CPI(M) to protest Trump's visit to India: Yechury

Bhubaneswar: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on Thursday that his party will stage protest during US President Donald Trump's visit to the country later this month, as he was coming to boost American economy at the cost of India's interest.
Yechury said the Left party workers will launch agitation wherever Trump goes during the tour on February 24 and 25.

"May be in Delhi or in Gujarat, the party activists will certainly protest," he said.

The CPI(M) leader said the protests would be held on two counts.

"First, America is putting pressure and (Narendra) Modi is succumbing to completely open up our economy which is the gain they want to achieve in order to give support to Modi on issues like CAA, Article 370 and others," Yechury told reporters on the sidelines of an anti-CAA rally here.

"That is the quid pro quo going on, which is not in India's interest. This apart, we will be spending billions of dollars for buying US military equipment, to bail out US economy while destroying our own," he said.

Replying to a question on the increse in LPG cylinder price, the CPM leader said his party has been protesting against it in many places.

Yechury said the price hike is completely unwarranted as international oil prices are not on escalating but de- escalating a little.

"This is all because of the crisis created in the balance sheets of our oil majors by the Modi government which started borrowing from them in terms of greater dividends and destroying the balance sheet," he alleged.

The CPM leader said the step was taken to stablise the balance sheets of oil companies, in order to prepare them for disinvestment.

On Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's "Green shoots" remark, Yechury said, "With due respect to the finance minister, she may be suffering from colour blindness."

Sitharaman had on Tuesday last said the economy is not in trouble and green shoots are visible with the country moving towards a USD 5 trillion economy.