Andhra Pradesh   

YSR's talks with Left on `Bhoo Poratam' fail

Special Correspondent

His replies during discussions dubbed as "unsatisfactory"

HYDERABAD: An effort by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy to resolve the 19-day-old Statewide land struggle launched by Left parties to occupy Government lands ended in failure on Thursday.

Dr. Reddy invited leaders of CPI (M) and CPI for talks to end their "Bhoo Poratam" agitation in view of the large-scale distribution of cultivable land and house sites for the poor taken up by his Government.

Plea rejected

Rejecting his plea, CPI (M) State secretary B. V. Raghavulu of CPI (M) and CPI secretary K. Narayana dubbed his replies during the talks "unsatisfactory" and announced their decision to continue the struggle till a permanent solution was found to the lands issue.

The bone of contention was the report submitted by the Land Committee headed by Municipal Administration Minister K. Ranga Rao. The Left parties asserted that any talks would be futile without disclosure of its contents. "The report contains some meaningful recommendations. A piecemeal treatment is unacceptable," they declared. Sources said the Chief Minister tried to pacify them by offering to hold a State-level workshop shortly on land issues involving not only political parties but also mass organisations, besides making the report public. He asked them to avoid confrontation and instead cite lapses, if any, in the Government's land distribution programme.

Dr. Reddy asked them not to create problems for the poor by provoking them to occupy lands. He suggested that they furnish names of families eligible for houses under Indiramma.

Speaking to reporters later, the Left parties' leaders opined that other Opposition parties should have also been invited for the talks at which the Congress was represented by spokesman N. Tulasi Reddy and others.

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