Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

‘Congress drifting from pro-farmer policies’

Mass presence: CPI activists attending a public meeting organised as part of the party’s 20th district congress in Anantapur on Wednesday.

ANANTAPUR: National executive committee member of CPI and MLC Puvvada Nageswara Rao has alleged that the Congress Government in the State has been drifting away from the pro-poor and pro-farmer policies, with the help of which it had come to power in 2004.

The shift has been clearly evident in the actions of the government in the recent months, he said.

Speaking at a public meeting organised here on Wednesday evening as part of the three-day 20th district congress of the party he stated that the shift of stand on the land related policy by the government was more vocal in the recent months.

Initially, the government had distributed about 2 lakh acres land, mostly in the possession of the beneficiaries, to the peasants but it was now planning to take back lands from the poor to handover it to the corporate and industrial sectors.

Though much had been talked about reclaiming the government lands in the illegal possession of influential persons in the society, it had failed to show resolve in the matter.

Now the government was trying to snatch lands from the poor and pass it over to the rich at throwaway prices. The parties like CPI who had been fighting for land were now left with no option but to continue land struggle – ‘bhoo poratam’, he said.

The government was principally proving to be against distribution land to the poor either for cultivation or for house site, he felt. Alleging that large-scale irregularities and corruption were ruining the ‘jalayagnam’ the CPI leader said the CAG report had rightly indicted the government.

Finding fault with the CAG report by the government was an immature act, he said.

Stating that the development planned and claimed by the government was not reaching the poor he said the EPC system in irrigations contracts was beneficial only to the contractor and not to the people. Ideologically both the Congress and TDP were no different, he felt and said both were trying to safeguard the interests of the rich instead of the poor.

He welcomed the movement among the poor and down-trodden sections against the present political set up. He said the CPI would welcome persons like Chiranjeevi into politics.

He, however, cautioned against caste-based politics stating that such equations had never bore fruit in the State.

On the Telangana issue he stated that the CPI was of the view that it must be discussed and decided before next assembly elections as the second SRC talk had no meaning now. “It’s the appropriate time to resolve the issue”, he said. The CPI would not oppose any efforts to form a separate State, he clarified.

Party leaders K. Ramakrishna, M.V. Ramana, C. Jaffer, D. Jagadish and others also spoke.

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