The Hindu : Front Page : Deve Gowda urges Centre to alter economic reforms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 29, 2005

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Deve Gowda urges Centre to alter economic reforms

Staff Correspondent

`There are poor people in all communities and they need help'

A SHOW OF STRENGTH: The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, arriving at a convention in Tumkur on Sunday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

TUMKUR: The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, here on Sunday urged United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give a "new shape to the third-level economic reforms in a way helpful to economically weaker sections."

Addressing a gathering at the Government High School grounds, Mr. Deve Gowda said Ms. Gandhi and Dr. Singh must take note of "a clear message from this crowd that the reforms should be altered to protect the interests of the poor in all communities." Stating that the Prime Minister was the architect of the reforms in 1991, Mr. Deve Gowda said: "I want Ms. Gandhi and Dr. Singh to strive towards giving a new orientation to the reforms at least at this stage when the process is entering its third phase." So far, he said, the reforms helped only a certain class of people in augmenting their businesses. Of course, the reforms have been successful in creating wealth for the nation. But the challenge is to streamline the wealth to reach the economically backward classes.

Registering his opposition to recognise certain communities as Dalits, Mr. Deve Gowda said there are poor people in all the communities and they can be identified as "Ashaktas." The evil design by some vested interests to sow seeds of dissension among these sections of people should be defeated, he said and sought help from Ms. Gandhi in this endeavour.

His son and MLA, H.D. Kumaraswamy, initiated a discussion on the report in newspapers that subsidies cannot be continued for long. Without bringing in the name of Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the reported suggestion to do away with the system of subsidies cannot be tolerated as it aimed at depriving the poor of their fundamental and constitutionally guaranteed special privileges.

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