HVK Archives: Double standard of the Left Parties
Double standard of the Left Parties - The Afternoon Despatch and Courier
Mehraboon J. Irani
()
19 August 1997
Title: Double standard of the Left Parties
Author: Mehraboon J. Irani
Publication: The Afternoon Despatch and Courier
Date: August 19, 1997
The sudden withdrawal of the crucial IRA Bill in the Lok Sabha has exposed
the double standard of the Left parties which refused to support the Bill.
While the impression given is that the BJP is responsible for the
withdrawal of the Bill, the fact remains that the various constituents of
the United Front do not see eye to eye, when it comes to crucial economic
issues.
And it would not be fair to blame the BJP for the sudden withdrawal of the
Bill. BJP had always maintained that the insurance sector be opened to the
private sector and the party MPs held the same view in parliament. Mr.
Jaswant Singh, the former finance minister in the short-lived Vajpayee
government, has gone on record to state that his party wanted the insurance
sector to be opened first to Indian companies and then to foreign companies.
The logic in the BJP's stand is quite simple. The select opening of the
insurance sector will enable Indian companies to establish its presence.
And even if the BJP expressed some reservations about the legislation, it
has the right to. After all, it is the single largest party in the Lok Sabha.
The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the government had clearly stated
that the banking sector's experience could be applied to the insurance
sector. What it meant was that as in the banking sector wherein public,
private and foreign banks co-exist, insurance sector too could be opened to
the private sector and foreign companies.
However, all this was ignored by the Left Parties who never supported the
IRA Bill. Were we not taught in school: Follow What You Preach.
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