• Not a single Indian soldier must be sent to Iraq!

• Carry forward the struggle against privatisation to victory!

• Vajpayee’s European tour
  Strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations with Europe

• The Approval of the Budget – on behalf of the rich

• Water – Private loot leading to social crisis

• Cauvery waters dispute – a good initiative

• Oppose the Privatisation of Madras Fertiliser Limited

• ‘Reformist’ Chandrababu Naidu announces a string of "welfare measures"

Not a single Indian soldier must be sent to Iraq!

The move to deploy Indian troops in Iraq is treacherous and anti-national, as it will directly tie India to the war-chariot of US imperialism in West Asia, and subsequently all of Asia. It will bring great discredit to India amongst the freedom and peace loving peoples and nations of the world. It is in complete contempt of the expressed will of the Indian people. It is a move to sell our young peasants in soldier’s uniforms, as cannon fodder for the US imperialists in their war to subjugate the ancient nation of Iraq. It is a move to barter Indian soldiers for the narrow interests of Indian big capitalists in their greed to get contracts from the Americans for the so-called reconstruction of Iraq at the expense of the Iraqi people. Peoples’ Voice calls upon the working class and patriotic and peace-loving people of India to raise their voices and demonstrate their opposition, so as to prevent the Vajpayee government from sending troops to Iraq on any pretext.

The Indian people have expressed their complete opposition to the US military occupation of Iraq. This unrelenting opposition forced the Indian parliament to pass a unanimous resolution calling for the withdrawal of US and allied troops from Iraq. The ongoing efforts of the government to present the deployment of Indian troops in Iraq as a fait accompli is proof that the Government of India is acting in complete opposition to the desires of the people of India.

The Vajpayee government is trying to claim that Indian troops will go "only for reconstruction work". This is a big fraud. The point is that the Iraqi people have expressed in no uncertain terms their view — US and all foreign forces, get out of Iraq. They want the occupation forces out, so that they can rebuild their war-ravaged country as they wish.

US imperialism is passing off a counterfeit, by trying to substitute Indian troops for its troops. Why should we play the US game, against the Indian people, against the Iraqi people, against the world peoples? For a few dollars in the pockets of the Indian big capitalists? Should we not remember, instead, the experience of Sri Lanka, where the Indian Army had to come back in ignominy, even though it was allegedly invited by the Sri Lankan government for "peace-keeping"?

US imperialism has occupied Iraq using brute military force, to conquer West Asia and pave the way for the conquest of the whole of Asia and the world. It has done so in complete contempt of world public opinion as well as the opinion of the vast majority of the countries of the world. It is facing great difficulty in forming even a puppet government in Iraq, and the opposition of the people is rising. American troops are finding it difficult to face the desert heat as an occupation army, let alone the anger of the women, men and children of Iraq. Various countries have for their own reasons refused to assist the American occupation army. In such a situation, US imperialism wants India to foot the human bill. It is holding the prospect of Indian big capitalist companies sharing in the loot and plunder of Iraq, in return for Indian soldiers. The Indian big bourgeoisie is eager to exploit these prospects.

American imperialism’s West Asia policy is to smash all Arab opposition to its plunder of the oil resources of the region. Its aim is to establish undivided US control over this precious resource. This is not in the immediate or long term interests of the Indian people. Why should the Indian people wish to become the hated enemies of the Arab peoples, along with US and Israel?

The shamelessness of Advani is such that he blames the Indian people and the opposition forces for not "understanding" the "necessity" of sending troops to Iraq! The Indian people must understand that the drive to send troops to Iraq has been initiated by the biggest capitalists. Our people can never agree that the country’s interest should be mortgaged, the lives and reputations of our armymen sold, for a few dollars in the pockets of big capitalists.

The working class and all patriotic and peace-loving people must resolutely oppose the deployment of Indian troops in Iraq, no matter what the pretext.

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Carry forward the struggle against privatisation to victory!

