On social security, Karat to PM: US not the right model

Karat, who is now in China, penned the articles shortly before his departure last Sunday. He wrote: ‘‘Bush has proposed that the social security fund should be privatised and put in the stock market, just as other pension funds. The proposal has met with widespread opposition and the president has been forced to backtrack. The people of India, who consider pension a social security benefit oppose what the American people oppose—the privatisation of the social security fund.’’

But then, in the concluding paragraph, he suggests that his criticism is not levelled at the PM. ‘‘In Dr Manmohan Singh, India has a PM whose integrity and sincerity is unquestioned,’’ writes Karat.

The CPI(M) leader has also warned the government not to be over-reliant on the US for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Karat has said, ‘‘The US has so far only declared support for Japan’s membership in the council. It has recently indicated that it may support one or two more countries. This is a clear attempt to inveigle India into granting more concessions and be amenable to becoming a junior partner of the United States in Asia.’’

Karat also argued that India needed to pursue a more independent role in foreign policy.