Opinion View from the LEFT
As the Election Commission celebrated its diamond jubilee,the CPI sought to revive its old demands for government funding of the...
Advice for EC
As the Election Commission celebrated its diamond jubilee,the CPI sought to revive its old demands for government funding of the expenses incurred by political parties,to check the use of money power in elections. In an article in the latest issue of CPI mouthpiece New Age,senior party leader D. Raja points out that it is time the state funding of the political parties as recommended by Indrajit Gupta (in 1998) be discussed by Parliament and accepted as government policy. His argument is that such a move would ensure that all parties get level playing field. Raja is of the view that efforts much also be made for comprehensive electoral reforms to fight criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals and to clean up the electoral system.
Amars villainy
Was expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh responsible for the rupture in Left-SP ties? An article in New Age suggests that Mulayam Singh Yadav lost the crucial support of the Left parties after Amar Singh joined the SP.
Interesting as the theory may be,Amar Singh had been a leader of the SP for a long time and the Left-SP split took place only about a year-and-a-half ago. Nevertheless,the article says Mulayam,having realised his mistake,is now in touch with senior Communist leaders in an effort to regain their confidence. It recalls that when Mulayam Singh started his struggle for power,he formed the Krantikari Morcha with the help of the Communist and other like-minded parties. The support of the Left helped Mulayam Singh to emerge as a national leader, it says.
Health sickness
Marking Republic Day,the latest issue of CPI(M) weekly Peoples Democracy quotes a 2009 Planning Commission study that showed that health care expenses were the reason for people declining into poverty in more than half such cases. And the NSSO data for 2004-05 estimated an additional 39 million people were pushed into poverty due to health care expenses in that year alone. The article argues that health care expenditures especially for the poor and marginalised have been rising because of galloping privatisation.
While public spending on health care has been around a measly 1 per cent of GDP,private spending has grown alarmingly to 4.2 per cent … It is estimated that more than 70 per cent … is borne by the people from their own resources, it says. The myth of a stronger economy and a faster growth rate leading automatically to better health for its people has been exploded,once again, it says pointing out that since capitalisms raison detre was profit maximisation,growth per se does not guarantee better health for its people.
Credit blues
An article by CPI General Secretary A.B. Bardhan in New Age looks into the agrarian crisis and farmer suicide. He says farmers must have cheap and easy access to credit. In this context,he said,the rate of interest for farmers must be brought down to 4 per cent.
A network of bank branches in rural areas has to be provided for the purpose. But under the neo-liberal free market policy,actually the opposite is happening. Rural branches are being reduced on the ground of non-profitability and with the aim of having larger and bigger banks through mergers and consolidation, he says.
The veteran Communist argues that while huge sums at nominal interests are made available for big business,when it comes to the family community there is no money with the government. For purposes of credit,the farmer is left to the tender mercies of the moneylender,now officially renamed an accredited loan provider.
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