The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) registers its strong protest at the steep cuts in interest rates on small savings schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), Post Office savings the Kisan Vikas Patras etc. According to the new rates announced by the government, while the interest rate on PPF and savings of senior citizens has been reduced by 0.6 per cent, in the case of Post office deposits interests have been lowered in the range of 0.6 to 1.3 per cent.
This reduction in interest rates in small savings will hit the poor and the middle class badly as bulk of their savings are in small deposits. Coming after the increase announced in the prices of petroleum products, this reduction of interest rates is going to affect the savings of the poor and the middle class, whose livelihoods are constantly under attack.
While the government is not taking any concrete measures to bring in black money stashed abroad and is not making efforts to collect non-performing assets, it is launching an attack on the small savings of the common people, which will not be tolerated.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demands that the announced reduction of interest rates be rolled back.