Press Releases Archive

Delhi should take the lead to douse Passions in AP: Dr. JP

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said the need of the hour in Andhra Pradesh today is the dousing of flames of passion and restoring sanity to people fighting for the formation of a separate Telangana State and those opposing it in favor of an integrated State.

Addressing the annual conference of the party’s General Council and the media later, Dr. JP recalled the present unrest was triggered by Union Home Minister Chidamabaram’s December 9 announcement that the Government of India had initiated the process for the formation of a Telangana State. To restore peace in the State, the Government of India should immediately announce that it would not impose any solution of its own on the people of Andhra Pradesh to the festering Telangana problem and any solution would be arrived at only after consultations with and consensus among all the stakeholders.

Dr. JP said that legislators who had tendered their resignations protesting the Delhi announcement or their party’s insincere stand should withdraw them forthwith. Resignations amounted to abdication of their Constitutional responsibility as elected members. “This is not the time to succumb to passion. Leadership lies in staying above the fray, and resolving the crisis collectively.”

Dr. JP said that pending a final settlement to the Telangana issue, interim institutional arrangements should be made to address the aspirations of the Telangana region and the grievances of people in all backward regions in the State in a time-bound manner. Regional imbalances had raised their ugly head because local governments had been deprived of powers and resources.

The Lok Satta Party President recalled that the party is committed to transcending caste and religion, region and language and protecting the interests of all. “There is no place in the party for those who are swept off by momentary and petty considerations”, he said and asked the party’s Disciplinary Committee to deal firmly with those who stray from the party’s fundamental principless.

In response to a question, he said that Lok Satta Party members would not join any Joint Committees of Action formed or being formed in different regions of the State. The parties forming the committees were not committed to following or practicing any principles, and are merely acting as weather-wanes.

He made it clear that the Lok Satta is not opposed to the formation of Telangana if it is accomplished through constitutional means and in accordance with a consensus built among all the regions of the State. Similarly, the party is not opposed to keeping the State intact if the genuine aspirations of people in Telangana are addressed satisfactorily. He underlined the need once again for arriving at a consensus on the status of Hyderabad since the feelings of people in the entire State are intertwined with the capital for the last five decades.

“Above all people of all regions of the State should be disabused of the notion that creation of a separate State is a disaster or that a separate State is a panacea that will solve all problems.”

Dr. JP pointed out that that it is the innocent youth and poor who are falling prey to police baton charges and not the sons or daughters of politicians or bureaucrats. He wanted the youth all over the State to abjure violence and vandalism. Without being swayed by momentary passions, they should express their views peacefully. The recent political developments had caught all traditional parties pants down since their private views differed violently with their public protestations. The traditional parties had exploited the Telangana issue for vote bank politics without addressing their basic problems like empowerment, justice, quality healthcare and education and skill enhancement and livelihood opportunities.

He repeatedly appealed to people to realize that the formation of a Telangana State is going to be neither a cataclysmic event for Andhra Pradesh nor a panacea for Telangana problems. “When you are carried away by primordial loyalties and emotional frenzy, everything appears to be a life and death issue.”

Calling upon people of different regions to shed their hatred against people of other regions, Dr. JP said that in the end people had to live together. “After all, you may change your friends but cannot change geography.”

The party’s General Council decided to form a student wing called Vidyarthi Satta and adopted amendments to the Constitution providing for executive and other types of members and cooption of women, SCs, STs and BCs and youth if they could not be elected in sufficient numbers reserved for them.

Sunday, December 13, 2009 - 17:56

Heed your conscience, Dr. JP Tells legislators

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said today that Andhra Pradesh legislators have now to decide whether they would act like slaves of their parties or as per the dictates of their conscience in the interests of the people of the State and the country.

Commenting on the spate of resignations by legislators cutting across parties, regions and castes protesting against the Delhi decision to initiate the Telangana State formation process, Dr. JP said the resignations highlighted that the parties had been gambling with the lives of people by saying one thing in public and believing in another.

Talking to media persons who called on him, Dr. JP ridiculed Chief Minister K. Rosaiah and Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu for attempting to wriggle out of the positions they had taken less than 24 hours ago. The Chief Minister would now say that after all a resolution had to be passed in the Assembly while the Opposition leader maintained that he was under the impression that a resolution would not come up for debate without widespread consultations.

Dr. JP said that all parties had been plunged into a serious crisis because all of them had been indulging in a game of bluff by feigning support to the Telanagana cause in public and opposing it in their heart of hearts. Delhi had called their bluff by pinning them down to their protestations while legislators called the bluff of their party leadership by resigning from seats which they had won after spending a fortune hardly six months ago.

“Now that the ball is in the court of the legislature, the legislators will have to decide whether they should remain chained to their parties or unshackle themselves and vote according to their conscience on the proposed resolution on Telangana.”

Dr. JP said that the Government of India had set a very dangerous precedent by succumbing to violence and arson on the Telanagana issue. The Constitution provided for peaceful and democratic resolution of problems. Instead of sticking to the constitutional path, the Government of India acted like the monarchs of the past by issuing a fiat around midnight when the entire country was asleep. It had not bothered to take the opinion of elected MPs, MLAs and people into confidence. The specter of the decision on Telanagana would haunt Governments both at the Center and in States for a long time to come.

Dr. JP appealed to the people to realize that political parties had taken them for a ride all along. The people viewed the elections as a spectator sport without appreciating the parties were fiercely fighting with each other on who should have the right to gobble up the humble lamb, the voter, first. The voters should understand that they do not exist for parties but that parties exist for them. Traditional parties have so far succeeded in rousing their primordial loyalties to religion, caste, language and region to serve their narrow goal of coming to power and using them as pawns in their game.

Dr. JP appealed to people of all regions, especially the youth and students, to be restrained and to promote a peaceful and healthy debate. “We should reject politics of hate. We should all together find an amicable and honest solution to fulfill the needs and aspirations of all people. Giving power to people in each district, city, town and village has to be a central feature of re-creating our republic. ‘Malice towards none and charity to all’ should be our motto, and we should strive to give every child an opportunity to fulfill its potential irrespective of the accident of birth.”

The political crisis should be utilized by people to bring about a transformation in the nature of politics. Politics should be a means to provide them quality education, healthcare and skill enhancement and livelihood opportunities and not a means for parties to ride roughshod over them.

Dr. JP said the crisis had bared the opportunistic and bankrupt policies of all traditional parties. The people should draw a lesson and join hands to transform the very nature of politics.

Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 18:11

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