People's Democracy

 

ANDHRA PRADESH

 

CPI(M) to Launch Struggles on

Local Issues of Common People

 

THE Andhra Pradesh state committee of the CPI(M) has decided to undertake struggles at the local level on burning issues facing the common man. Concrete issues that can be achieved through struggles are being identified and sustained struggles on them would be conducted. These struggles would be held along with the CPI. The Party has also called on all non-Congress secular parties in the state to join these struggles.

 

Party state secretary B V Raghavulu made this announcement at a press conference here at the end of two day meeting of the state secretariat on 21 September. He briefed the media about the decisions of the meeting. He said that every unit of the Party will be involved in the exercise of identifying the issues and planning the struggle. They will coordinate with other mass organisations in this regard.

 

Raghavulu emphasised the belief of the CPI(M) that all the secular opposition parties have to come together on people's issues, even as they can take their own independent decisions during the time of the elections depending on their policies. He made it clear that the CPI(M) will keep on fighting on the issues of the common man along with the other leftist parties, irrespective of whether anyone else would join with them or not. “We will bring about more pressure on the government for the resolution of the problems of the masses” he added. However, he hoped that Loksatta and Praja Rajyam parties would join these direct struggles along with the TDP. He acknowledged that the TDP is reluctant on the issue of joint the struggles with Loksatta and Prajarajyam.

 

Answering a question about ‘Arogyasri’ program (a government scheme for providing medical facilities for the poor families in corporate hospitals), he charged that the state government is driving away the white ration card holders from utilising this health scheme. He cited the instance of the newspaper reports, where in it was reported that the state cabinet has decided, Arogyasri will be provided to the people, whose names were not in the records of the civil supplies department, only on the condition that the district collector has endorsed them as genuine. This is a totally new decision, making it compulsory for the white card holders, to have their names listed in the records of the civil supplies department as well, in order to avail the health scheme. He condemned this decision as being against the welfare of the people.

 

Raghavulu also charged the government of trying to abdicate its responsibility of providing the rations through the fair price shops. All the hurdles being created by the government for the people in availing the welfare schemes is atrocious. He reminded that the state government has eliminated 18 lakh ration cards in the name of weeding out of bogus cards. He said the state government is proceeding stepwise in the direction of sabotaging the welfare schemes and warned that, such anti-people decisions of the government deserve nothing else but a fight back.

(INN)