The Hindu : MSR flays `India shining' campaign

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

MSR flays `India shining' campaign

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, FEB. 21. The former Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president, M. Satyanarayana Rao, has lashed out at the NDA Government terming its `India shining' campaign false.

In a press release here on Saturday, Mr. Satyanarayana Rao said the BJP would be taught a lesson in the coming elections for neglecting the core sectors like agriculture. The `pro-rich' policies of the BJP and the TDP distanced them from people, he said.

Mr. Rao said the `feel-good factor' did not help the common man and those below poverty line.

Referring to the reports of several study groups, Mr. Rao said the expenditure on the social sector such as health, education, housing and drinking water had been drastically cut by the NDA Government at the Centre and the TDP in the State leading to further impoverishment of the poor. Countering the claims of the NDA, he said the employment generation had fallen to the lowest level leading to widespread unrest among the youth.

The failure of the Government in sustaining the revolutions in the agriculture and handloom sectors had contributed to the large number of suicide in the country, he said pointing out that a majority of suicide cases reported in Andhra Pradesh alone.

Referring to the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani's statement that the `feel-good' factor was absent among farmers, he said a careful scrutiny of other sectors would make the NDA confess similarly on all counts.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh