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CPI demands FM's resignation over US-64

The Communist Party of India on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha for the US-64 muddle, saying he must take responsibility for the fiasco.

A resolution adopted by the party's three-day National Executive Committee meeting which concluded in Bangalore on Tuesday, alleged that 'it is the deliberate inaction of the government that has allowed funds to the tune of nearly Rs 600 billion to be mismanaged leading to collapse of the US-64 scheme'.

CPI urged the government to undertake measures without delay to restructure and revive UTI, safeguard the interests of small investors, amend immediately the UTI Act of 1963 and put it under effective regulatory mechanism, preferably Sebi.

"It is dangerous to allow UTI to continue as an unregulated, unregistered investment institution playing with enormous public funds," the committee felt.

"The party also demanded that those who had 'gambled with public money and perpetrated the worst crime of the recent period', should be punished," party general secretary A B Bardhan, who briefed reporters in Bangalore, said.

CPI came down heavily on the government's move to privatise Air-India and questioned its decision to 'ask one of the former employees of Tata to evaluate the property of A-I'.

Bardhan said that trade unions and mass organisations will march to Parliament on July 24 to denounce the government's divestment policies and seek action in the UTI muddle.

On August 9, protests would be organised in district headquarters to highlight the 'ill-effects of the government's policies on the agriculture sector'. Demonstrations and rallies would be organised on October 16, which would be observed as 'save PDS (public distribution system) day and food security day', Bardhan said.

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