Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday launched a full frontal attack on the UPA government over its decision to hike FDI in the insurance sector and allow foreign capital in pension funds.
In a strongly-worded statement, the CM said these measures were meant to divert attention from the many scams dogging the UPA.
“The UPA government is unfazed by the sufferings of the common people, small traders and small farmers. The UPA’s latest FDI flag is diversionary — more to anesthetise the mammoth corruption charges against the government, especially when elections seem imminent,” she pointedly said.
The Chief Minister also termed as ‘premature’ any claims by the UPA that these reforms would accelerate economic growth.
She also pointed out that despite the Cabinet’s go-ahead for raising FDI in insurance and allowing FDI in pension funds, these policies would not be implemented till the relevant legislation is passed in both houses of Parliament, where the UPA faces a number crunch.
Noting that the Centre had taken the decision against a Parliamentary Committee recommendation, Jayalalithaa attacked the Centre’s policies on this front, saying previous experiments with FDI in the insurance sector had failed to make any impact and had threatened to expose the public to uncertainty and risk.
She also said the move would lead to the dominance of private players, who are driven by commercial interests alone.
Nationalised insurance majors like LIC that take part in the development process would suffer a huge blow, she added.
Jayalalithaa also attacked the Cabinet’s decision to the limit capital requirement.
“This move at best is a gimmick, and at worst an unworthy risk. The act of disguising harmful decisions and promoting them under the name of grand reforms amounts to deceiving the people of the country. No amount of rhetoric will change the truth. I strongly oppose these moves as they are detrimental to the future of the common people of this country,” Jayalalithaa said.
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