Introspect neoliberal policies before opposing NMP: Sudheeran to Gandhis

Senior Congress leader from Kerala, V.M. Sudheeran, has urged Congress leaders, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, to make "an honest and in-depth introspection" over the party's own economic policies since 1991 before launching massive protests against the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) .

Sudheeran, known to be close to Rahul Gandhi, also demanded that the party high command make sincere admissions about its deviations from the Nehru-Indira economic policies and the mistakes of the past and to make the necessary course corrections to regain the trust and confidence of the people.

In a letter to the Gandhis, Sudheeran said the BJP Government is selling the nation’s assets, created by Congress Governments during the last seven decades, as part of the NMP. "Through nation-wide sustained campaigns and struggles, Congress can definitely expose the anti-people policies of the BJP government and win the confidence of the people," he said. But, before launching such protests, Congress needs to have a clear vision about the polices to be pursued.

"Congress has to make an honest and in-depth introspection over our own economic policies since 1991, to effectively counter the stance of the BJP leaders in party and government, who are propagating that Congress has no moral right to oppose these polices of the NDA Government as they are only following the neo-liberal policies pursued by the Congress since 1991. Congress has to make sincere admissions about its deviations from the Nehru-Indira economic policies and the mistakes of the past and should make the necessary course-corrections to regain the trust and confidence of the people," he said.

The former Speaker of the Kerala Assembly said it is high time and the right time that the Congress takes the initiative and leads in organising nation-wide protests, campaigns and sustained struggles, bringing together other like-minded political parties and civil society against the "anti-national, anti-people policies and programmes of the Modi Government. He argued that adherence to pro-poor, pro-middle-class socio-economic policies is the way to strengthen Congress's credibility in taking up the people's and the nation's issues.

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