Akhilesh slams Centre over allowing 100 pc FDI in insurance sector

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday voiced opposition to the Centre’s decision to allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance sector. Flaying the move, he said it poses significant risks to industry stability and leaves Indian policyholders’ interests vulnerable. Yadav also asked the government to remove tax on insurance premium.

In a post in Hindi on X, the SP chief wrote, “Dear ‘Indian policyholders’. Isn’t allowing 100% foreign investment in insurance sector like putting the entire insurance sector at risk by the BJP-led government? Sometimes, due to various reasons, there are ups and downs in foreign relations. In such a situation, if there is any disruption, how will the responsibility and accountability of the foreign company be ensured?”

“Who will insure this uncertainty? Can the countrymen trust a Jumla government like the BJP to guarantee 100% rights of the insurance buyers of our country,” he asked in the post.

“These new provisions will provide 100% protection to the interests of foreign insurance companies, but what will happen to the people of our country who take insurance? Even if these foreign companies invest the entire insurance amount collected in the country, the question will still arise whether they will invest even half of the profit they earn in our country or will they take the entire profit back to their country,” he wrote.

“It is the responsibility of the government to remove the doubts by printing the terms and conditions printed in small font size in big font on complex subjects like insurance,” Yadav said.

“The BJP government should also guarantee that it will not loot the pockets of the people by collecting donations from the profits of foreign companies and by playing the game of increasing the premium behind their backs. If the BJP really cares about the people, it should remove the tax imposed on insurance premium during its rule,” he demanded.

“The biggest shortcoming of the BJP is that it considers the people of the country as ‘customers’ and not ‘citizens’. BJP’s thinking is commercial. That is why it thinks about ‘profit’, not about public welfare,” Yadav alleged.