The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Brinda mourns Mudigonda victims

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Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Brinda mourns Mudigonda victims

D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

‘Congress received money from A.P. for buying the support of MPs’

— Photo G. N. Rao

Paying homage: CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat addressing a public meeting in Mudigonda on Monday.

MUDIGONDA (Khammam dist): A year after the police firing killed seven of their fellowmen, the memories of the “martyrs” still remain afresh among the residents.

Hundreds of the residents of Mudigonda and neighbouring villages came together in paying homage to the deceased whose death the same day last year received nationwide condemnation.

CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, her colleague and party’s State secretary B.V. Raghavulu, joined people in mourning the deaths and pledging to carry forward the militant struggles to achieve the demands of the poor. The kin of the deceased paid floral tributes and the event was preceded by an impressive rally organised to mark the occasion. Ms. Karat, who laid the foundation stone for the CPI(M) mandal unit office building, said the incident gave a new direction to the land struggle in the country.

She alleged that that the Congress had received money bags from Andhra Pradesh for buying the support of the MPs to win the trust vote. The Congress indulged in horse trading reducing democracy into a mockery and July 22 would go down in the history as a black day for India, she said. A glimmer of hope for the country could be the seen in the fact that the MP of the Left parties were not approached as they not purchasable.

‘Streamline PDS’

Reiterating the need for streamlining the public distribution system, she demanded that the Government provide 35 kg. of rice to each family at Rs. 2 a kg to off set the impact of the price rise.

“We wanted the Congress government to control prices and ensure a fair deal to the farmers by giving remunerative price for their produce, but it failed to rise to the occasion,” she said. The Government is now trying to amend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to facilitate suspension of its implementation in certain seasons as desired by landlords. Such a measure would deprive the poor of their guarantee for work, Ms. Karat lamented.

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