Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPI(M), has said that the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump will not help India and it is aimed at destroying Indian agriculture and business industry.
He was speaking in Belagavi on Tuesday. He was here on his way to New Delhi after participating in a programme at Vijayapura on Monday.
“Mr. Trump is here to make India sign several treaties that are detrimental to the country. There is a likelihood that apart from defence deals, he will insist on agriculture, pharmacy and other deals. There is a serious apprehension that such deals will have adverse impact on our economy,” Mr. Yechury told reporters.
“The U.S. has been forcing us to amend our patent laws so that U.S. companies can produce and sell patented drugs, thus damaging the indigenous pharmaceuticals industry. Mr. Trump will force the government to sign agriculture deals that will open up the Indian market for farm and poultry produce. This will hit dairy and poultry farmers,” he said. Such agreements will also increase unemployment and result in huge losses for Indian industries. We urge the union government not to sign such discriminatory treaties,’’ he said.
“The CAA is discriminatory and unconstitutional. It is unnecessary. Laws that have provisions to give citizenship to refugees already exist in the country. Several persons from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries have been granted citizenship under existing laws. Adnan Sami, the singer from Pakistan, has obtained citizenship under the old citizenship law. What was the need to have an amendment that discriminates citizenship seekers based on their religion? he questioned. He asserted that the very purpose of CAA and NRC was to consolidate votes based on Hindutva ideology. Today it is targeting one religion. Tomorrow it may target other faiths. That is a grave threat to pluralism of the country.
Opposition parties had demanded a two-week long special session of Parliament to debate NRC and CAA-related issues. But that was denied. If the debate would have been held, it could have reduced the magnitude of violence that has erupted, Mr. Yechury said. He said his party strongly condemned the violence in Delhi and criticised the failure of the police to contain it. The central government has to be held accountable as the Delhi police is controlled by the central government, he said. The BJP has failed in handling anti NRC / CAA protests. It has failed to win their trust and invite them for a dialogue, he said.
To a question on some anti-NRC/CAA protesters shouting slogans like ‘Pakistan zindabad’, he said: “I will say Hindustan zindabad. I oppose anyone who speaks against my country.” “But in the case of Amulya, who raised the slogan in Bengaluru, we should consider her full statement. She said ‘Pakistan zindabad’, but also said ‘Hindustan zindabad’. It needs to be considered,” Mr. Yechury said.
