Left parties in India slam government for bowing to the US by welcoming Pompeo

“Any capitulation to the United States, at the cost of sovereignty and self-respect of India, is unacceptable”

June 21, 2019 by Peoples Dispatch

As the two-day visit to India by the US State Secretary Mike Pompeo is closing in, Indian communist parties have voiced their strong opposition. In a joint statement released on Thursday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc have strongly objected to the right-wing government led by prime minister Narendra Modi rolling out the red carpet for Pompeo.

Pompeo’s visit, scheduled for June 25 and 26, comes in the aftermath of the US terminating India’s designation as a beneficiary under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) trade program. GSP allowed duty-free entry for Indian products into the US market, which afforded a level-playing field for Indian businesses competing with multinational corporations from developed nations with a benefit of having access to advanced technology and skilled labor force. The US had also threatened to impose sanctions, had India continued to trade with the countries like Iran and Venezuela.

The statement has sought to stress the pressure tactics and arm twisting that the US has employed recently to have India toe their line. It also stated that the Indian people shall resist the US led neoliberal agenda of market liberalization and privatization of public services.

The Left parties also stated that the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party government, led by prime minister Narendra Modi instead of resisting US intimidation and threats had succumbed to it. “Any capitulation to the United States, at the cost of our sovereignty and self-respect is unacceptable,” the statement added.

The statement went on to state that the United States administration is threatening countries across the world with unilateral sanctions if they fail to heed to its diktats. The signatory parties noted that the US want to strangulate Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and Nicaragua with such sanctions in order to ensure a regime change in those countries. “The ongoing trade war (with China) is threatening the already reeling global economy into another recession. It is coercing India to submit to its policies and stop the purchase of oil from Iran and Venezuela and S-400 missile systems from Russia,” noted the statement

The communist parties urged the people of India to oppose the BJP government’s surrender of Indian interests before the US. They also firmly demanded the government to pursue an independent policy which zealously secures India’s national interest.