Press Releases Archive

The Lok Satta Party said today that PRP President Chiranjeevi has merely betrayed his colossal ignorance of the Constitution and democracy by questioning the rationale behind Lok Satta’s stand in favor of district governments. (Chiranjeevi has commented yesterday in Visakhapatnam that formation of district governments amounted to the State's vivisection).

Talking to the media, party spokesmen Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao, Mr. V.Laxman Balaji, Mrs. K.Geeta Murthy said that what all the Lok Satta had been agitating for is in accordance with the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution which envisaged transfer of powers, responsibilities, resources and personnel to local governments. The Lok Satta stand is in tune with Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of gram swaraj.

The Lok Satta has all along fought for empowerment of panchayats, mandal parishads, zilla parishads, municipalities and municipal corporations so that they would be at the service of citizens who are sovereign in a democracy. Governments existed for people and not the other way round. The era of power vesting in the PM, CM and the DM (prime minister, chief minister and district magistrate) should give way for power in the hands of governments elected at the local level.

In response to Chiaranjeevi’s demand that the Lok Satta clarify where it stood on the demand for keeping the State intact, the spokesmen pointed out that unlike Chiaranjeevi, who changed his colors like a chameleon, the Lok Satta had taken a consistent stand right from the beginning. The traditional parties supported the division of the State one day and opposed it the next day unabashedly and cynically for short-term political gains.

“A mature political party would not function like a weathervane and be swept away when primordial loyalties to religion and region, caste and language take hold of people. After all, the State had been rocked by caste clashes in 1988 and communal riots for many years. Is it wise for any party to side this caste or that religion when tempers run high?”

“Neither heavens would fall nor an El Dorado unveiled with Telangana formation. The Lok Satta is not opposed to Telangana formation if such a consensus emerged in its favor after wide-ranging consultations with all the stakeholders. It has no objection to the State remaining united if that is the consensus.

“The traditional political parties should realize that the formation of a Telangana State is merely a means and not an end. There will not be any transformation in the lives of people unless they are empowered and corruption eliminated, and quality education, healthcare and livelihood opportunities provided to all without reference to the accident of their birth in a particular caste or religion or region.”

Political parties should stop playing to the galleries in a bid to manipulate gullible people for their partisan ends, added the Lok Satta leaders.

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today appealed to common and middle class people to immediately call off their indefinite fasts or fast unto death all over the State as part of their agitation either for separation of Telangana or against State’s bifurcation. They should not risk their lives and future as also that of their near and dear by being carried away by momentary passions since none will bother about them after the frenzy dies down. The rich and the powerful might stand to gain in many ways by resorting to indefinite fasts but not the common and middle class people. “Don’t become scapegoats in the games being played by political parties for short-term political gains.”

Dr. JP also appealed to people not to resort to bandhs and rasta and rail rokos which are playing havoc with the lives of daily wage earners, those in need of critical medical care and the studies of students. People could express their opinion through non-violent agitation without hurting others. “They are welcome to turn their wrath against political parties which have played with their lives by rousing their primordial loyalties.” He requested the media to help cool down tempers among people and the thinking people in all parties and organizations to shed their silence and work for restoring sanity in public life.

He was addressing the media after his return from Delhi where he met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Opposition leader L. K. Advani and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as part of his mission to defuse the present political crisis in the State.

His dialogues with national Government and party leaders, he said, had convinced him that the Government of India would come up with a solution that takes into account the aspirations and concerns of people in all the regions of the State. The Government of India is fully cognizant of the gravity of the situation.

Dr. JP said that “there is no magic formula that can simultaneously accommodate the demands for the State’s division as also for keeping it intact. Any solution will involve a give and take on the part of all the stakeholders. The Government of India cannot be expected to backtrack on a stand it has already announced in public but at the same time it is in no position to impose its will on a major State in a federal setup by riding roughshod over public opinion. There won’t be any winners or losers in democracy. A win-win formula that takes into account the views of all stakeholders in all the regions has to be worked out”.

Dr. JP repeated his contention that the formation of a separate State would neither be a calamity not a panacea to people’s problems.

In reply to a question, Dr. JP said he would term physical attacks on opponents as uncivilized and beastly. In reply to another, he said he had gone to Delhi on his own as a citizen concerned about the raging regional fires in Andhra Pradesh. Resignations by legislators were unwarranted since they are expected to utilize the forums available to them to resolve issues and not to abdicate their constitutional responsibilities.