The struggle of India’s working class against privatisation and the mounting attacks on rights and freedoms has created a credibility crisis for the Central government. It has pushed the champions of privatisation on the defensive, and intensified contradictions within the BJP and within the Congress Party on this question. Major proposals for privatisation of oil refineries, airline companies and industrial plants are being temporary shelved. Privatisation has become a dirty word, not only in the ranks of the working class but among broad sections of the middle strata as well.

When it first launched the privatisation program under Narasimha Rao, the big bourgeoisie was able to win support for capitalist reforms from the middle strata and isolate the working class. It could achieve this by utilising the disgruntlement of the toiling masses and the middle strata with the corruption, venality and concentration of power associated with the "socialistic pattern of society". The bourgeoisie also used the collapse of the Soviet Union as a justification for pushing the privatisation program. Today, the mass of workers, peasants and middle strata are up in arms against this program. It is becoming clearer to the masses that these ‘reforms’ are directed against all that the working class and people have won through years of struggle and sacrifice. It is becoming clearer by the day to the Indian people that the program of globalisation through liberalisation and privatisation is a thoroughly anti-worker, anti-peasant, anti-social and anti-national program.

When Modern Food Industries Limited (MFIL) was privatised, it was accompanied by the arrogant assertion of the then Union Disinvestment Minister, Arun Jaitley, that it is not the business of government to make bread! There were not a few in the movement, at that time, who secretly agreed with Mr. Jaitley. They covered up their agreement by talking of opposing privatisation of "core sector" industries, as if ensuring affordable and nutritious food to the people should not be a core concern of the government. However, the workers of MFIL, through their valiant and continuing struggle, have forced the government to finally acknowledge that the sale of MFIL to the multinational Hindustan Lever Limited has not been in the best interests of the people. This acknowledgement has come in the shape of the reluctant setting up by the union government of a committee to look into the consequences of privatisation in MFIL and BALCO in February 2003.

The struggle against the privatisation of BALCO raised the question as to what gives the government of the day the right to alienate land and underground mineral resources belonging to the tribal people of the area. What right does the Central Government have to hand over such assets to Sterlite Industries, a private capitalist?

The privatisation of National Aluminium Company in Orissa was opposed by the masses of people of that state as well as the representatives of the region in parliament. The working class and people demanded a referendum in Orissa as to whether the people were in favour of privatisation or against it. Union Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie rejected this demand of the people and the parliamentarians of the region. He declared that the government of the day had the right to sell any asset it desired to whoever it wanted, and that there was no need to consult the people or their representatives.

The privatisation of electricity supply and distribution in Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and other states has brought lakhs of farmers as well as urban middle strata onto the streets in protest. They have raised the issue of the responsibility of the state of providing affordable electricity to the people, both as a necessity for civilised living in this day, and as an indispensable means of production.

The proposal to privatise Madras Fertilisers poses the question of the state abdicating its responsibility to provide for the peasantry. When the government decided to cut back on procurement of rice and wheat, the Minister for Food declared that it is not the business of the government to run mandis ( agricultural produce wholesale markets). This has raised the serious question of the state abdicating its responsibility to ensure protection to the peasantry from being robbed by private wholesale traders in agricultural produce. Similarly, the government’s decision to open up the Indian market to imports and export of all food items and raw materials, leading to immediate and long term adverse consequences for Indian industry, agriculture and trade, has raised the question as to what right the government has to mortgage the sovereignty of the country. What right does it have to harm the interests of the present and future generations of Indians, to satisfy the greed of the big bourgeoisie and the foreign imperialists.

As a result of the struggle of the working class against the privatisation program, all the lies spread by the bourgeoisie are becoming exposed, one by one.

First, the bourgeoisie and its spokesmen spread the lie that if ownership is transferred from the state into private hands, the terms and conditions of the workers would improve. This lie has been so thoroughly exposed that hardly any section of the working class believes it any more.

