Ram said introduction of the IRA Bill shows that the BJP is more Congress than Congress itself. The present leadership of the party under Sonia Gandhi has taken a confused position on the issue. The party is, however, as committed to the bill as the BJP is itself, he said.

Until 1956, there were 245 insurance companies operating in India and until 1972 there were 106 general insurance companies in India. These companies had to be nationalised as profit motive was their chief consideration which made state intervention in the sector inevitable, he said.

Ram criticised the media for whipping up a campaign in favour of insurance liberalisation. He charged the media foreliminating any serious debate on the issue. "The media is involved in `manufacturing consent' by projecting critics of IRA Bill as anti-reformists," he said.

Criticising the government's decision to offer 26 per cent equity stake to foreign companies and 16 per cent stake to NRIs, he said, NRIs could serve as a "benami" for foreign capital. Thus, foreign companies were actually being offered 40 per cent stake, he said.

Recalling the securities scam, he said, opening up the insurance sector could result in scams of a similar nature. "Four foreign banks had taken the lion's share of the fraud," he said.

He exhorted the insurance unions to be alert as "a difficult process lies ahead."