Corrruption, price-rise hallmark of UPA-II: CPI

India today reported today as under :
Terming corruption and sharp rise in the prices of essential commodities as the hallmarks of UPA-II, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of being unable to take effective steps to control the situation.
"There is one minister A Raja, whose corruption is known to everybody. But the prime minister does not have the right to remove him. Similar is the case with the IPL in which several Union ministers, be it Sharad Pawar or Praful Patel, are facing charges but the prime minister did not take any action," CPI National Council Secretary Shameem Faizee told reporters.
"The hallmark of the one-year of UPA-II is not only corruption but the miseries heaped on the people in the form of ever-increasing prices," he said.
Briefing reporters on the deliberations of the party's ongoing National Council meeting in Hyderabad, he said, it adopted three resolutions on food security and price rise, entry of foreign universities and on the problems of Sri Lankan Tamils.
"The National Council of CPI condemns the government for its failure in controlling the prices and totally depending upon the market forces in managing food economy and moderating inflation," he said.
Reiterating the party's demand for making PDS a universal scheme, he said financial constraints can never be an argument for denying the basic needs of the masses.
"The proposed Right to Food Act should be redrafted, which should meet the nutritional requirements and availability of food grains," the resolution said.
The National Council hopes that the newly-constituted National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi would be sensitive to the sufferings of the people, it said.
Condemning the move to allow "so-called" foreign universities into India, a resolution alleged that the said institutions lack any appreciable recognition or credibility in their own countries.
Another resolution on the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils said the Centre must impress the island nation's government to dismantle the refugee camps and allow the Tamil civilians to return to their places of choice.
Alleging that the Sri Lankan government is not providing access to the media, the CPI demanded that the restrictions on media be lifted.
Replying to a query, Faizee said the CPI is concerned over the poor performance of the Left in the recent civic polls in West Bengal and that it was suggesting certain remedial measures to salvage the situation.
Meanwhile, the CPI-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) demanded that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various agricultural products be determined on the basis of the recommendations made by M S Swaminathan committee.