Second, the bourgeoisie claims that even if some workers do get hurt, this is a small price to pay because all consumers, and hence Indian society as a whole, stands to gain from privatisation. The hikes in prices and tariffs charged for electricity, water, bus transport, hospital care, education and other hitherto public goods and services are rapidly exposing this lie as well. All of these are directly attacking the standard of living of the masses of workers and peasants.

The biggest lie spread by the bourgeoisie is that an economy that is geared towards maximising the private profits of a minority is what will serve society best. In direct contrast, the facts are revealing that rapid flourishing of capitalism on Indian soil neither serves the workers and peasants, nor is in the best interests of Indian society.

For over forty years, the big bourgeois ruling class of India claimed that a ‘mixed economy’ was being built, wherein the private profiteers could expand their wealth and at the same time the government would develop the ‘public’ sector to look after the welfare of the workers and peasants. The failure of the Nehruvian model shows that it is not possible to look after the needs of the workers and peasants if the state refuses to restrict the space for capitalism to flourish, and instead acts in the interest of expanding private empires.

What is the solution? The bourgeoisie claims that the problem with the mixed economy is that the state sector is inherently inefficient, and hence the solution lies in privatisation. The truth is in fact the opposite. The problem with the ‘mixed’ economy is that its foundation lies in capitalism, with private greed as the driving force of production. The problem is that it is not possible to mix up capitalism and socialism. The solution lies in reorienting the economy towards fulfilling the needs of the working people, based on social and collective property. This requires that restrictions be imposed on private greed. It requires that the space for capitalist exploitation and the pursuit of private wealth accumulation be progressively reduced, and ultimately eliminated.

It is precisely because their lies are getting exposed that the ruling big bourgeoisie is currently on the defensive as far as privatisation is concerned. The times demand that the working class step up its struggle.

The working class defends not only the rights of the workers, but also the general interests of society. We oppose the privatisation program not only because it is an anti-worker program, but also because it is anti-peasant, anti-national and anti-social in its content. It is a program that is driven by the private greed of the biggest monopoly corporations and business houses, Indian and foreign.

The working class movement fights to halt the privatisation program, as a crucial step in defeating the anti-social offensive of the bourgeoisie. The widespread discontent that is spreading among the peasantry points to the necessity and possibility for the working class to forge a fighting alliance with the peasantry, and the urban middle strata, and isolate the big bourgeoisie.

Life experience has shown that the replacement of the Congress Party by the BJP, or the BJP by the Congress Party, does not make any difference as far as the orientation of the economy and economic policy is concerned. In order to carry forward the struggle against privatisation through to victory, the working class must reject the diversionary agenda of merely replacing one bourgeois party or coalition by another. We must build the worker-peasant alliance and fight for the establishment of a worker-peasant government. The central agenda of such a government will be the reorientation of the economy and state policy towards ensuring human conditions of life for all members of society, thereby wiping out poverty from the face of India. Such a government would restrict the space for capitalist profiteering, while guaranteeing the rights of those who labour, including their right to be the masters of society.

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Vajpayee’s European tour

Strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations with Europe

The fact that hot on the heals of Vajpayee’s visit to Europe, the Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani is on a visit to the US and UK to strengthen military and intelligence ties with these imperialist powers, eloquently underlines what Vajpayee said. The Indian government is pursuing the pragmatic policy of playing with all the imperialist powers, to get the best deal for the Indian big bourgeoisie in the present world situation. It is a policy devoid of all principles, and will not only bring great discredit to India in the eyes of the freedom and peace loving peoples of the world, but will add fuel to the US plan for the conquest of Asia. At Evian, Vajpayee would have seen the anger of the anti-globalisation protestors, who numbered over a lakh, who came to protest the G-8 as well as the occupation of Iraq by the Anglo-American imperialists.

