TORCH-BEARER: Dr.Puchalapalli Mitra, scion of the Puchalapalli Sundaraiah family is also a Lok Satta activist.- Photo: Poornachandra Kumar k.v.

TIRUPATI: The man, who effectively acted against ethnic cleansing in Cambodia (Kampuchea), is now all poised to play a key role in cleansing the State's political system.

Puchalapalli Mitra, a doctor by profession, is part of the ideological think-tank of Lok Satta, a voluntary organisation formed to rid the political system of its rot, which has recently metamorphosed into a political party.

Nephew of Puchalapalli Sundaraiah, doyen of Marxist movement in the State, Dr. Mitra's concern for society is three decades old. In the seventies, when the Khmer Rouge regime resorted to mass execution in Cambodia, it was Dr. Mitra, then a London-based practising doctor, who had formed a group of like-minded people to lend support to victims.

In the dark days of Pol Pot regime when there was no proper communication system in place, the `Cambodia Trust' was instrumental in providing a satellite network to help Cambodians contact their deserted/relocated friends and relatives. He was also part of the Hyderabad-based support group that provided aid to victims of Godhra carnage.

Lack of political will

In an informal chat with The Hindu , Dr. Mitra spoke on the reinvention of Lok Satta as a political party. While the country had enough resources to ensure sustained growth, what it lacked was the political will, he said and added, "We have resources to float ten World Banks on our own, but still we depend on others. The looted taxpayer's money is saved in banks abroad and brought back into the country in the name of investments."

The doctor, who could possibly be vested with greater organisational responsibilities in the Lok Satta like framing the party's code of conduct, etc., is of the view that this is the core job that ensures the entry of right-thinking people into the party-fold and the area where the grain is separated from the chaff. "It's just the beginning," he smiles.

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