The Hindu : Other States / Pondicherry News : CPI(M) urges govt. to hold civic polls

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Sunday, Jun 06, 2004

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CPI(M) urges govt. to hold civic polls

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, JUNE 5. The Secretary of the Pondicherry Communist Party of India (Marxist) unit, T. Murugan, has urged the Rangasamy Government to hold civic polls in six months.

Addressing newsmen here today, he said had civic polls been held regularly, the problem now faced by voters due to deletion of names would not have arisen. The Administration should take speedy steps to address the complaints of deletion of names.

Mr. Murugan said the party volunteers would observe an indefinite fast from July 5 if the government did not initiate steps to have the Lt. Governor, N.N. Jha, replaced. Already complaints were made to the Centre that Mr. Jha was functioning with leanings towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.

`Wrong step'

Mr. Murugan said the present arrangement of the Health department to associate doctors and medical personnel of private medical colleges and hospitals to man Primary Health Centres (PHCs) was a step in the wrong direction. This would only give rise to doubts that the government was supporting the private sector. Would the Health Minister take responsibility if the treatment at the PHCs by private doctors caused hardship to patients, he asked. He feared that there would be diversion of patients from government-run hospitals to private institutions. The Health department should discontinue the arrangement.

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