Lok Satta Party

TDP stooping low, charges Lok Satta

2009-07-11T19:13:00.001+05:30

The Lok Satta Party said today it was not interested in indulging in a slanging match with the TDP which had stooped so low as to make scurrilous allegations against the Lok Satta and its leader Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan brushing aside all facts.

Party spokesmen Katari Srinivasa Rao and V. Laxman Balaji told the media that the TDP was repeating its baseless charges ad nauseam, without taking cognizance of the replies given by the Lok Satta. To cite just one instance, they recalled that Dr. JP had lent his services to all parties and leaders who wanted to do something good for the country. He joined the National Advisory Council constituted by the UPA Government, and not by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. He had the privilege and opportunity of serving on a number of panels constituted by the earlier NDA Government also. More significantly, he was a member of the Governance Committee formed by the Chandrababu Naidu Government itself as part of its mission to draw up a Vision 2020 program.

The leaders regretted that instead of entering into an honest and public debate with Dr. JP on all issues raised by him and his party, the TDP was making personal attacks on Dr. JP. That the TDP is trying to find excuses for avoiding a public debate is evident to everybody.

The Lok Satta has, therefore, decided to not to pay the TDP back in kind and instead, focus its attention on the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections. The party today released a pamphlet comprising its agenda for the GHMC. The Lok Satta Party makes five promises in its manifesto for the GHMC elections. They are:

Supply of safe drinking water in all colonies and bastis which do not have the facility now with the installation of reverse osmosis plants
Implementing a citizen’s charter under which failure to attend to a public grievance in a specified period invites penalty on the GHMC
Identification and resolution of problems basti-colony wise and implementation of a division agenda in three phases – 100 days, one year and five years respectively.
Devolution of GHMC funds at the rate of Rs.2 crore for each division every year, so that an elected divisional committee could spend it on attending to pressing local problems
Integration of the functioning of the GHMC, Metrowater and Urban Development Authority.
Better traffic management with improving public transport system and provision of footpaths and free flow of traffic

The Lok Satta spokesmen underlined: “We have the clarity of purpose, determination, competence and integrity to deliver on our promises.” They appealed to people with integrity and leadership qualities to come forward to fight the elections on the Lok Satta platform. They said the Lok Satta’s slogan is going to be “Seeti bajao; city bachao” (Blow the whistle and save the city)

NRI group in US campaigns for Changes in AP Corruption law

2009-07-10T18:08:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party NRI group in the U. S. "People for Lok Satta" (www.peopleforloksatta.org) launched a campaign to garner support for an amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act drafted by Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, President of the Lok Satta Party.

People for Lok Satta is urging the people of Andhra Pradesh to come forward and sign an online petition which calls upon the Chief Minister to walk his talk on combating rampant corruption. The group's campaign includes calls and emails to MLAs, online videos and writing to Indian print and electronic media.

Party spokespersons Mr. V.Laxman Balaji and Mrs. Y. Ramadevi released here the deatils to the media.

"Corruption cancer is killing India. We do not have strong laws to prevent corruption and punish the guilty. Only with public awareness and pressure on MLAs can the bill pass with majority support" said Ms. Hyma Sagi, who is spearheading the campaign for the group.

The online petition, (http://www.petitiononline.com/acbill), which has gained close to 1000 signatures so far, outlines the many provisions of the bill which facilitate seizure and forfeiture of property of corrupt public servants and establishing an independent anti-corruption agency.

"Combating corruption is not one party's crusade but it's everyone's fight" said Mr. Kapil Bolisetti, an active volunteer from the New Jersey chapter of People for Lok Satta. "The success of the bill hinges on creating awareness of the bill by explaining the loopholes in the existing anti-corruption laws and the need for stringent laws to curb corruption. When enough pressure comes from people, the elected representatives will have no way but to support the bill. After all, aren't they our voice?"

The NRI group, with more than 300 passionate working professionals, is actively working to support Citizen Help Centers in India, campaigning for NRI voting rights, creating awareness about the party's ideology and attracting the disenchanted NRI community into the mainstream political process.

Stand by your commitment, Lok Satta tells Babu

2009-07-09T16:28:00.000+05:30

“TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu is apparently running away from a debate he has agreed to with Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan.”

That was how the Lok Satta Party commented on the preconditions set by TDP leaders Dhulipala Narendra Kumar and Ravula Chandrasekhara Reddy for a debate with the Lok Satta Party.

Talking to the media, party spokespersons Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao, Mr. V. Laxman Balaji, Mrs. K. Geetamurthy recalled that Dr. JP had agreed to reply to all the questions raised by Mr. Chandrababu Naidu and other TDP leaders concerning the Lok Satta. Dr. JP had said in his letter, “Your partymen and you seem to question the rationale for Lok Satta Party’s emergence. You have also questioned our fund raising and utilization of resources in the recent electoral campaign. You have argued that Lok Satta Party is acting in concert with ruling party in the State. You have raised questions of integrity and public morality. I am ready to debate with you all these issues pertaining to your party and Lok Satta.”

Dr. JP had congratulated Mr. Chandrababu Naidu on his readiness for a debate and hoped the debate would set a healthy trend in democratic discourse.

