikTok. They plan to meet at APEC Summit and for Trump to visit China, with Xi visiting the US. Congress wants TikTok to sell its US assets or shut down, but Trump has not enforced this due to the app's value and progress.

View all shorts

Live Blog