One of the primary issues that dominated Vajpayee’s discussions with European leaders was what would be the Indian government’s response to the US request for sending Indian troops to Iraq. There is massive opposition in Europe to the US occupation and concern that India should not join the US war machine. Vajpayee’s stand on this vital question of principle was typically ambivalent, giving signals to the US that Indian military deployment was "available" provided the price was right! In Berlin, Vajpayee said that "we also want to know who will foot the bill in the case of deployment of troops", and that Indian troops could not be seen as "mercenaries". But it was also clarified that India did not want to confine itself simply to sending troops. "Depending on the shape of things on the ground, India can play a larger role", the Prime Minister is reported to have said. Vajpayee is also reported to have remarked that Bush himself is "keenly interested" in India sending troops to Iraq and "India does not want to offend". Following the G-8 Summit, Vajpayee is reported to have said that his government has sought clarifications about "whether Indian personnel would be simply required to maintain law and order or use force if required in a riot situation", about how long the troops would be required to serve there and under whose command they would work.

The Vajpayee government has been closely collaborating with the US imperialists in their game-plan for Asia. The last two years have witnessed growing military collaboration between India and the US, with joint military exercises between the two, frequent exchange of visits of top military and security personnel as well as increasingly close diplomatic ties. The Indian government has been abandoning its old West Asia policy and has been engaging itself with the US and Israel for a new West Asia policy dovetailed to the US policy for the region. Recent news reports indicate that the Pentagon is seeking collaboration with the Indian government on the prospects for a new security system for the Asia-Pacific region, a kind of Asian NATO, anchored by the US and India. Advani’s visit to the US is seen as aimed at further strengthening US-India ties for the Asian region. The Indian big bourgeoisie sees best possibility of expanding its imperial ambitions through collaboration and coordination with US, both in Iraq and West Asia, as well as East Asia and South East Asia.

However, the Indian bourgeoisie does not want to put all its bets on the US imperialists only. In particular, it is not sure how far the US imperialists are going to back its aspirations against Pakistan. It is actively seeking collaboration with other important players in Europe and Asia, such as Germany, France, Russia, China, Iran, etc. That is why the Indian bourgeoisie is "with both" and "both want to take it along", as Vajpayee stated!

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The Approval of the Budget – on behalf of the rich

The main alteration to the earlier Finance Bill has been that the introduction of the much-publicised Value Added Tax (VAT) in place of States’ Sales Taxes has been postponed. The explanation offered by the Finance Minister is that the states are not ready for it, and it would be a good idea to pass such legislation uniformly for all states. But the truth is that there have been protests by traders in Delhi and some other states against the imposition of VAT. The proposed legislation has already raised the hackles of some sections of businessmen and was threatening to snowball into an anti-government sentiment just before the elections, in the crucial states of Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh – all three ruled by its major parliamentary opposition party, the Congress(I). The Central Government’s response has not been to cancel or propose changes to the bill but only to postpone it in view of the elections.

One of the significant changes has been in the kind of excise duty levied on refined edible oils. In his original budget proposal of February 28, the Finance Minister had announced an 8 per cent duty ad valorem; this is a duty that will increase the tax with an increase in value. For example, one kg of branded packed refined oil would attract more tax than one kg of loose oil or cheaper packed oil. Several top corporates are engaged in production and marketing of refined oils and vanaspati, some with tremendous brand equity. This duty would directly hit their high value brands and encourage defection of consumers to cheaper oils. Predictably, there was tremendous pressure — political and other — that was brought on the Government by anti-excise duty lobbies through top party functionaries of the ruling coalition to prevent the levy of this duty. Quite a few manufacturers were reported to have flown to New Delhi to lobby for a review. The packaged edible oils industry representatives took up the issue with Union Government. Intense lobbying was on for two months by edible oil manufacturers, represented by organisations like the Central Organisation of Oils Industry and Trade (COOIT), to convince the government to review the eight per cent excise duty imposed on branded packaged edible oils.

Apparently, this lobby has succeeded. The Finance Minister announced a revised structure for approval by the Parliament. He replaced the earlier proposal with a specific duty of Rs.1.25 per kg at the bulk refining stage. The duty will now be on the basis of quantity, i.e. one kg of refined oil, whether loose or branded, and whatever the price will attract the same duty. So who are the gainers? The producers and retailers of branded and retail packed edible oil who produce the more expensive refined oil brands, at the expense of poorer sections of the population, who buy loose and unbranded edible oil.