“Far from accepting Dr. JP’s offer, the TDP is now trying to wriggle out of its commitment by finding excuses,” commented the party spokespersons.

“It is true that the Lok Satta polled only 1.8 percent of the popular vote and has a lone representative in the Assembly compared to TDP’s formidable ‘vote bank’ and number of MLAs. If the Lok Satta is such a weakling, why should the TDP be rattled and blame the Lok Satta for its debacle in the 2009 elections?”

The spokespersons clarified that Dr. JP indicated certain modalities for a debate and suggested they could be finalized by mutual consent. Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was in no way constrained from suggesting modalities acceptable to him.

Referring to the questions raised by the TDP leaders, the Lok Satta spokespersons replied that Dr. JP had welcomed the public debate precisely to answer all such questions and more if any. They had merely repeated the questions raised earlier.

“Our life is an open book. We have nothing to conceal or fear. Where is the need for a propaganda campaign through proxies when the Presidents of the TDP and the Lok Satta can have a public discourse without indulging in personal attacks?”

In fact, the spokespersons pointed out, Dr. JP, with the cooperation of Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, was eager to set a new trend in civilized and honest public discourse.

The spokespersons hoped that without standing on false prestige Mr. Chandrababu Naidu would take part in the debate. “We can understand the frustration of Mr. Chandrababu Naidu at the poll results. But that is no excuse for shying away from a healthy and exemplary debate.”

Lok Satta is dedicated to transforming the political culture of India, and Andhra Pradesh is merely its first base of activity. Vote buying, distribution of liquor, dynastic rule, family fiefdoms, obstructionist methods, politics as commerce, corruption and abuse of office, criminalization, centralization, treating people as mendicants, perpetuation of poverty and caste, regional and communal divisions – all these have become the staple of traditional parties in India. Sadly, even parties which had once a credible record descended to a low level. Lok Satta has always believed that what we need is not merely a change of players, but a change in the rules of the game. In consonance with that objective, Lok Satta Party was founded with clear and well-defined objectives, democratic functioning, clean politics, inclusive and nation-building approach, and policies aimed at empowering citizens, fulfilling the potential of every child irrespective of the accident of birth and elimination of all avoidable suffering. The party’s Constitution, published on October 2, 2006 clearly and succinctly outlined our approach to public work. Power to us is a means, not an end in itself. Therefore the means adopted to acquire power have to be fair, legitimate and transparent. That is why vote-buying, distribution of liquor obstructionist methods divisive politics and cheap populism are anathemas to Lok Satta.

Lok Satta has never leveled personal allegations against any party or leader. We have always endeavoured to raise the level of debate and focus on public issues. We believe that the nation is above the party, and the party is above individuals. If a party proposes a sound policy, we always welcome and support it; if a policy is not desirable in our judgment, we oppose it with reasons, and always provide an alternative solution. This is the new politics India needs and our children deserve.

The appeal to all parties to come together to work for the common good, instead of being lost in partisan rancour bitterness and internecine quarrels.

Take up MMTS Phase II, Suggests Lok Satta

2009-07-08T16:38:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today wanted the State Government to focus its attention on launching the second phase of the MMTS and introducing the BRTS wherever it is feasible.

Talking to the media, party spokespersons Katari Srinivasa Rao and V. Laxman Balaji said that the Government appeared to be determined to take up the Metro Rail system following the cancellation of its agreement with the Maytas consortium. It might take several months for the project to be grounded and several years for its execution. They suggested that a survey be conducted again on the land proposed for acquisition for the Metro Rail, which had been finalized in the teeth of opposition from civic organizations and some experts.

Meanwhile, the Government should come to the rescue of commuters by prodding the railways to take up the MMTS second phase. More services should be operated on the existing routes. They also suggested that the roads be widened wherever feasible and the BRTS introduced.

The Lok Satta leaders pointed out that Hyderabad has a wide railway network around it and that the city’s traffic woes can be mitigated if the railway network is linked with the bus transportation system. Hyderabad has 160 km of railway lines comprising120 km in the main corridors and 40 km in bypass lines. MMTS Phase 1 covers 48 km of this network. MMTS Phase II should be taken up to cover the entire city and link it up with the main arterial roads and the Outer Ring Road.

The State RTC should avail of the funds under the JNNURM to acquire additional buses and run more services to cover all the nooks and corners of Greater Hyderabad and increase the frequency of services on all existing routes.

Dr.JP's Letter to Chandrababu Naidu

2009-07-07T18:47:00.000+05:30

Date: 07.07.2009

Sri Chandra Babu Naidu,
President,
Telugu Desam Party,
Hyderabad.

I read the news reports that you have agreed to a public debate with Lok Satta Party on the issues your party has been raising about Lok Satta. Lok Satta has always held that reasoned public debate is the essence of democracy. I therefore congratulate you on your readiness to debate and welcome your decision.

I am prepared to debate with you in a reasoned and civilized manner all issues relevant to the public. Your party men and you seem to question the rationale for Lok Satta Party’s emergence. You have also questioned our fund raising and utilization of resources in the recent electoral campaign. You have argued that Lok Satta Party is acting in concert with ruling party in the state. You have raised questions integrity and public morality. I am ready to debate with you all these issues pertaining to you party and Lok Satta.

