Press Releases Archive

Lok Satta teams to visit districts

In its bid to strengthen the party at the grassroots level and emerge as a force in the local body elections, the Lok Satta Party has constituted six teams to go round districts and hold talks with district committees, constituency in-charges and party workers.

Each team will visit four districts from August 9 to 13. Based on the feedback received from the teams, the State Working Committee will take measures to finalize an action plan to strengthen the party.

Mr. DVVS Varma, Party Vice-President and Mr. V. Laxman Balaji, party spokesman, said the party’s Working Committee, which met here yesterday with Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan in the chair, also decided to constitute a Political Affairs Committee with Mr. DVVS Varma as Chairman. The other members of the committee are: Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao, Mrs. S. Manorama, Mr. Bhisetty A. Babji, Mr. P. Ravi Maruth, Mr. A. Iramamurthy, Mr. Y. D. Rama Rao, Mr. E. Chennayya, and Dr. K. Kondaiah.

The party constituted a Disciplinary Committee with Mr. V. Ramachandraiah as Chairman and Dr. Radha Devi, Mr. Chekkam Ramireddy, Mr. Jupally Satyanarayana and Mr. Bhisetty A. Babji as members. The party’s Committee on Training and Literature will be headed by Mr. DVVS Varma and comprises Mr. D. Venkata Ramana and Mrs. K. Gita Murthy as members.

The Working Committee at the outset paid rich tributes to Mr. Ankem Prabhakara Rao, senior leader of the party, who passed away.

The Lok Satta Party demanded an impartial inquiry into the mysterious death of Armed Reserve constable P. Muralinath near Gwalior. He had been sent from Hyderabad to work as a car driver for the family of a top police official. The party also wanted the Government to immediately put an end to the ‘orderly’ system under which police officials abused constables’ services for personal purposes.

Monday, August 3, 2009 - 18:19

Dr. JP charges Congress, TDP with collusion

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today charged both the ruling Congress and the Opposition TDP with smartly colluding in the Assembly to divert people's attention from the problems they faced and avoid determined action to put an end to corruption.

Addressing the media, Dr. JP regretted that the Assembly had so far failed to have a meaningful discussion on the State budget which envisaged an expenditure of Rs.103,000 crore because the two main parties indulged in shouting and counter-shouting and mutual mud-slinging. They were oblivious of the fact that the State as also the country were going through an economic downturn and that people were undergoing untold hardships. They don't seem to realize that the Government planned to spend Rs.20 lakh a minute or Rs.282 crore a day during 2009-10. Far from discussing what had gone wrong in the past and what should be done in future for people's welfare, the top leadership of the two parties were insulting the House and the people who had elected them by indulging in fake encounters.

Referring to the exchange of corruption allegations by the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the House earlier in the day, Dr. JP wanted them to stop indulging in rhetoric and start action to get at the truth. Inquiries by a sitting judge or a retired judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court - a bone of contention between the two parties -- would take them nowhere because a judge whether sitting or retired would merely submit a report after which an FIR had to be filed. If both the Government and the main Opposition were sincere and serious, special courts could straightway be constituted, independent prosecutors appointed, the ACB made totally autonomous and a law facilitating attachment of properties of the accused pending trial could be passed.

Dr. JP recalled the Lok Satta Party had drafted a Bill to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act, circulated it among all parties and convened an all-party meeting. Significantly, the two main political parties had maintained studied silence on the Bill although they feigned to fight corruption by trading accusations. Dr. JP pointed out the Bill drafted by the Lok Satta is in tune with the recommendations of the Law Commission, the Administative Reforms Commission and the Santhanam Committee (44 years ago).

Dr. JP alleged that the two main parties resorted to shadow boxing on corruption once again to divert people's attention. "Most of the members, belonging to all parties are public spirited and sincere in their purpose. But the leaderships are hijacking the House, and undermining public good."

Dr. JP called upon people and the media to exert pressure on these party leaderships to mend their behavior. They should be reminded that they had been elected to serve the public and not to lord them over. The people could launch signature campaigns, personally meet the legislators and write to the media.

The media itself should mold public opinion by shunning publicity to politicians who repeated allegations against each other ad nauseam instead of initiating follow-up action.

Monday, August 3, 2009 - 18:08

Supply safe drinking water first in Problematic villages: Lok Satta

The Lok Satta Party today wanted the Government to install reverse osmosis (RO) plants only in problematic villages and not randomly at the rate of one in every mandal of the State.

Talking to the media, party spokespersons Katari Srinivasa Rao, V. Laxman Balaji, Technical Advisor K. Sivarama Krishna welcomed the Government decision to go in for RO water purification plants, originally proposed by the Lok Satta in its 50 irrevocable guarantees to the electorate.

But they pointed out that the Lok Satta envisaged such plants only in habitations where the water is not potable because of salinity or excess of fluoride content, or contamination by industrial effluents. “The Government proposal to install at least one plant in every mandal of the State is ad hoc and unscientific.” They recalled that a committee appointed by the Government had suggested that a comprehensive survey on the quality of drinking water should precede installation of RO plants.

The Lok Satta leaders said that installation of the plants could be done without waiting for a comprehensive survey if the Lok Satta guidelines were followed.

Safe drinking water constituted only about ten percent of people’s water requirements. But they needed water for other purposes too. Such water too should be clean. The Government should focus on supplying filtered water for such purposes.

On the Government move to collect one or two rupees for a 20 liter can of protected water, the spokespersons said an ideal solution to the installation and maintenance of RO plants lay in making a per capita of grant of Rs.1000 to every village/municipal ward/division. A village with a population of say 5000 will receive a grant of Rs.50 lakh. “Let the villagers decide how they should utilize the amount. They may install an RO plant and supply water at rates decided by them or build a school or hospital or road.”

Saturday, August 1, 2009 - 16:25

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