So who is able to get the budget proposals changed in their favour in the two months before its tax and duty provisions become law? Clearly it is the big industry interests. Wherever the people at large have protested, the government pays heed if it is an election year, and simply postpones the offending tax. On the other hand, it clearly responds in favour of the big industrial interests whose powerful lobbies exert the utmost pressure to ensure that the law is in their favour.

Further, during these two months between the introduction of the Finance Bill on 28 February and the passing of the Budget on 30 April., there has been no review of the situation facing the people, no discussion among the people or even in Parliament on the desirable course of the economy. How else is to be explained the absence substantial discussion on the drought and measures to be taken to provide relief to the people. The organised and powerful lobbies in industry and agriculture work behind the scenes to influence policy – this is the only exercise. And finally, it is viewed as a technical necessity that the Budget should be approved before the conclusion of this session, and that becomes the over-riding concern. The parliamentary opposition is given half a day and the Finance Minister takes the time to give his response. But where are the real issues and where are the people in all this?

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Water – Private loot leading to social crisis

One of the starkest manifestations of the crisis is the declining water table in many parts of the country. One of the major causes for this is the rapid and unregulated growth of tube well irrigation. For example, in the western and northwestern parts of India, in recent years, over a million irrigation wells are dug every year. Groundwater withdrawal has exceeded annual recharge. The economic consequence of a declining water table is that every new investment becomes more costly as one has to dig much deeper than before to get water. Capitalist competition has led to a monopolistic situation, where one or a few owners of the deepest wells sell water at exorbitant rates to the others.

Over exploitation of ground water has also resulted in negative consequences for the natural environment and the health of the rural population. In the Punjab, Haryana and western Rajasthan the main negative consequence has been salinity. In north Gujarat and southern Rajasthan it is fluoride contamination of groundwater. In hard rock regions of southern India it has resulted in declining well yields. In West Bengal it is arsenic contamination. In coastal areas the most serious consequence is saline ingress into coastal aquifers.

Today, the crisis has reached overwhelming proportions and is the direct result of the uneven development of capitalism in the Indian countryside. The "green revolution" with its water intensive system has contributed a sizeable share to the problem. Groundwater has been exploited up to 98 percent in Punjab and 80 percent in Haryana.

The root of the problem lies in the capitalist imperialist orientation of the Indian economy, with maximum extraction of surplus by a minority being the driving force. As long as an activity brings a high rate of private profit on an immediate basis, the private capitalists keep expanding that activity, without regard to the longer-term consequences and the collective interests of society. The anarchy and chaos that is characteristic of capitalism is nowhere more apparent than in the case of the problem of ground water.

Such crises were not known before the British colonialists established a system oriented towards maximum plunder of resources. In the pre-colonial era, people of each village and town typically took care of their local water resources collectively, and the provision of public water works was considered one of the prime duties of the State.

During the colonial period, the British rulers oriented the entire Indian economy towards profitable sale of Indian products in the foreign market and sale of British manufactures in the Indian market, all being coordinated in the best interests of the British bourgeoisie. When the Indian bourgeoisie took over from the colonialists, they followed the same route. Driven by the private profit motive, they paid no heed to conserving water or other natural resources. They pushed for the fastest possible rate of capitalist growth in rural India so as to expand the home market for Indian capitalism. It is this greed that has been responsible for massive destruction of forests, and the drying up of centuries old water resources. It is the same driving motor of capitalist profit that has destroyed the tanks in Rajasthan called johads, paals or the roof water and underground rainwater harvesting structures such as the khadins, tankas and over 200,000 tanks in South India.

