Press Releases Archive

Lok Satta releases second list of Candidates for GHMC polls

The Lok Satta Party today released the second list of its candidates for 32 more seats in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. With this, the party has named candidates to contest from 71 seats so far.

The list was released by Mr. V. Ramachandraiah, party’s Election Authority Chairman.

Party leaders Katari Srinivasa Rao and V. Laxman Balaji told the media that the contestants include lawyers, engineers, lecturers, social workers, business people and housewives. Most of them belonged to middle and lower middle classes and had come up in life on their own.

All the contestants affirmed they had no criminal background and pledged not to lure voters with inducements like money and liquor.

The Lok Satta is contesting the elections on the plank of devolving powers and resources on elected divisionaal committees.

Following is the second list of candidates:

Amberpet Mylaram Raju
Baghamberpet Miryala Srinivas
Barkatpura Varakantham Ramshaker Reddy
Golnaka Babitha Pawar
Nallakunta Srivari Bharathi
Somajiguda D. Ramachandra Rao
Champapet Madikanti Ramesh
Gaddiannaram Basavaraju Suhasini
Mansoorabad Dasyam Venkata Laxmi
Ramakrishnapuram Sambavu Prathibha
Moosarambagh Gaddam Pandu Yadav
Moula Ali K. Swapna
Safilguda SV Gajanani
Baghlingampally Ragamalla Ravinder Reddy
Bholakpur Ammanavari Nandu
Kavadiguda Gudaparthi Paramesh
Ramnagar Laddiperla Vanisree Mahesh Gowd
Ramachandrapuram A.Pranitha
Gajula Ramaram Dr.Kurra Ravinder Goud
Jagadgirigutta Kasula Srinivasa Chary
Jeedimetla Tuniki Vikram Simha
Qutbullapur Bollompally Venkatram Reddy
Mailardevpally Banda Rajesh Yadav
Begumpet Gowri Kambampati
Padmaraonagar Kottepogu Nagamani
Ramgopalpet Narsingam Kalpana Satish
Chilakalguda Muddapaka Vimala Naidu
Tarnaka Gangavarapu Sindhu Kalyani
Lingampally Ganta Matam Chenna Veeraiah
Maredpally M. Swetha Yadav
Kapra Lavanya Shah
I.S Sadan Nakkaboina Veerender Babu

Saturday, October 24, 2009 - 17:10

Arogyasri is not a cure-all: Lok Satta

“The State Government is focusing its attention on extending Arogyasri coverage to all the people without realizing that Arogyasri has not guaranteed health to even to those who are covered by it, charged the Lok Satta Party here today. Arogyasri is not a cure-all.

“Thousands of people all over the State falling victim of diseases like malaria and dengue are today forced to incur huge expenditure by incurring debts on treatment in private, corporate hospitals as Arogyasri covered only certain diseases and not all.”

Talking to the media, party spokespersons V. Laxman Balaji and Mrs. K. Gita Murthy said a solution to the health crisis in the State lay in taking preventive measures and strengthening primary and secondary care. Instead, Arogyasri aimed at providing tertiary super specialty care to a microscopic section of the State’s population.

The leaders quoted the National Sample Survey to point out that 1,10,000 people who needed some medical care or the other every day in Andhra Pradesh chose to go without treatment. Another 17,500 people visited hospitals both in the private and public sector and a majority of them met the expenditure on treatment out of their pocket. The Government washed its hands of providing health care by ensuring that a few hundred people underwent surgeries mostly in private hospitals every day. The Arogyasri scheme had merely enriched a few private hospitals but not ensured health even to cardholders and their families.

As of today, the Lok Satta leaders said, 85 percent of the people are eligible to avail of benefits under Arogyasri. Extension of coverage to the remainder of 15 percent of people would not be a big deal.

“The need of the hour is a comprehensive health care policy which ensures quality and free health care to all the people.” The Government should have constituted a committee of health care experts to evolve such a policy, instead of a committee of Ministers to consider extension of Arogyasri even to pink card holders.

Friday, October 23, 2009 - 17:56

People voted for the lesser evil: Dr. JP

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said today that the Congress, despite its incompetent, corrupt and centralized rule, got away with victories Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Assemblies because of people’s aversion to parties which sought to divide them on the basis of caste, religion, region and language.

Talking to media representatives, Dr. JP said that unlike in the past people pondered over their future without being swayed by momentary emotions as they exercised their franchise. Since there was no party which represented their quest for change, they were forced to vote for the least dangerous party. The Congress success in State elections did not signify people’s endorsement of its policies.

In Maharashtra, Dr. JP pointed out that the voters regarded both the Congress and the BJP as the two sides of the same coin. There was little difference between the two parties’ policies and the players continued to be the same old ones or their successors, although they might have switched parties. Yet, the people voted for the Congress because it was the lesser evil.

Dr. JP expressed concern over the indifference of voters to elections and their outcome because of the absence of a party which mirrored their quest for change. In their perception, the third front too comprised parties which are akin to the Congress and the BJP. People’s indifference posed a threat to democracy itself, he warned and said that a proportional representation system in place of the present first-past-the-post system would pave way for the emergence of new parties pursuing alternative politics.

The elections once again underlined that a victory or defeat is not determined by the incumbency factor alone and that multiplicity of parties would not come in the way of the victory of a party in which people reposed faith.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 17:05

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