People's Democracy

TDP-BJP Gamble Will Boomerang 

B V Raghavulu 

THE ruling Telugu Desam party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to dissolve the state assembly and go in for fresh polls nearly eight months ahead of schedule reeks of selfish power-hunger. It is a thoughtless, hasty decision taken without considering the state’s and its people’s interests, which is bound to boomerang. It was also taken with a malicious intention of catching the opposition parties off guard. The CPI(M) has expressed its strong disapproval of this decision. With parliamentary polls slated for next year, this decision of the TDP is most unwelcome as it entails huge extra burden on the state exchequer and the political parties, wastage of precious time and, more importantly, impedes developmental activities.  

That the Election Commission of India has outrightly rejected the state government’s request to hold the assembly polls in February makes it clear that Chandrababu Naidu has acted without thinking. Now the government is preparing to put pressure on the election commission to hold these polls at least in the month of March. But March is most unsuitable for holding polls as all levels of examinations begin in this month. Elections will be a hurdle to the students who will be striving to study and finish their syllabus and teachers will be immersed in the conduct of examinations. If there is a move to postpone the exams for the sake of holding elections then it is all the more objectionable. It will be playing with the lives of lakhs of students and their future as the process of admission into various professional courses in other states is synchronised with these exams. Also, the month of March is crucial for various commercial firms, industries and institutions. That’s why this is not the right time to hold the elections.  
Today there is no urgent situation in the state which demands the holding of early elections. There is no loss of majority for the government, no crisis in the ruling party or no threat of any split and defection. The situation allows the government to comfortably complete its remaining term. Yet with selfish power-hunger and with a fear that any delay would dwindle the chances of victory, the Telugu Desam party took the hasty decision of dissolving the state assembly, in the process creating difficulties and burdens on the people of the state. 
  
NAXAL ISSUE NOT RECENT 

The state government’s efforts to paint the naxal problem and the opposition stand on it as the main reasons for going into these early polls is at best laughable. This problem is not a new one. It is not of today’s origin. Any government has to strive to find a solution to this problem. There is absolutely no obstacle for this TDP government to strive for a solution. But to now say that the opposition parties are a hurdle in this is nothing but a vain attempt to hide the government’s incapability and lack of proper policy. A solution cannot be found for the naxal problem as long as there is no recognition that it is a political-sociological problem. The TDP government views it as a purely law and order problem for dealing which police action is sufficient. That’s why it is resorting to malicious propaganda against the opposition parties which have requested it to hold talks with the naxals. Already today the state is witnessing more of a police rule than a political rule due to the faulty policy of the government. The TDP leadership is seeking further licence for perpetuating this police raj. This would be a dangerous portent for democracy, people and the development of the state.   

The decision of the TDP bosses to make the naxal issue as their main electoral plank for the coming elections exposes the false propaganda made by the state government all these years regarding the development of the state. It underlines what a big hoax the slogan of Swarnandhra Pradesh (Golden Andhra Pradesh) is in reality. The government is now saying that it strived for development of the state during the last 8 years but the naxal menace is a hurdle and therefore it needs a fresh mandate. As naxal problem is not a new one, what prevented the government for concentrating on its “developmental” work for the remainder of its term and only then go for elections? Actually, it is nothing but an attempt to wash its hands off and blame the People’s War Group for its failure to develop the state in the last 8 years. There is literally nothing for the TDP government to show or tell as its achievements except for all round failures. Its rule is marked by unprecedented corruption. All government funds – largely borrowed from the World Bank – went into the pockets of TDP contractors. The people were left with the burdens of debt and corruption. While no new industries came into the state, the backward regions lapsed into more backwardness. To cover up all these failures it is leaning on lame excuses.   

GRAVE ASSAULTS
  
The TDP government has smashed the lives of millions of poor in the state with its relentless pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies under the active guidance of the World Bank during the last years of its rule. It sold off the public sector units at throwaway prices. It threw thousands of workers onto the roads by indiscriminately closing down many PSUs. When it effected a steep hike in the power tariff there was a big agitation against it. This brutal government killed three protestors and spilled the blood of thousands others. 
  
The ruinous policies of this government have forced hundreds of farmers and handloom workers to commit suicide or die of starvation. The terrible situation is exemplified by the fact that the state witnessed huge illegal sale of kidneys and children. It is literally strangulating the pensioners by not giving them Dearness Allowance. That hundreds have died due to summer heat in this year shows the “development” achieved by the TDP government. This government is not sparing even democracy. Hundreds of false cases have been slapped on thousands of those who are waging struggles on people’s issues.   
In order to make the people of the state forget this “illustrious” record of the government and with an eye on elections, it has announced a spree of populist measures. Issuance of ration cards, house sites etc are some of these. The effort is to give these to a few and to create illusions for the rest that after the elections these will be given to them also. However, everyone knows what happened to such “schemes” announced just before the 1999 elections. As long as Chandrababu Naidu is in the grip of the World Bank, the same fate awaits these announcements also. The crux of World Bank conditionalities is the squashing of welfare schemes. That’s why the people will not believe these promises.   

The TDP continues to remain in the NDA even as it reeks of communalism, corruption and ineptitude. The TDP is acting as a shield to the NDA, which was evident at every stage of the Vajpayee regime. That’s why, in order to save the nation as well as Andhra Pradesh it is imperative that the TDP-BJP alliance is defeated in the coming polls.