Left seek written assurance from Govt

New Delhi: The Left parties on Wednesday submitted an exhaustive note to the government ahead of Thursday's UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting.

In the note, the Left solicited ''written assurances'' on the issues of FDI in retail, foreign policy and social security for unorganised workers in order to pin down the Congress-led coalition on the specifics.

The comprehensive note running into nine pages, which also contains key areas of differences between the two, was submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this afternoon.

A copy of the note was also given to Congress chief and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

''We want issue-to-issue debate and clinch it as well. No more hanky-panky business,'' CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said.

CPI(M) senior leader Nilotpal Basu said the contents of the note would be the basis of deliberations at the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting to be held at the Prime Minister's official residence on Thusrday evening.

The note was finalised at a joint meeting of the Left parties - CPI(M), CPI, Forward Bloc and the RSP - on Tuesday morning.

Left leaders said the note highlighted pending promises on the the Women's Reservation Bill, Unorganised Workers' Bill and the Bill for the welfare of tribals besides disagreement on the agrarian crisis, disinvestment, the decision to open up retail trade to foreign companies and the attempts to allow foreign banks to pick up stakes in private doemstic banks.

''We want a written response from the UPA governmentm,'' Bardhan said.