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Congress, Left talk tough on modernisation
by Sudhakar

    New Delhi: The Left-UPA coordination meeting today ended with both sides talking tough on issues bedevilling their alliance, including disinvestment and airport modernisation. At Thursday's meeting, the Left asked the Manmohan Singh Government to scrap the present airport modernisation bidding process in totality and start it afresh. This demand was raised even as the empowered Group of Ministers (eGOM) is meeting in the capital later today to take a final decision on the issue. The Left also advised that with a quantum leap in the air- traffic, the government should plan on constructing another airport in Mumbai rather than expanding the existing one. The government while accepting the Left's note agreed to forward it to the eGOM. The government told the Left that they will go ahead with the disinvestment of minor stakes in four non-navratna Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) with or without the Left's consent. The important PSUs include the profit earning Neyveli Lignite Corporation and National Mineral Development Corporation. The Left also gave a 13-point alternate resource mobilisation method which includes broadening the service tax net and taxing the people with a new inheritance tax. The Bofors controversy was also raised. Seen as a dead albatross in the Congress neck, the Bofors and Ottavio Quattrocchi made headlines today as a startling revelation by an Indian private news channel reported of Indian government special request to defreeze the two bank accounts of Ottavio Quattrocchi, the alleged Italian in the defence kickback row.

   However, Union Law Minister H.R Bharadwaj said that the Government has no evidence against Quattrocchi, and so the request to defreeze the two accounts were sent. The Central Bureau of Investigation had late last night informed the media that the request to defreeze the accounts was sent as there were no clear evidence to link the money in those accounts with Bofors kickback money. The CBI also assured that the move will not impede the extradition process undergoing to bring Quattrocchi back to India against whom InterPol has issued a Red corner notice. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party has also issued a veiled threat that they will not withdraw support to the UPA government 'as for now'. However, the party said that option to withdraw support is an open option. The Samajwadi Party has 38 members of parliament in the present Parliament and is giving outside support to the UPA Government.
-Jan 12,  2006

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