The big bourgeoisie has always viewed the natural resources of India, including its forests and water as its private property for super-exploitation. Today, it is blaming the peasantry for depleting ground water resources, and it is blaming the people of the forest regions for deforestation. It blames the people for destroying the environment. When the bourgeoisie acts as the standard bearer of the protection of the environment, it is governed by the greed for maximum profits. Today, "environment protection" is a multi-billion dollar business all over the world. To cover up the fact that the destruction of nature is a fellow-traveler of the capitalist system, the Indian bourgeoisie and its external donors are spreading the propaganda that "people have to be taught how to use water, how to conserve it and also must learn to pay for it"! The central and state governments are pretending as if they have stumbled across some "innovative techniques", when these were known and used by the people much before the colonialists came to loot our land.

However, if the facts are analysed dispassionately, it is clear that the Indian big bourgeoisie has no intention of addressing the water crisis in a manner in favour of the people. The very fact that the state refuses to invest in water conservation mechanisms is proof of this.

The economic and political system is oriented towards private profit maximisation in fewer and fewer hands. Within this capitalist framework, any solution that is offered is illusory because the problem lies precisely with the motive of private profit being the driving force of the economy.

Today, confronted with a crisis of vast proportions in the field of water for drinking and irrigation, the bourgeoisie is busy turning this crisis to its advantage. The privatisation of water for drinking and irrigation is the new mantra of the ruling class. The Indian water market is estimated at 300 million dollars and is being eyed greedily by some of the multinational companies. Monsanto is one such company that is active in the business of monopolising precious water resources. This company hopes to net an income of 63 million dollars by 2008 from the Indian and Mexican markets. In Kerala, the Coco-cola company extracts excess groundwater to the tune of 15 million litres through 65 bore wells. Supply of drinking water has already been privatised in Bangalore, and Delhi will soon have privatised water supply. Various stretches of rivers in Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Kerala have been sold to private multinationals.

The water crisis can be addressed only by recognising that exploitation of water must be carried out harmoniously taking the needs of the present as well as future generations, on the basis of subordinating private interests to social and collective control. The workers and peasants have to fight in order to take control over India and her natural resources, so as to reorient the economy to serve the needs of society and in harmony with nature. Only thus can India be saved from the impending water crisis.

Who gains, who looses?

• Watershed programmes undertaken by different organisations in Maharashtra are steeped in corruption. Money to the tune of 1.5 million rupees has been stolen from what was meant for the poor.
• In Punjab a multi-million scandal came to the surface with regard to the Upper Bari Doab canal. Preliminary enquiry shows that family members of senior politicians who were project contractors have eaten up the entire expenditure of Rs. 1.12 billion on the remodeling project.
• In 1969, a lift irrigation project was commissioned in Maharashtra. 64 pump sets costing over Rs. 4.2 million have been allowed to rust. A Corporation that targeted to complete 495 minor and major irrigation projects has spent Rs. 75 billion with no worthwhile benefits to the poor farmers in the region.
• In Haryana, the public exchequer lost Rs. 38.8 million as some officials in the irrigation department have secured their own rewards in five fisheries ponds.
• Rs. 950 million allotted for Command area development has been diverted in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Orissa.
• The Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh, the Veeranam project in Tamil Nadu and a major irrigation project in Bihar have failed to deliver resulting in no water for the people nor for their crops, but has only lined the pockets of different politicians.
• DRDA funds to the tune of Rs. 100 billion is unaccounted. Most of these are for rural drinking water supply programme. Funds sunk amounted to Rs. 340 billion with over 200,000 inhabitant being supplied unsafe water.

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Cauvery waters dispute – a good initiative

According to the organisers themselves, the expectations of the participants are modest. There is no expectation that a quick solution will be found. Neither is there any expectation that the water demands of all concerned can be met to the full. Instead, in the Chennai meeting, the participants freely and frankly put forward their own perspectives, and that of their organisations, on the Cauvery waters issue. These views were listened to with respect by all present, and to this extent it can be said that a greater understanding of all sides of the issue was gained by the participants. There was clear enthusiasm for continuing the "dialogue", and to make this possible, a committee was formed with participants from both Tamilnadu and Karnataka. This committee will be expanded to make it more representative in the coming Bangalore meeting.

