Dr. JP wants a Central committee to go into crisis in AP
Lok Satta Party national President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today demanded that a Joint Parliamentary Committee or Government committee be appointed to find an amicable solution to the crisis plaguing Andhra Pradesh in the wake of the Delhi decision to bifurcate the State.
Addressing a media conference, Dr. JP said that the Center cannot remain a mute spectator when hatred and ill will among people are dividing the nation.
He also demanded that the State Assembly be convened immediately so that elected people’s representatives can discuss the issue in a cool and collected manner and strive to work out a comprehensive and amicable solution.
Dr. JP appealed to all creative people like writers, actors and directors to use their creativity to promote unity and amity among Telugu speaking people by sparing their time and forgoing income, if necessary. Whether the State remains intact or is divided, unity among Telugu people should not suffer, he added.
Dr. JP explained that he had postponed his Telugu Tejam mission at Anantapur on September 15 as he did not want to aggravate differences among people. He is committed to promoting an amicable debate among people and not adding fuel to the fire. He will resume his tour depending on circumstances.
Dr. JP said that a true leader in a democracy should try to harmonize conflicting interests and not fan differences and fuel animosities. Unfortunately, Andhra Pradesh has become a lab for promoting animosities among people for narrow political interests. The situation has become so vitiated that the right to free expression is being attacked. The very leaders who garland portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and claim to hail from the land of the Buddha and Mahaveera are inciting hatred and violence.
Dr. JP appealed to political leaders as also youth, farmers and women to observe restraint and try to understand the others’ point of view.
Referring to the Government of India decision to impose a duty of 2.5 percent on crude palm oil and raise the duty on refined palm oil from 7.5 percent to 10 percent, Dr. JP said it would benefit mostly the industry and not the farmer. He pointed that the Lok Satta Party has for long demanded that duties be levied on imports of edible oils and pulses and the resultant revenue utilized for encouraging farmers to raise oilseeds and pulses. He demanded a 20 percent import duty on edible oils and pulses. The country during 2012-13 spent more than 14 billion US dollars equivalent to about Rs.90000 crore on import of edible oils and pulses. If farmers are encouraged, the country will save precious foreign exchange and people provided genuine food security.
State Lok Satta Party President Katari Srinivasa Rao pointed out that within minutes of Dr. JP launching his Telugu Tejam tour, some TV channels started spewing venom against him. It was unwarranted considering that the Lok Satta has taken a consistent stand on the Telangana issue unlike other political parties.
Lok Satta Party Vice President D. V. V. S. Varma and General Secretary Ravi Maruth took part in the media conference.
