This Article is From Oct 15, 2012

Government has no mandate to push reforms: CPI-M

New Delhi: The government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is politically isolated and has no mandate to push economic reforms, the CPI-M said on Monday.

"The withdrawal of the (Trinamool) from the government, even the partners of the UPA government differing with the anti-people measures - all go to show that the government has no mandate to push through such reforms," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

"The September 20 all-India protest showed the discontent and fighting mood of the people," a party statement added.

It said the CPI-M would "resolutely oppose the opening of foreign supermarkets and will build up a broad-based movement to stop Walmart and other foreign supermarket chains (from) entering India".

The CPI-M said the UPA government's steps were "meant to appease foreign finance capital and big business".

The CPI-M also said nothing should be done to undermine the nationalised coal industry and that the coal blocks allocation controversy should not be used as a pretext to privatise it.

"Instead of competitive bidding for captive coal blocks, the alternate route should be that such allocations for private steel and power producers should be made through the nodal agency of Coal India Ltd."

It added: "The mining should be undertaken by the CIL and its subsidiaries and coal supplied to the private power and steel producers through fuel supply agreements."

.