The importance of this initiative has to be understood in the context of the existing political system in our country. Over the years the State, first under British colonial rule and then the post-1947 Indian State, has taken away the rights of the people relating to water use, and has also thrust itself upon the people as the arbiter in all issues related to sharing of waters. A huge, costly and cumbersome machinery has been erected to adjudicate disputes, oversee the allocation of waters, and so on. Far from resolving the problems, it has only exacerbated them. In many cases, rights to use water have been taken away from those people and communities that have used them for generations and instead given to the highest bidders among capitalist industries. In other cases, the Centre has given arbitrary rulings on inter-state water disputes to favour or discriminate against the people of a state based on which political party rules that state. At election time, passions over water disputes are deliberately whipped up to bolster the support of this or that political party. Politicians also claim that a matter is sub-judice (i.e. is in the hands of the Courts) in order to plead their inability to do anything at all. In all this, the space for the people to sort out matters peacefully in the interests of all concerned, has been greatly reduced. They are reduced to either being passive onlookers, waiting patiently for whatever is handed out to them, or else they can become pawns in the hands of this or that party manipulating their sentiments for partisan interests. That is why issues like the sharing of Cauvery river waters have dragged on for years and even resulted in bloodshed.

By talking directly to each other, outside of the framework of government-sponsored "conciliation" and other such proceedings, the peasants of Karnataka and Tamilnadu are doing a good thing. They are taking back some of the initiative in their own hands. It is important that they persevere in the face of the obstacles and frustrations they will surely face at the hands of the State, its bureaucracy and courts, and through the machinations of the major political parties. Initiatives such as this one are important in building and strengthening the political unity of the people, which is the only way towards combatting the oppression and tyranny that people face under the present political system.

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Oppose the Privatisation of Madras Fertiliser Limited

MFL was formed in 1966 to manufacture and sell chemical fertilisers. The company was set up as a joint venture with the American Oil Company (Amoco), with the government holding 51% and the Joint Venture partner, the balance. At present the government holds about 60% of MFL’s share and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) holds about 26%. On 27 May 2003, the Indian government negotiated with the Iranian Government to allow it to sell off the equity held by NIOC along with a portion of its own equity. Government is planning to sell its 33% equity so as to vest a strategic partner with almost 60% equity. Government is hoping that with the exit of the NIOC, a buyer company will have the total control and will find it very lucrative to buy this enterprise, which is one of the major players in fertiliser production in the country.

Since 1977, the fertilizer industry was under a retention price scheme (RTS), under which, fertilizer units were guaranteed an assured 12 per cent post-tax return on investments, irrespective of costs. Consequently, a number of business houses mobilised large resources and set up large production capacities. Industry also managed to wrest wide-ranging concessions such as handsome bonuses for production in excess of certain minimum levels of capacity fixed for ammonia and urea. This led to widespread manipulation of capacity ratings to make profits over and above the guaranteed rates of profits. Today, large sections of India’s farmers have planted crops and adopted farming practices that are extremely dependent on fertilisers and pesticides. Through the policy of fertiliser subsidy implemented during the green revolution years, that is ensuring minimum guaranteed profits to the capitalists in the fertiliser industry and ensuring rapid expansion of market for fertilisers, this situation has been reached by taxing the whole of society. Now the biggest Indian and foreign players in the fertiliser sector are eyeing with greed, this huge market. They want government policies to be changed to enable the biggest Indian and foreign players to corner this huge market. As part of this game plan, they want to take over the state owned fertiliser companies. The decision to privatise MFL is dictated by the demands of such players.

The Government has shaken up the balance, which was prevailing in the fertiliser industry. In the urea segment, the prices of inputs under the seventh (1997-2000) and eighth (2000-03) pricing periods have recently been announced and applied retrospectively. This has led to huge recoveries from the fertiliser companies on account of rising feedstock prices and has adversely affected their balance sheets. . Fertiliser companies using naptha and fuel oil as the feedstock have been particularly hit, as the international as well as the domestic prices of these have sharply risen.

Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) has suspended production of urea since February 2002. Fertilisers and Chemicals (Travancore) Ltd. (FACT) has suspended production of urea since 8 February this year. Madras Fertilisers Limited had to significantly curtail production. All three companies are being earmarked by the Central Government for privatisation.

The aim of these manipulations by the Central Government appears to be to turn the balance sheets of the public sector fertiliser units into red, so that the valuation of these units can be significantly depressed. Under such circumstances, the private companies interested in acquiring the PSUs can obtain the unit at prices well below the real value of the company.

Workers have recognised the real aims of the Government. The employees of the FACT, under the banner Save FACT Action Committee, have demanded immediate withdrawal of the move to privatise their company. The action committee has alleged that the closure of some of the plants in the company was the result of a calculated move to hand over the company to private parties at a minimal price. They are also demanding that the Government take immediate steps to reopen the plants.

It is the responsibility of the state to provide fertilisers at affordable prices and of good quality to the peasantry. Would it not be reasonable for workers and peasants to demand that the state ensure the above, and all those private companies which refuse to do so be taken over by the state? However, the Central government is pursuing the opposite policy of enriching private fertiliser companies at the cost of the peasantry and the whole of society. By privatising and running the fertiliser sector to maximize profits, the cost of agricultural inputs are bound to rise, with consequent increase in the food prices. At the same time, rising cost of agricultural inputs will also lead to ruination of the small and middle peasantry. Why should the government be permitted to run such a course of economy that will hurt the masses of the people?

The privatisation program has become exposed as a means to plunder and even destroy productive capacity built from the blood and sweat of the people, to facilitate filling the coffers of the ruling class. Workers and toiling people of India must unite and stop the anti-social offensive of the ruling class and put an end to plunder of people’s assets. They must take the reigns of destiny of our country in their own hands to make the public assets serve the needs of all the toiling people of India.

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‘Reformist’ Chandrababu Naidu announces a string of "welfare measures"

Earlier, the TDP headed by Naidu organised its "mahanadu" in which Chandrababu Naidu announced that the party must gear up for elections with a new face of providing "welfare" to the toilers.

It is to be remembered that Naidu swept to power in Andhra Pradesh on the platform of ending the high-cost welfare programs of the regime of N. T. Rama Rao. The first set of ‘reforms’ that Naidu championed in 1995, backed financially and ideologically by the World Bank, was the scaling down of the rice subsidy by raising the issue price in the ration shops. Naidu became the darling of the World Bank and other international agencies of finance capital precisely because of his ideological stance against the ‘socialistic pattern of society’ and his embracing of the platform of globalisation through liberalisation and privatisation.

Almost a decade later, the same Chandrababu Naidu is talking of welfare measures targeted at almost every "weaker section of society". What lies behind this apparent 180 degree turn? What does it reveal?

One obvious fact that is revealed by this development is that Mr. Naidu is worried about the next state elections due in 2004. He is worried because not only the unionised workers in the cities but also millions of peasants in the villages have been hit hard as a result of privatisation and liberalisation, and have come out in opposition to his ‘reform’ program. Cotton growers in the state have suffered total ruin, driving some of them to suicide. The steep hike in electricity tariff and other ‘user charges’ has outraged the urban petty bourgeoisie. Hence the Chief Minister wants to sing a different tune, to pacify the people before going to them for votes.

The fact that even Chandrababu Naidu has to change his tune every time he seeks votes from the masses of people is further proof that privatisation and liberalisation constitutes an anti-worker, anti-peasant and anti-social program. It is an exposure of the bourgeois lie that these ‘reforms’ are in the general interests of society. If liberalisation and privatisation are actually in the interest of the majority and in favour of social progress, as the champions of the ‘free market’ claim, then why should the tune be changed prior to every round of elections?

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