Privatisation

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) firmly opposes the manner  in which the Central Government has gone about in initiating the LIC IPO. This is a step towards the destruction of the public character of the LIC and handing over priceless financial assets largely owned by nearly 29 crore policyholders of the LIC.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met on October 22-24, 2021 at Harkishan Singh Surjeet Bhawan, New Delhi.

The central government is passing important legislations through the din created by government sponsored disruptions. The CPI(M) demands that no legislation should be passed without a proper structured discussion. This BJP central government is undermining the parliament of discharging its responsibility and legislating on important matters working people life and death issues. This must stop.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its strong opposition to the decision taken by the central government to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) by 100 per cent strategic disinvestment of its corporate entity, the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.

Privatisation of Railways: Self Subservience, Not Self Reliance

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly opposes the decision for privatisation of the Indian Railways particularly the running of passenger trains by private investors over the Indian Railways network. This is the first time that this is happening in independent India. The private sector utilising the network established over centuries with all the required infrastructure will run passenger trains making super profits.

Coal is an essential input for several vital industries like power generation, steel, aluminum, fertilisers and cement. This move by the central government will result in starving domestic industries of essential inputs as now exports will be unregulated.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands that this retrograde proposal is immediately withdrawn. At a time when the Indian economy is in a tailspin and the country is fighting the Covid pandemic, such proposals that will favour the wealthy while burdening the needy are totally unacceptable.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) calls upon the people to intensify protests against the large-scale sale of our country’s assets; the disinvestment of LIC and insurance sector; unemployment, agrarian distress and further hardships and miseries being imposed on the vast majority of our people.

The CPI(M) wishes to remind the Government that the Parliamentary Committee that went into the issue of handing over heritage sites to private corporate had decided against this unanimously.  It urges upon the Government to rescind its decision.

This decision of the Modi government to privatise the coal mining sector while undermining the energy security of the country will compromise with the safety and security of workers engaged in coal mines. Trade unions and the Left parties have been consistently voicing their opposition to this dangerous move.