The Hindu : New Delhi News : Bardhan blames Delhi Govt. for water, power problems

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 24, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Bardhan blames Delhi Govt. for water, power problems

Staff Reporter

CPI leader addresses the State party conference

– Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

Raising their voice: CPI activists at a protest rally which was addressed by party general secretary A. B. Bardhan in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan on Saturday said the Congress Government in Delhi has failed to provide proper water, power and housing to the people living in the Capital.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day Delhi State CPI conference here, Mr. Bardhan said people living in the Capital were still faced with a number of problems: “People are still grappling with problems related to proper housing, water and electricity supply, which the Delhi Government has been unable to solve.”

Economic growth

The CPI leader also charged that the economic growth that the Central Government claims to have achieved had also benefited only a select few.

“The poor man living in the slums is finding himself homeless, while the farmers are findings themselves landless with the Government taking away their land in the name of development,” he said. The veteran leader also called upon the people to work towards uniting the country. “We are all Indians, there are no insiders or outsiders here,” he said in an obvious reference to the recent developments in Maharashtra.

The conference, which is being held as a run-up to the 20th CPI congress scheduled to begin on March 23 in Hyderabad, was also attended by freedom fighter Sarla Sharma and CPI national secretary D. Raja among others.

Mr. Bardhan also attacked the Congress and the BJP for failing to meet the aspirations of the people.

He said the Congress had come to power on the backing of its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners and the BJP can “only talk big”. Mr. Bardhan also took a dig at senior BJP leader L.K. Advani saying: “While he (Mr. Advani) is often referred to as the Prime Minister-in-waiting, he will have to keep waiting till the end; there is little scope for him.”

Speaking about the Indo-US nuclear deal, Mr. Bardhan said: “India should not compromise its foreign policy to suit its alliance with the US. We have to guard our freedom, which did not come easy to us.” Mr. Bardhan also advised the party state councils to work for bringing in more youth and women into the party.

Mr. Raja urged CPI workers to re-pledge themselves to the party ideology and work for a united India free of exploitation.

Get together

“We have to get together and work for a new India. The UPA should work according to the promises made in the Common Minimum Programme,” he demanded.

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

New Delhi