Saturday, December 10 2005 18:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Stating that the reduction in EPF rate was not acceptable to Communist Party of India (CPI), party General Secretary A B Bardhan today (Dec 10, 2005) firmly demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government must restore it to 9.5 per cent even if meant coughing up Rs 700 crore to meet the deficit.

"The cut in EPF rate is not acceptable to us at all." According to their arithmetic, the Government has to spend RSA programme to mark the 80th anniversary of CPI here.

Bardhan said that the UPA Government had borne Rs 7,000 crore revenue loss by lowering the rate of turnover tax for brokers, but in case of EPF rate they were talking about deficit.

"I am also a trade unionist and I feel 9.5 per cent EPF rate is reasonable," Bardhan said.

The CPI general secretary lashed out at Finance Minister P Chidambaram saying that people like him and Montek Singh Ahwulaia belonged to the burgeoise basket and they cannot look beyond the interests of the capitalists."

"When they give concession to the capitalists, they call it incentives. But when they give something to the common people and the poor, they describe it as subsidy," the CPI leader said.

Asked what his party would do if the Government stuck to 8.5 per cent EPF rate, Bardhan said that they would launch a strong movement on this issue. "But the Prime Minister has said that he will look into our demand."