Kerala CPI-M wooed US investment: WikiLeaks

CPI-M in Kerala today admitted that its leaders and ministers had wooed US investment for Kerala when in power but played down the matter saying the party was not blindly opposed to foreign ivestment.

"Yes, the US officials came here. They met us and we talked about things. We explained to them our party's position on the matter", said CPI(M) Central Committee member T M Thomas Isaac, who was Finance Minister in the previous LDF ministry, confirming Wikileaks reports.

"There is a misconception among some people that CPI-M is against all kinds of foreign investment. The party programme is clear that foriegn investment could be allowed based on conditions that safeguarded the country's interests," he said.

"The fact of the matter is that no substantial foreign investment had flowed to the state during LDF rule," he said.

Reports in the local media, quoting diolomatic cables accessed by WikiLeaks, said US officials had met CPI(M) state Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and senior ministers in the LDF cabinet Isaac and M A Baby.

Though they missed the then Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan at their first visit, US officials had met him in 2008 and he was said to have shown interest in getting investment in areas like biotechnology and tourism.