Left parties opposed to EPF rate cut - by R. Prasannan / Dec 17, 2005 / Manorama OnLine
From Indiapensions
Left parties opposed to EPF rate cut - by R. Prasannan
New Delhi: The Left parties have got one more issue to take a grand stand --- the move by the government to cut the employees provident fund interest rate from 9.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent. The issue is said to have dominated the deliberations of the CPI(M)'s central committee's two-day meeting, along with pension bill.
The government's excuse to cut the interest rate has been the straight from the book --- that it doesn't have the resources to pay interest at much higher rate than what the market provides. But the CPI(M) says the government can raise the resource. "The government should enhance the rate of interest on Special deposit Scheme (SDS) where over 80 per cent of EPF corpus stands invested which will enable the EPF Organisation to maintain the interest rate at 9.5 per cent," the Central Committee pointed out in a press communiqué.
It is not just EPF interest rate issue that has angered the CPI(M) but the overall direction of the UPA government. "The overall direction is not in the interest of the rural poor and working people," said CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat.
The central committee had a lot to disagree with the government on pension fund bill (which the CPI-M will oppose in its present form), on the agrarian situation, on departure from independent foreign policy, on Volcker Committee report, on taxation policy, on price rise and cautionary words on a host of other issues. Upset with the government's attitude towards Iran at IAEA, the CPI(M) feels that the US is using the Indo-US nuclear deal as an excuse to get concessions from India. "They are telling India that to get the deal ratified by their Congress, India would have to do this and that," said a senior party leader. The party also feels that the US is using the various Indo-US agreements on military cooperation to make India purchase US weaponry.
The party also feels that the UPA is shielding --- at least seen to be shielding --- one of the biggest beneficiaries of the food-for-oil contracts. "The biggest oil contracts in India and the non-contractual beneficiary was a private oil company," pointed out the central committee communiqué. "How this occurred under the BJP-led government must be enquired into." The party feels that the Volcker report should not be taken as final word on oil contracts.
The government's usual refrain on its withdrawal from social welfare has been lack of resources. The CPI(M) has a simple solution. tax the rich more. "Crores of rupees are spent on luxury cars, jewellery, weddings and lavish parties by a small section of people," pointed Karat. "Even cars costing Rs 6 crore are being marketed here." So the central committee suggests: "The government should tax such luxury consumption and take steps to increase the tax-GDP ratio which alone can generate resources for rural development and social sector expenditure."
All the same, the party is not keen on open confrontation with the government. We will discuss these issues at the coordination committee meetings," said Karat. However, as if to keep the rank and file active, the party would also observe January 24 as anti-imperialist day.
