People's Democracy

ANDHRA PRADESH

Preparations In Full Swing To Protest Bush’s Visit

M Venugopala Rao

B V Raghavulu addressing the convention

Following the call given by the Left parties at the national level to protest the visit of the President of the USA, George. W. Bush to India, the Left parties in Andhra Pradesh are getting prepared to protest his scheduled visit to Hyderabad on the third of March. A meeting was organised at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad on the 20^th of this month by the CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)Liberation. The leaders of the three parties appealed to the people to protest the visit of Bush to Hyderabad. Addressing the meeting CPI(M) state secretary and  Polit Bureau member B V Raghavulu made it clear that Bush is coming to India not as a guest, but as the head of an imperialist country to enter into several agreements detrimental to the interests of our country. He is coming to India to interfere in our country’s internal affairs and to impose imperialist hegemony on us donning the role of the world police, affecting our sovereignty and self-respect. Indo-US nuclear deal is a threat to our country. Without the knowledge of our Prime Minister, the Parliament, the Ministers and officers, our military secrets have reached America in a most clandestine way, Raghavulu said. America is investigating the secrets and is threatening India to open up for investigation. Pointing out that the US ambassador in India, Mulford, had threatened us in our own country, Raghavulu found fault with the UPA government for washing off its hands by simply stating that it was committed to the interests of our country, instead of necking him out of the country.  Raghavulu explained that the US managed a minister in the UPA government to sign the agricultural agreements at the WTO meeting in Hongkong as a result of which it would be possible for the multinational companies like Walmart and Monsanto to exploit our farmers.  The agreement would facilitate entry of these companies into the fields of education, medicine and retail trade in our country. In such a case, four crore people working in retail trade would lose their employment.   Raghavulu asked the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi to make their stand clear on the visit of Bush.  Even if the rulers and political parties worship Bush, the people of the country and the state will oppose his visit, Raghavulu said.

State secretary of the CPI, Dr K Narayana, criticised the US imperialism for trying to impose its hegemony on the Asian countries by waging war and occupying Afghanisthan under the pretext of extraditing Osama bin Laden. It occupied the second richest oil country in the world, Iraq, showing Saddam Hussain as the enemy.  Now the USA is getting ready to attack Iran. Instead of protesting against the US moves, the Indian government voted against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency, buckling under US pressure.  State secretary of CPI(ML) liberation Murthy said that with serious opposition to the economic policies prescribed by the World Bank and the IMF the US President, Bush is bringing to the fore free trade with some amendments, he said.  He expressed concern that with such agreements, the common people would be subjected to severe hardships.  CPI(M) state secretariat member Y Venkateswara Rao, CPI state secretariat member Aziz Pasha and CPI(ML) Liberation leader B Suresh presided over the meeting.