WikiLeaks Revelation on FDI Not Big Issue, Say CPM Leaders.

KANNUR (Kerala) Declining to be carried away by the controversy over the WikiLeaks’ revelation of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leaders meeting US diplomats and discussing investment possibilities when in power in Kerala, party’s state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said it was not a “big issue” as the party had a clear stand on foreign investment.

“This is not an issue which even requires to be discussed within the party. Our firm stand is there is nothing wrong in accepting foreign investment based on clear-cut conditions if that helped the country,” Pinarayi said.

He was reacting to queries on WikiLeaks revelations, quoted by media, that when the Left Democratic Front (LDF) was in power, the US consular teams had met the CPM leaders including the then chief minister VS Achuthanandan and Pinarayi.

CPM leader had admitted that they had met the US officials, but held they did not compromise their ideological stance and sacrifice the state’s interests during the talks.

“We are not opposed to American people. What we are opposing are policies of the US Administration,” Pinarayi said.

VS had on Tuesday said that when the US officials called on him, he had used that as an opportunity to slam the American policy on Iraq and other countries.

The party leaders, including former finance minister TM Thomas Isaac, have said the row over the issue is “unwarranted” as the CPM was not against all kinds of foreign investment.

The report that appeared in an English daily saw the CPM leaders including VS admitting that even he had attended the meeting which was aimed at developing the state by inviting foreign investment. VS however said that he did not know if the party state secretary had termed the Coca-Cola agitation a local issue. CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri also defended his comrades in Kerala saying that there was nothing wrong in meeting the American diplomat.

Source : omantribune.com