Nepal and us

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There is more on Singur and Nandigram in the latest issue of People8217;s Democracy with party central committee member Nilotpal Basu explaining where the Left Front stands on industrialisation. In a candid article he admits that the West Bengal government 8220;would have been happier8221; had the Tatas not chosen Singur to set up their car plant, and in fact had shown them four alternative sites. 8220;But the Tatas chose this site on considerations of better access to Kolkata and the associated infrastructure. This is something which the state government cannot pursue beyond a point,8221; Basu writes and also brings up the issue of tax sops in competing states, like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Despite the agitation in Singur and Nandigram, the CPM leader believes that the state government had actually done well in keeping the Tatas interested in Singur, pointing out how in a market-driven economy investors had several options. Basu also tries to distance the CPM from other Left parties who had objected to the manner in which land was being handed over to industry. For instance, he mentions that the current disturbances are meant to undermine the principled struggle of the Left, 8220;particularly the CPIM8221;, in opposing the economic policies of the Centre. He points out that what is happening is part of the overall Left Front manifesto on land for industry to which other Left parties had agreed. However, there is no mention in the article of Laxman Seth, party MP and head of the Haldia Development Authority who had issued a notification on the Nandigram SEZ.

Plan the growth

Talking of price rise, CPM politburo member and MP Brinda Karat raises questions about the government8217;s approach towards management of the economy. She mentions in this context that the finance minister had stated in Parliament that in the last fifteen years India has benefited from liberalisation and was currently experiencing 8 per cent GDP growth. 8220;But when we take the Indian situation, while the national growth rate is eight per cent 8212; with a target of ten per cent 8212; this pattern of growth is basically inegalitarian,8221; Karat says, adding that to tell people that price rise was inevitable and a result of growth was adding insult to injury.

Making a passionate argument for planned growth she says 8220;rather than showering contempt8221; on a planned economy and 8220;getting obsessed8221; with the neo-liberal free market utopia, the UPA government should revise its strategy in order to stabilise prices of essential commodities. Referring to wheat stocks, Karat is of the opinion that the 8220;wheat story8221; is a glaring example of market forces being given free play. 8220;The answer to price rise lies in government8217;s intervention in the economy to ensure supply of essential commodities at affordable prices. Imports may be a stopgap arrangement to meet a particular shortage but they cannot and must not become a substitute for a

self-reliant economy,8221; Karat says.

Compiled by Ananda Majumdar