| ఉప ఎన్నికలలో నాలుగు సీట్లలో లోక్ సత్తా పోటీ Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:43 AM PDT |
| Dr. JP congratulates Sharad Pawar Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:39 AM PDT Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today congratulated Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on echoing the Lok Satta Party view that farmers should not be made sacrificial goats for industry.
Addressing a media conference, Dr. JP referred to Mr. Sharad Pawar's letter to the Prime Minister complaining against the ban on export of cotton to safeguard the interests of the textile industry.
Dr. JP said that India is poised for phenomenal agricultural growth if only Government policies are conducive. Unfortunately, the Governments have been persisting with antiquated and license-permit-control raj policies. India is losing international trade heavily even as farmers are put to great distress. While input prices have been continuously spiraling, farm gate prices have been plummeting. Massive liberalization of agriculture on the lines of the one carried out in industry by Dr. Manmohan Singh in 1991 is the need of the hour.
Dr. JP recalled that he had a detailed discussion with the Prime Minister a year ago on the parlous state of agriculture. Although the Prime Minister agreed with his analysis, he is yet to take remedial measures.
Dr. JP recalled that the Union Government permitted rice exports only after repeated representations by the Federation of Independent Farmers' Associations (FIFA), the Lok Satta Party and political parties.
Dr. JP said that thanks to the Dandi-type agitation launched by the Lok Satta Party, farmers in Andhra Pradesh benefited to the tune of Rs.1200 crore as the price of fine varieties of paddy went up from Rs.750 to Rs.1000 a bag.
It may be recalled that farmers led by Dr. JP defied the Government's ban on export of certain varieties of rice outside the State and carried out token sales in neighboring States. The Government was forced to concede that it imposed an informal ban in contravention of laws and Government of India guidelines.
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| Lok Satta Party decides to contest By-elections for four seats Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:24 AM PDT The Lok Satta Party has decided to contest by-elections to the State Assembly from Ongole, Tirupati, Anantapur and Rayadurg.
It has named Mr. Allu Ramesh Reddy (37) as its candidate from Ongole and Mr. Bommisetty Venkata Ramana popularly known as Babu (35) from Anantapur.
It will be naming its candidates for Tirupati and Rayadurg in a day or two.
Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan and Working President D. V. V. S. Varma made the announcement at a media conference here today at the conclusion of the two-day meeting of the party's State Working Committee.
The leaders said the party would consider fielding candidates from Narasannapet, Payakaraopet, Ramachandrapuram, Pattipadu, Yemmiganur and Parkal Assembly seats and Nellore Lok Sabha seat and take a decision within a week.
The Lok Satta Party would be fielding Mr. Ashwin Mahesh in the election to the Karnataka Legislative Council from Bengaluru graduates' constituency and Mr. Surendra Srivastava in the election to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Mumbai graduates' constituency.
Dr. JP said the Lok Satta Party has decided to work with the Left parties for the replacement of the present first-past-the-post electoral system by a proportional representation system. Dr. JP said the Lok Satta Party would be meeting the newly elected CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy soon to take the idea of proportional representation forward. The Lok Satta would work with Left parties to fight for empowerment of people through decentralization.
Replying to a question, Dr. JP indicated that the Lok Satta Party would welcome the prospect of working with the Left parties for presenting an alternative to the Congress and the Telugu Desam.
Dr. JP pointed out that the people are looking for a credible alternative to the traditional parties. Both the BJP and the Congress had suffered a serious setback in Assembly elections in North India and the Congress and the TDP in the Assembly by-elections in Andhra Pradesh. The situation is ripe for momentous changes in Indian politics, he added.
Dr. JP said that the party would launch strong movements on two burning issues – corruption and liquor policy. The party would fight for constitution of a strong Lokayukta, independent Anti Corruption Bureau, and establishment of special courts for trying the corrupt. It demanded that the Government scrap the present system of auctioning liquor shops and take over liquor sales with a view to restricting liquor consumption through limited outlets.
Replying to a question, Dr. JP said that the strong movement for the formation of a separate Telangana State cannot be ignored in a democracy. However, in a federal set-up a solution should be hammered out in a cordial manner. The Lok Satta will work for such a comprehensive and harmonious solution and welcome the creation of a Telangana State as part of such a solution
Mr. Varma said that the party would conduct organizational elections at the district and State levels in the next three to four months.
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