Press Releases Archive

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan expressed his relief over Anna Hazare and his team calling off the fast at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and at other places tomorrow.

Commenting on the announcement from India against Corruption, Dr. JP said in a media statement, “Annaji clearly awakened the conscience and purposefulness of a whole nation, and for this we must all be forever grateful to him. While I have no doubt that Team Anna is capable of resolute fast for many more days, it would have been futile, because Parliament did not appear to share Anna's urgency to pass a strong anti-corruption law.”

Dr JP said he felt satisfied that the Lok Satta, on its part, had supported the enactment of a Lokpal Bill from the very beginning, and made strong efforts to convince Parliament of its importance. He was also happy that thousands of Lok Satta party members participated in the two-year campaign by India against Corruption.

“It will surely have been a great learning experience for so many to understand how this country is really run, and how it needs to be run very differently – by a brand new politics committed to public good”.

Dr JP noted Team Anna's apparent plans to plunge into electoral politics. He said, “Lok Satta welcomes this whole-heartedly. The battle for political change in this country has been a long and lonely one, and while the Lok Satta has traveled some distance on this journey, many more miles remain to be covered. Anna can galvanize the participation of concerned and informed citizens in public life, and give progressive politics a powerful new momentum”.

He concluded by adding that Lok Satta will be happy to place at Anna's disposal the entirety of its learning and efforts as a political party. “We have all traveled this road, in our different and separate ways, for many years now. We can powerfully combine our efforts to build a great India.”

The collapse of the power grids resulting in half of the Indian population going without power is the culmination of neglect of the power sector for decades by successive Governments, said Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan here today.

Although India has abundant coal reserves that can last for nearly 300 years, power plants are starved of the fuel because of lack of foresight on the part of the Government, he said. We import not merely gold but also 130 million tons of black gold worth billions of dollars every year.

Dr. JP was addressing media after unveiling a booklet on 'Environment in the Jaws of Pollution', penned by Prof. Gollu Suryanarayana in Telugu. Dr. JP commended Prof. Suryanarayana as a self-made man who started his career as a school teacher and rose to become a university professor and embellished the State Public Service Commission. Prof. Suryanarayana has done a signal service to Telugu-speaking people by bringing out the booklet in intelligible Telugu.

Dr. JP underlined the importance of achieving economic growth with minimum pollution. Establishment of washeries and beneficiation plants will reduce pollution resulting from coal mining. In its bid to save a few crores of rupees, Dr. JP recalled, the National Thermal Power Corporation failed to attend to efficient handling of ash at the Simhadri power plant in Andhra Pradesh. The ash emanating from the plant has been blanketing a number of villages around the plant. Seeing the plight of villagers around the Simhadri plant, people in other parts of the State are fiercely resisting establishment of thermal power plants.

Dr. JP said corruption, short-sighted policies and inefficiency are to blame for the chronic power shortage in Andhra Pradesh. Instead of reducing losses in transmission and distribution, the Government is encouraging establishment of more and more power plants, unmindful of the pollution they cause. The State perhaps needs an additional installed capacity of about 15,000 mw whereas the Government talks of promoting generation of 66,000 MW. It persists with unviable lift irrigation schemes which require massive amounts of power.

Voicing concern over growing pollution, Prof. Suryanarayana said that the day is not far off when we have to carry oxygen cylinders strapped to our backs just as we carry bottled water these days as pure air and water have become scarce.

Lok Satta Party General Secretary Katari Srinivasa Rao welcomed the media. Dr. JP honored Prof. Suryanarayana and publisher Indukuri Appalaraju Varma (Rajababu) with shawls and mementos. Lok Satta Party Working President D. V.V. S. Varma shared the dais.