cpim election 2014 manifesto

cpim election 2014 manifesto

Agricultural Workers: Most Exploited

The condition of agricultural workers has steadily deteriorated. Successive central governments have refused to bring in a comprehensive legislation for the fixation of wages and social security benefits for agricultural workers. Thus there is no statutorily fixed minimum wages for agricultural workers in many states. The number of work days per year is declining. In most states they have no house sites or houses. The plight of agricultural women workers is worse. They have lesser days of work and suffer the most as they have to feed the family in the face of rising prices.

Unbearable Price Rise

The most striking failure of the Congress-led UPA government has been its total inability to check the unrelenting rise in the prices of food and other essential commodities. For seven long years since 2007, India has lived with persistent double digit food inflation. The Consumer Price Index inflation has mostly remained above 9 per cent per annum.

In the last four years from December 2009 to 2013, prices of rice, wheat and groundnut oil increased between 50 to 100 per cent; prices of potatoes have doubled and even quadrupled during this five year period; onion prices have on an average doubled from already high levels.

The price rise is in fact a result of government policies. The decontrol of petrol and diesel prices have led to continuous increase raising the cost of transport fuelling price rise. Diesel prices have almost tripled in the two terms of the UPA, from Rs. 20 in January 2004 to Rs. 55 in December 2013 (Delhi prices).

The people particularly the poor, have been ground down by the cruel and unrelenting price rise.

Curse of Unemployment

Apart from curbing price rise, the growing unemployment is the second biggest failure of the UPA government. Between 2005 and 2010, the rate of employment growth has been less than 1 per cent annually. Whatever jobs have been created are the low paid, contractual and without social security. Of the 15-29 age group of young people who number 330 million (33 crore) the unemployment rate is 13.3 per cent. One in every three graduates in this age group is unemployed.

The so-called high growth years have resulted in jobless growth. Such a bankrupt growth path should be rejected.

Curse of Unemployment

Apart from curbing price rise, the growing unemployment is the second biggest failure of the UPA government. Between 2005 and 2010, the rate of employment growth has been less than 1 per cent annually. Whatever jobs have been created are the low paid, contractual and without social security. Of the 15-29 age group of young people who number 330 million (33 crore) the unemployment rate is 13.3 per cent. One in every three graduates in this age group is unemployed.

The so-called high growth years have resulted in jobless growth. Such a bankrupt growth path should be rejected.

Economic Policies: Transfer of Resources to the Rich

The Congress-led UPA government has provided a bonanza to the corporates and the richer sections. From 13 billionaires (with net assets of Rs. 5,000 crore and above) in 2003, by 2012 there were 122 such billionaires. Between 2009 and 2013 a massive Rs. 21 lakh crores of central government tax revenues were given away as taxes forgone or in tax concessions. The government has resorted to massive disinvestment selling more than Rs. 91,000 crores worth of shares of public sector units between 2009 and 2013. The government has allowed the loot of natural resources of the country whether it be land, minerals, gas or spectrum. Windfall profits have been made by big business houses and private companies through this plunder.

What the government has undertaken is a massive transfer of the resources of the people and the country into the hands of a few.

The government did not take measures to tap the tax potential – either by raising effective rates or cracking down on massive evasion of taxes by the wealthy. Tax-GDP ratio has remained lower than they were in 2007-08. Instead of raising resources, the curbing of government expenditure became a priority. There have been cuts in expenditure bearing on the lives of people such as on agriculture and rural development (which includes MNREGA); health and education. Fertilizer, food and petroleum subsidies have been cut down. Subsidies on food and fuel were cut by Rs. 78,000 crore in the last three years.

The entry of Foreign Capital (FDI and FIIs) has been allowed in all spheres. FDI caps have been enhanced in the banking, infrastructure, real estate, defence production and agri-business. The FDI in multi-brand retail is a graphic example of how the interests of Walmart and other foreign supermarket chains supersede the livelihood and employment of 4 crore (40 million) people in retail trade in India. To start with this executive decision has to be scrapped and FDI policy governed by the interests of national sovereignty, priorities of national development and the employment needs of the people.

Faced with an economic slowdown the UPA government seeks to woo foreign capital by giving more concessions and providing big business with further tax cuts and incentives. What is required is massive public investment in rural development, agriculture, infrastructure and social sectors. This would create demand and new jobs. But given its class bias, the government has refused to undertake this.

The pursuit of the neo-liberal policies by the six-year BJP-led government and the ten year Congress-led government, need to be reversed. What is required are alternative economic policies in the interests of the people and the country.

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