Srinagar: CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami Wednesday said that with the observance of anti-privatisation Day on March 15, the movement against proposed large-scale privatization of Public Sector Undertakings in India has entered a new phase.
In a statement issued here, Tarigami said: “BJP government’s “anti-poor”, “anti-farmer” and “pro-corporate policies” should be unitedly opposed by both workers and farmers.”
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership should come clear on the promise the party made during its election manifesto where it had claimed to offer two crore jobs annually. Going by the promise the BJP made, the Central government should have offered around 14 crore jobs across the country so far,” Tarigami said.
“But the reality is that the unemployment rate which had been the worst in 45 years in 2019 is rising with a speed never seen before. The government is totally in denial mode and Modi government instead of looking at providing livelihood to the people of the country in these difficult circumstances is hell-bent to snatch it from those who are already in jobs,” he said.
The CPI (M) leader further said: “At a time when the global economy was heading for a recession and exports from India were bound to fall further, focus on public investment and creating demand and jobs in the economy was the only way forward. But instead Modi government has gone on privatization spree in the public sector undertakings which is going to strip public assets and add to joblessness.”
“The 12 nationalised banks in the country were reduced to four through mergers by the Union government. The privatisation of banks will lead to the stoppage of loans to the priority sector. We oppose privatisation of public sector banks as it will lead to increase in service charges and will take banking beyond the reach of common man. This will take banking beyond the reach of the common man which was the primary objective of nationalization,” the leader said.
“The corporates are utilising the recession to cut jobs and protect their profits. For whom the government in Delhi works requires no rocket science to understand. The Modi government should give up its privatisation spree,” he said.
“And the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is no different than other parts of the country. The BJP government had claimed that Article 370 was an impediment to J&K’s development and its abrogation will bring investment, jobs and prosperity to the region. The reality is different on ground from what was being said by the government,” the CPI (M) leader said.
“The unemployment level in J&K has reached to crescendo. People are eking out a tough existence in Kashmir. Daily wagers are not able to find work to feed their families. Thousands of businesses can’t pay their staff or keep them on their rolls,” he said.
“The Modi government did not have a clue as to how to tackle the situation. The only way the economy can be revived is by boosting public spending. The government has to step up public investment in infrastructure, agriculture and education and health sectors. This would generate jobs and incomes,” he added.
