FDI in Insurance Bill anti-people: Yechury

Kolkata: Stating that both Congress and BJP follow the same "anti-people economic policy", CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury on Monday snubbed BJP for bringing in FDI in Insurance Bill which it had opposed during the last UPA regime.

"Congress and BJP both are same. The fact is that Congress is now opposing the FDI in Insurance Bill which it had tried to bring in during its regime, and BJP had opposed that. Now the tables have turned with BJP in power and trying to bring in the same Bill which the Congress is opposing now," Yechury said at a meeting of party`s workers` union here. "But the stand of the Left parties remain the same. We had opposed the bill during UPA regime and we are opposing it now," he said. Yechury also accused the BJP government of playing into the hands of the capitalist forces, especially the US. "NDA government during Vajpayee`s time had condemned the US attack on Iraq but the present Modi government even doesn`t agree to have a resolution on invasion of Gaza by Israel because the Centre feels any step opposing Israel amounts to annoying the US," he said. When asked by the reporters about the demand for leadership change within CPI-M after its worst performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Yechury said, "Our party doesn`t function in that way where you blame an individual. We are discussing all the aspects and taking all the steps. Certain degree of revitalisation is required." "Electoral decline is a matter of concern but it is not the only yardstick to measure the party`s performance. If you take the mass movement organised by the party in account, there has been no such decline compared to the electoral decline," he said.