PM wants everything to go right with Left

NEW DELHI: Planning Commission deputychairperson and key economic interlocutor on behalf of the Manmohan Singhgovernment Montek Singh Ahluwalia is travelling to Kolkata on Tuesday to meetWest Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya to discuss that state''sfinancial needs.This comes in the wake of Bhattacharya''s recentmeeting with finance minister P Chidamabaram in the Capital and is part of PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh''s domestic economic diplomacy aimed at smootheninggovernment functioning.Following an embarrassing public wrangle onthe contentious issue of increasing the FDI cap in insurance, telecom and civilaviation between the Left and the UPA, the PM has realised that a greater degreeof communication with political partners, especially on economic issues, is theonly answer if the government is to function smoothly.Governmentsources said the PM particularly wanted the finance minister and other economicfunctionaries to keep in close touch with the Left parties as a lead-up to amore formal coordination between the UPA and the Left, something that the latterhas been keen on.So, a day after CPMpolitburo member Sitaram Yechury raised protests against the FDI issue, the PMhimself met the CPM general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet. A day later onSaturday, Chidambaram met CPM politburo members Prakash Karat and SitaramYechury. CPI national secretary D Raja, too, has met the PM and FM in the lastfew days to bridge the gap. And now Ahluwalia''s trip to Kolkata.These meetings may not succeed in completely harmonising differenceson economic issues between the UPA and the Left, but will clearly lead to agreater understanding, which should prevent the sort of shrill criticism of thegovernment seen last week and a reiteration that the prime objective of the UPAgovernment and its supporters, to keep the BJP at bay, will not beforgotten.For instance, Yechury has been quoted as saying that whilethe decision to offload 5% stake in NTPC was not in line with the Common MinimumProgramme, his party would not have opposed the move if the board''s objectivehad been to raise capital by selling 5% equity. Commenting on this, aneconomic analyst said, "They both mean the same thing — it is a political,not economic question."As things stand, the government can raise theFDI level in telecom and aviation through executive orders, a parliamentaryamendment is required for the insurance sector. Chidambaram had proposed a hikein FDI from 49% to 74% in telecom, from 40% to 49% in civil aviation and from26% to 49% in insurance. Chidambaram''s contention has been that FDIin telecom is going up to 74% in a "non-transparent" manner — the UPAmerely wishes to make the process more transparent. As for civilaviation, Chidambaram has said that a hike from 40% to 49% should not mattermuch as the ownership would still remain in Indian hands.