Opposed to acquisition of farm land for industrial projects, the Bharatiya Janata Paraty on Monday demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh call an all-party meeting over the Special Economic Zones.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani, in his address to FICCI's annual general meeting in New Delhi, described as 'wasted' the period between the late 1960s and the early 1990s for the Soviet-influenced model of economic development.
He also accused the Communists of double-speak on current economic issues, citing the row over farmland acquisition at Singur in West Bengal for a Tata Motors car project.
Advani, who called SEZs as enclaves of world-class manufacturing units with special focus on exports, alleged that the UPA government did not exercise necessary precaution in formulating and implementing the policy.
"In view of the recent and ongoing developments in West Bengal, I urge the prime minister to call an all-party meeting on this issue," he said.
Advani maintained that farmers whose land is acquired for industrial use should be given some kind of stake in the projects or a regular income stream.
The former BJP chief, whose party stood staunchly beside its ally and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee during her hunger strike against the Singur land acquisition for Tata, however, praised Ratan Tata for his accomplishments.
Advani referred to Ratan Tata's bid to acquire Corus, a British steel company, and Laxmi Mittal's Arcelor venture.
In an attack on the Left allies of the United Progressive Alliance, the BJP leader remarked that the 'nature' of the ruling coalition was itself a 'big roadblock' in the country's progress.
In response to a question from a member of the audience, Advani remarked that there are several democracies that allow their film industries to have censor powers with them.
He indicated the Indian film industry should take initiatives for seeking such controls.
The BJP leader, who last week held a key meeting with the prime minister over Pakistan, also spoke about his party's concerns over security.
"We want to have good relations with our neighbours, but not at the cost of security," he said.
Advani also spoke in favour of privatisation of higher education. "Of late, private entrepreneurs have shown a lot of interest in higher and professional education. Many of the institutions that they have set up in technology, medicine, management, law and other areas are of excellent quality. This is of course a welcome trend."
In his speech, the BJP leader again admitted his party lost power because of its 'India Shining' campaign, which he said should rather have been named 'India Rising.'
"After all there were millions and crores of people who looked at it from their angle," he said.
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