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Basu blasts PM's plan: 'It's a panic-ridden package, won't solve any problems'

West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today criticised Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's recently announced ''economy-revival package'' saying that it would not solve any of the basic problems of the country.

''I am not at all impressed by the panic-ridden economy-revival package recently announced by the prime minister,'' Basu said, while addressing the 144th annual general meeting of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Calcutta.

''This will not solve any of the basic problems, such as unemployment and price rise, afflicting the vast majority of the common people of the country,'' he said.

On the other hand, the chief minister said, the prime minister had once again exposed the self-contradictory character of the swadeshi stance usually taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party by allowing in the package the intrusion of foreign investment in the national insurance sector.

Basu said the Human Development Report 1998, had given a grim picture of the situation in developing countries whose vast numbers of people were afflicted by poverty, deprivation, undernourishment and lack of all amenities of life.

''The need for change is, therefore, urgent and all responsible sections of society should act with courage and determination,'' he added.

Basu said in India, the vitiating forces in socio-political milieu had to be isolated to quicken the economic progress and overall development of the people.

''As we are fast approaching the 21st century, priority has to be accorded to evolve a well-conceived strategy for the harmonious growth of both agricultural and industrial sectors,'' he said and urged the captains of industry to assess the situation in a very objective manner and play a proper role so that the country could march forward.

Referring to industrial relations scenario, Basu reiterated that any violent activity could not be part of the trade union movement.

''We have made it clear that any deviation from the accepted norms in this regard will not be tolerated. We have taken steps in cases of flagrant breach of such norms,'' he said.

Basu said his government had been urging the workers and the management to develop a ''co-operative framework'' in the interest of the health of the industry. ''While there have been positive results flowing out of our efforts, a couple of incidents have been widely publicised leading to creation of a negative image,'' he said while referring to the recent physical assault of the chief executive of Bata India Limited.

The chief minister also criticised the NTPC for showing a discriminatory attitude to the state by stopping its supply of power to the state on the ground of non-payment of dues. ''Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have been spared even though dues from each of them are higher than those from West Bengal,'' he said.

He said he would take up with the Centre the necessity for chalking out short- and long-term measures for the survival of the NTPC plants, particularly those of the eastern region.

Basu censured the BJP-led coalition government for its policies and said the Centre had embarked upon a course of action which in effect was a negation of the basic tenets of secularism, unity in diversity and federal democratic structure of the country.

''At a time when the country's economy is faced with recessionary trends, the Central government has conducted nuclear blasts at Pokhran purportedly for short-term and narrow political gains. As a result, the country's position in the comity of nations has been grossly compromised,'' he said.

The chief minister said though the Central government had professed adherence to swadeshi slogans, in actual practice it had chosen to follow the misplaced policy of unbridled liberalisation launched in 1991 by the then Congress government.

State home and cultural affairs minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said his government was opposed to indiscriminate globalisation at the cost of the Third World countries.

''In the name of integration with the global economy, we can not simply ignore the importance of self-reliance and realisation of the country's potential,'' he said.

Bhattacharya emphasised on adopting policies that prevent deprivation and loss of entitlements for the poor. ''We do not believe that the TINA factor, that is, There Is No Alternative factor, to wholesale privatisation / liberalisation /globalisation, is the right solution,'' he said.

''This does not mean that our government is opposed to the private sector. In our industrial policy we have clearly stated that we welcome the participation of the private sector, including foreign investment and technology, in areas of mutual advantage,'' he added.

Both Basu and Bhattacharya referred to Nobel Prize winner in economics, Professor Amartya Sen and said he had shown a deep concern for the basic problems of the common people in developing countries in relation to availability of food, land reforms, elementary education and primary healthcare.

Speaking on the occasion, Assocham president L Lakshman, however, welcomed the prime minister's economic package and said such measures would definitely provide the badly needed impetus ''to jump-start'' the economy.

Lakshman also welcomed Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's address at the recent annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi and said the country could produce significant and sustainable growth if the finance minister's thoughts on further internal liberalisation, decontrol movement of goods, an exit policy with a human face, reduction in real interest rates and a cap on Centre's borrowings were implemented in true sense.

In his welcome address, chamber president S S Prasad expressed concern over drifting in productivity in the state and stressed the need for a clear-cut industry-friendly modernisation policy with a human face.

UNI