Left parties on Sunday decided to suspend participation in the United Progressive Alliance-Left coordination committee
meetings to protest against the government's decision to go ahead with disinvestment in Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and other public sector units.
"No useful purpose will be served in attending meetings of the coordination committee. Therefore, we have decided to
regretfully suspend our participation," Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters.
Karat said despite repeated meetings with the UPA on the issue of disinvestment, the government has been saying it will
disinvest even while retaining 51% equity.
Karat said during veteran marxist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the latter wanted to 'know what the problem was'.
Karat said a letter was sent to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi after a meeting of the Left Parties on Sunday
The meeting was attended by CPI-M, Communist Party of India, Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc.
The Left party leaders discussed the government decision on disinvestment of shares in the navratna companies in the
context of the Common Minimum Programme.
They then sent a letter in this regard to Sonia, which was later released to the media.
Meanwhile, CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said the Left parties feared the government was not only intending to disinvest in BHEL, but also the National Thermal Power Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and other navaratnas and profit-making PSUs.
"We cannot understand or accept this interpretation of difference between 51% and 49% disinvestment," Bardhan said adding any change in the equity structure could alter the character of the PSUs.
"This particular senior minister is also careful in saying that our government will not do it beyond 49%. He is leaving it to the future government to dispose of the remaining 2%," he said.
