The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The Finance Minister’s retraction of the announcement made by the government yesterday of drastically reducing interest rates on small saving schemes does not fool anybody. It is clear that due to the ongoing Assembly elections in five states this decision has been kept on hold. This is similar to the dictate imposed by the government on oil retailers to not hike the prices of petroleum products till the elections are over.
Crores of people who invest in small saving schemes as a security for their future will be destroyed by this announced reduction. The interest rate for people’s Provident Fund has been reduced to 6.4 per cent, an all-time low, which does not even cover the inflation rate. This will destroy the livelihood of crores of senior citizens.
This BJP government’s focus is single-mindedly on enhancing corporate profits, particularly for the PM’s cronies with massive tax cuts. The loot of national assets through privatization of the public sector and the handing over of Indian agriculture to the corporates is making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) calls upon the people to rise in protest against this decision which, surely, will be implemented post-elections. The Central government must be forced to withdraw this move.