Lok Satta Party national President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today called upon people not to excuse but teach a lesson to the UPA which in its 10-year rule has destroyed the economy, perpetuated poverty and indulged in corruption and posed a threat to the federal character of the nation.
Addressing the seventh annual conference of the State Lok Satta Party, Dr. JP asked youth, farmers and women to shed their silence, plunge into politics and fight for good governance.
Party leaders from all over the State as also delegates from party units in other States attended the conference. As Dr. JP noted, the party was holding its first annual conference after conducting organizational elections through secret ballot.
At the outset, Dr. JP referred to the losses inflicted by successive cyclones on Andhra Pradesh and asked farmers not to lose heart but fight against the Government which has let them down. Although the Prime Minister, at the request of the Lok Satta Party, had promised assistance, the State did not submit proposals for strengthening flood banks of the Krishna and the Godavari. It has not bothered to improve the drainage facilities for the last 25 years. Although nearly Rs.5000 crore is spent on the rural employment guarantee scheme in the State, no attempt has been made to harvest rainwater. The State continues to be ravaged by floods in the rainy season and drinking water scarcity in the summer.
Dr. JP came down heavily on the Government for failing to address the growing unemployment problem. While China has created 20 crore jobs in the last 20 years, India has created a mere 20 lakh jobs in the same period, although 1.2 crore people are joining the ranks of the unemployed every year.
Dr. JP said that the Union Government is behaving like a monarch in going ahead with its decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh without bringing about a comprehensive and amicable understanding among people of different regions. The Center cannot keep the State united or bifurcate it forcibly. Creation of a new State is going to be neither a catastrophe nor a panacea for people’s problems. Taking advantage the situation, some leaders are promising jobs to all those who passed the tenth class, distribution of three acres of land to each landless family and irrigation of thousands of acres of land by making the water defy gravity.
Dr. JP asked party leaders to conduct a people’s ballot in every village and ward in the next few weeks to find out whether they would like Delhi to take decisions on splitting the Telugu people or they themselves should decide on the issue.
Dr. JP listed the many achievements accomplished by the Lok Satta movement and party. It enabled Andhra Pradesh farmers to gain Rs.3600 crore by launching a peaceful agitation against restrictions on inter-State movement of paddy and rice. If India has emerged as the largest exporter of agricultural produce in the world today, the credit goes to the Lok Satta for its fight against ban on exports. Although the party does not have a single member in Parliament and has only a lone member in the State Assembly, it has been instrumental in the ushering in of electoral reforms ranging from enrolment of voters to disclosure of candidates’criminal antecedents, the passage of laws on limiting the Cabinet size, preventing detections, appointment of a Judicial Commission, the right to information and guaranteeing autonomy to cooperatives.
Pointing out that the nation is going through a crisis, Dr. JP called upon people not to remain silent but use the Lok Satta as their platform for seeking a better future. He listed many issues on which they should blow the whistle (the party’s election symbol) and seek justice. They should demand decentralization of power, provision of Government services as a matter of right, elimination of corruption, safety and security of women, restriction of liquor consumption, implementation of the SC and ST Sub-Plans, quality education and healthcare for all, and provision of skills and employment opportunities.
Dr. JP hoisted the national and party flags. State Lok Satta Party President Katari Srinivasa Rao said the conference would decide on the course of the party in the next one year. Mr. Ravi Maruth welcomed the delegates.
Mr. Surendra Srivatsava, national General Secretary and party leaders from Maharashtra and Karnataka took part in the conference.
