People's Democracy

CPI(M) Hits Out At AP Govt’s Diversionary Tactics

CPI(M) demonstration in front of Andhra Pradesh Bhawan, New Delhi on June 22

THE CPI(M) denounced the efforts of Andhra Pradesh government and state Congress unit to divert the main issue of land and house-sites distribution by embarking on a lie campaign against the Left Front government of West Bengal. It has dared the Andhra government to appoint an Independent Commission to determine the veracity of the so-called facts and figures being trotted out by state Congress Legislature Party about Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference at Party headquarters on June 16, CPI(M) central secretariat member V Sreenivasarao demanded the Y S Rajashekar Reddy government to put a stop to this false propaganda and distribute land and house-sites for the poor. He strongly condemned the heavy repression unleashed by the state government against those waging the land struggle. He asserted that there is such an overwhelming response to the struggle among the poor that they are totally unfazed by this repression. They are plunging into the struggle in greater numbers. He rejected the charge leveled by the state government of creating law and order disturbances in the state through this struggle. It was the government which is creating a law and order situation by slapping false cases against CPI(M) leaders and cadres, throwing them into jails, resorting to brutal lathicharges, tear-gassing etc.

Sreenivasarao objected to Congress party comparing Bengal to Andhra Pradesh saying the two are incomparable by any yardstick. The bankruptcy of their leadership is seen from the desperate attempt to dispute even the universally acclaimed land reforms programme undertaken by the Left Front government in West Bengal. He circulated a detailed note with facts and figures showing the achievements of the Left Front rule in Bengal. He highlighted how in Andhra despite 40 per cent of farmers being sharecroppers, no rights whatsoever have been conferred upon them by successive governments. While in Bengal 15 lakh sharecroppers have been given land rights. Bengal topped in rice production; stood second in overall agricultural productivity in the country; The people living Below Poverty Line in Bengal is far less than AP. It is 27 per cent in 1999-2000 in Bengal, which further declined to 20 per cent in 2006 while the figure in AP is same as in 1999-2000 i.e. at 40 per cent. Unemployment came down in Bengal during the same period from 40 lakhs to 33 lakhs. Bengal provided Provident Fund facility to agricultural labour while it is absent in AP. Irrigation extends to 72 per cent of cultivable land in Bengal whereas in AP it is only 40 per cent. Political corruption is totally absent in Bengal while in Andhra it is rampant, so much so that the centre has stopped funding for certain schemes because of diversion of funds!

Further quoting from the Government of India, Economic Survey figures, he showed how Bengal is much advanced in terms of indicators of human development as compared to Andhra Pradesh. The Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births in 2005) in Bengal is 38, much below the national average of 58, while in Andhra it is 57. Similarly life expectancy at birth (1999-2003) in Bengal is 64.1 while in Andhra it is 63.7. As for the veracity of figures put out by Andhra Pradesh government, he pointed out that even the DFID had raised doubts about them.

Asking the Andhra Pradesh government and Congress party to either stop this blatant lie campaign or appoint an Independent Commission to determine the truth about the statistics given by AP government, Sreenivasarao demanded that the main issue of distribution of land and house-sites for the poor be addressed urgently.