The present Vajpayee-led government having come to power under the active patronage of imperialism and the domestic Indian big business is only to keen to return the favour. Having got the opening up of the insurance sector passed in the Parliament and pushing for other bills designed to open up our economy much more to the depredations of foreign capital, Mr. Vajpayee has assured the Summit of all cooperation with the demands raised by the WEF.

Through these columns, we had repeatedly exposed the true content of these measures of economic reform as being detrimental to India's economic sovereignty on the one hand and, on the other, imposing unprecedented burdens on the vast majority of the Indian people. The Vajpayee government, however, betraying its pro-imperialist and pro-Indian big business bias has chosen to mortgage our country and put additional burdens on the people through such unqualified assurances to the Summit.

As to who controls the Indian economy, it became very clear with the concluding speech of the WEF Managing Director. Any patriot would have protested against the content and the tone of the speech. But not Mr. Vajpayee and his ministers who made a beeline to be photographed at the Summit.

The WEF Managing Director has said: "If India wants to align itself with the global economy, then there will be no alternative to a sound fiscal and macro-economic environment. There is no underestimating the level of penalty for countries failing to put in place the right policies."

Following such stern warning, he went on to suggest the two measures that Indian must adopt. First, a drastic reduction in subsidies. Secondly, a rapid disinvestment of the public sector.

A reduction in subsidies means that whatever little relief is being provided to the poor and the needy will now cease. In the first three years of the reform, the then government and the Planning Commission had admitted that the people below the poverty line had actually grown significantly. Since then, no successive government has taken any step to reverse this trend. On the contrary, pursuing policies of reckless liberalisation, they have only worsened the situation. Thus, at this stage, instead of taking measures to provide relief to the poorest of the poor, the government is considering further reduction of subsidies. In other words, in the coming days, the Vajpayee government will impose further burdens on the people.

Likewise, this speedier disinvestment of the public sector means that the economic assets of the Indian people will be sold at a pittance to foreign and Indian private capital. In other words, the Vajpayee government is selling the family silver to meet its daily expenditures. In the process, the country would not only be mortgaged but its debt burden would grow astronomically.

On top of all these, has come a report suggesting that the government is planning to throw open India's print media to foreign capital. Thus, permitting foreign capital to doctor and influence information and news in the country which has grave political and social implications. Even the Mecca of liberalisation, the USA, does not allow foreigners to have a significant control of their media. Recollect that the media baron Rupert Murdoch, an Australian by birth, had to obtain US citizenship to operate in that country. This Vajpayee government is throwing to the winds even the most elementary safeguards required to maintain and strengthen our sovereignty.

All these measures put together indicate that the present Vajpayee government is pursuing a course, which is disastrous for the country and its people. It is a course that offers a huge bonanza of profits to foreign capital and Indian big business.