The Hindu : Karnataka News : CPI(M) opposes demand for Statehood

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 06, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

CPI(M) opposes demand for Statehood

By Our Special Correspondent

GULBARGA, SEPT. 5. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today opposed the demand for Statehood in different parts of the country stating that the concept that smaller States would usher in development had failed.

Speaking after inaugurating a seminar on "Regional imbalances in Karnataka and alternative policies to develop underdeveloped areas" here, the Politburo Member of the CPI(M), Prakash Karat, said creation of smaller States to overcome imbalances in development had failed in the North East. Some States there were depending on the Centre even for payment of salary to their staff.

Special laws

Mr. Karat said there were several Constitutional provisions to enact special laws to protect the interests of people in backward areas. He cited the example of how Tripura pressured the Centre to include it in the Schedule 6 of the Constitution to constitute regional councils to protect the interests of the tribal people in that State.

He said Statehood was not an answer to the problems faced by respective regions. Newly created States encountered more problems in resource mobilisation. Even for small projects, they had to depend on the Centre for special grants.

Disparity

Mr. Karat said the main reason for the increasing disparity in development from region to region was the implementation of liberalisation policies with a faulty outlook. Though there was need for reforms in different sectors, it should have been people-centred and not market-centred. Attempts made by successive governments to usher in a socialistic pattern of development through the implementation of five-year plans after Independence had failed to achieve the desired results due to the impact of capitalism. The situation went from bad to worse in the past 15 years with the advent of liberalised economic policy, he added.

Undue attention

He said this resulted in developed areas getting undue attention in the name of market economy, while backward regions remained neglected. Defending the formation of States based on linguistic background, he said it was the first process of democratisation in the country and any move to defeat this concept by creating more number of smaller States would prove to be a disaster. The only solution to the problem was decentralisation of power.

He said development plans should originate from gram panchayats and based on them, the State should formulate an overall development plan. Micro-level planning should replace macro-level planning to give an opportunity to people to plan their development, he added.

The State Secretary of the CPI(M), G.N. Nagaraj, delivered the keynote address.

The State Secretariat Member of the party, S.Y. Gurushant, delivered the introductory remarks.

B. Sheshadri and T.R. Chandrasekhar, experts in planning, Nityanand Swamy, President of the Karnataka Prantha Koolikarara Sangha, and Maruti Manpade, President of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha, spoke.

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

Karnataka