Opinion The Opposition faultlines

Both People’s Democracy and New Age — the official weeklies of the the CPM and the CPI respectively — lash out at the BJP and the RSS. An article in New Age notes that terrorism has been a favourable stick with which the RSS-BJP has tried to beat others. “So,what has the RSS to say now? What about the BJP? …They have constantly accused an entire community of terrorism,” it says. “Any blast anywhere,and the RSS asks others to behave… When a few minority community people were arrested,the RSS lost no time in calling for their heads,irrespective of whether they were picked up rightly or wrongly. Why no calls for hanging of those responsible for killing no less than 68 innocent passengers in Samjhauta Express? Why this defence? There can’t be two standards to judge the same crime,” it asks.

The lead editorial in People’s Democracy also hits out at the BJP for “stoking communal passions” by insisting on hoisting the tricolour at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk. “The fact that the BJP chooses to make an issue of hoisting the flag in Srinagar alone,not elsewhere,is,clearly aimed at gaining political mileage by sharpening communal polarisation,” it says.

Referring to the Amarnath yatra movement,it points out that in Jammu & Kashmir,the RSS and BJP have continuously fished in troubled waters seeking political advantage. “One of the key RSS personnel that allegedly played an important role in this movement,Indresh Kumar,is now in the spotlight of the CBI’s investigations into the Hindutva terror network,” it notes.

Demand or supply?

An article in People’s Democracy on inflation points out that the trend over the last one-and-a-half years suggests that there are structural factors at work that are setting a higher floor to the inflation rate. It says corporate consolidation of production and trade,decontrol that permits profiteering,a reduced role for public agencies and public sector firms,and the withdrawal or curtailments of subsidies on a range of inputs,have pushed up costs and prices substantially. Further,it talks about the role that speculation has to come to play in the light of the presence of large corporate players in the wholesale and retail trade,and with the growing role of futures and derivatives trading in a host of commodities.

The government,it says,does not consider these angles worth pursuing because of reasons including the ideological. “It cannot bear questioning the outcome of reform. It cannot bear suggesting that corporate entry can lead to profiteering in a context of decontrol,” it says. The government,it says,has recognised this structural,inflationary tendency in a peculiar — in fact patently absurd — way by attributing it to the demand-side effects of high growth.

But even ‘though the high growth era began in 2004,it is only now that it has generated demand-supply imbalances,” it noted. “And,that if there is indeed a supply-demand imbalance the government is constrained,for whatever reason,to redress it by resorting to imports. Making such assumptions is not just wishful thinking,but avoiding the conundrum,” it adds.

Shuffle and error

The CPI(ML)’s weekly magazine hits out at the UPA government in the context of the cabinet reshuffle. It says: “swamped by allegations of corruption of massive proportions on many fronts,the UPA has decided to brazen it out with a campaign of cover-up and creating confusion to scuttle any credible and timely probe and punishment.” The article slams the Government for defending CVC P.J. Thomas defying repeated strictures by the Supreme Court,criticises Kapil Sibal for his attempt to rubbish the CAG’s estimation of the 2G scam amount and claims that the CBI has already shown signs that it is less than committed to nailing the guilty in the CWG case.