Modi government appeasing 'big business', says CPI-M

New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) The CPI-M Sunday accused the Narendra Modi government of promoting "Indian big business and international finance capital".

The Communist Party of India-Marxist's politburo said in a statement after a two-day meet here that it had become clear that the Modi government "will adopt policies for the benefit of big business and international finance capital".

It said the union budget appeared "to provide concessions to the corporates and the upper classes at the expense of the poorer sections" and "is a trajectory for significant privatisation of the economy".

"The CPI-M is opposed to the increase of FDI in defence production to 49 percent," the statement said.

"Foreign arms companies getting a controlling stake in the defence production enterprises will be detrimental to national sovereignty.

"Entry of US arms companies into this sector will only lead to further dependence on the US for India's strategic interests.

"The CPI-M is strongly opposed to the proposals for further disinvestment of shares in nationalised banks and the proposed massive disinvestment in the shares of public sector enterprises.

"All these steps are being taken to appease Indian big business and international finance capital."

The CPI-M also flayed the government's failure to curb price rise.

"The government is pursuing the same policy of deregulation of petroleum prices... All this has contributed to the price rise of essential commodities and there is no let up in the food inflation."

The CPI-M also accused the government of trying to bring in labour law reforms that would "do away with existing safeguards for workers in the case of retrenchment, rights of contract workers and so on.

"The CPI-M is totally opposed to any dilution or doing away with the rights and safeguards provided to workers which are in the existing labour laws."