Therefore the following four main themes seem to be appropriate for a civilized public debate between the two of us.

1. Issues of public morality and integrity.
2. Nature of politics practised by both parties.
3. Mobilization and utilization of political funds by the respective parties.
4. Public policies adopted by both parties.

I suggest that there should be one or more public debates, each of 90 minutes duration with a moderator chosen from the Union of Working Journalists by mutual consent. The debate will be on an agreed format, with both participants having equal time to respond to a question, with a right to rebut. We will both take questions asked by an invited panel of journalists, with time limits fixed for each reply. I will refrain from personal attacks unrelated to public work. The debates will be telecast live.

Only invited journalists and media persons will attend the debates. You may like to constitute a person or team to finalize the format of the debates and other details with a team I will be constituting immediately.

Meanwhile, I have firmly advised all my colleagues in Lok Satta Party not to resort to personal attacks or provocative actions. At all times both sides should maintain the highest standards of dignity and decorum. So far, I have never leveled a personal allegation against you or any other political leader of any party in the country. Lok Satta Party and I wish to maintain the same standards of decorum in future also.

This initiative of a reasoned, honest public debate will be a watershed in our political evolution as a democracy. I am sure other parties will soon emulate us, and it will eventually alter the nature of public discourse and political culture in India.

I urge you to initiate action at the earliest in order for the debates to take place as soon as possible. Meanwhile, please be assured of civility and all courtesies due to you from my part.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Jayaprakash Narayan
President.

Dr. JP to address IIM students

2009-07-07T18:02:00.001+05:30

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan will be addressing and interacting with students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, tomorrow (Wednesday, July 8).

He will be addressing on “Social entrepreneurship: Innovating for social change.”

IIM, Ahmedabad, invites people who have made a conscious choice to work in the social sector and enables students to interact with them. The prestigious institute, which refrains from inviting active politicians, has made an exception in the case of Dr. JP because he is “an exceptional person with a large and fairly complex agenda of political reform,”

Dr. JP invites Chandrababu for a debate

2009-07-07T16:50:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan has congratulated TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu on his readiness to debate the issues the TDP has been raising against the Lok Satta Party and welcomed his decision. Dr. JP also suggested four main themes on which both of them could engage themselves in a reasoned and civilized debate.

In a letter sent to the TDP President, Dr. JP said there should be one or more debates in the presence of an invited panel of journalists and a Working Journalists’ Union leader serving as a moderator.

He hoped “the initiative of a reasoned, honest public debate will be a watershed in our political evolution as a democracy.”

Party leaders Katari SRinivasarao and Ravi Maruthi released the letter to the media at the party headquarters today.

The following is the text of Dr. JP’s letter to Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu:

“I read the news reports that you have agreed to a public debate with Lok Satta Party on the issues your party has been raising about Lok Satta. Lok Satta has always held that reasoned public debate is the essence of democracy. I therefore congratulate you on your readiness to debate and welcome your decision.

“I am prepared to debate with you in a reasoned and civilized manner all issues relevant to the public. Your party men and you seem to question the rationale for Lok Satta Party’s emergence. You have also questioned our fund raising and utilization of resources in the recent electoral campaign. You have argued that Lok Satta Party is acting in concert with ruling party in the state. You have raised questions integrity and public morality. I am ready to debate with you all these issues pertaining to you party and Lok Satta.

“Therefore the following four main themes seem to be appropriate for a civilized public debate between the two of us.

1. Issues of public morality and integrity.
2. Nature of politics practised by both parties.
3. Mobilization and utilization of political funds by the respective parties.
4. Public policies adopted by both parties.

“I suggest that there should be one or more public debates, each of 90 minutes duration with a moderator chosen from the Union of Working Journalists by mutual consent. The debate will be on an agreed format, with both participants having equal time to respond to a question, with a right to rebut. We will both take questions asked by an invited panel of journalists, with time limits fixed for each reply. I will refrain from personal attacks unrelated to public work. The debates will be telecast live.

“Only invited journalists and media persons will attend the debates. You may like to constitute a person or team to finalize the format of the debates and other details with a team I will be constituting immediately.

“Meanwhile, I have firmly advised all my colleagues in Lok Satta Party not to resort to personal attacks or provocative actions. At all times both sides should maintain the highest standards of dignity and decorum. So far, I have never leveled a personal allegation against you or any other political leader of any party in the country. Lok Satta Party and I wish to maintain the same standards of decorum in future also.

“This initiative of a reasoned, honest public debate will be a watershed in our political evolution as a democracy. I am sure other parties will soon emulate us, and it will eventually alter the nature of public discourse and political culture in India.

“I urge you to initiate action at the earliest in order for the debates to take place as soon as possible. Meanwhile, please be assured of civility and all courtesies due to you from my part.”

Lok Satta produces its Kadapa candidate

2009-07-06T17:58:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today produced Mr. Gudipati Prasanna Kumar, who contested from the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency on behalf of the Lok Satta Party to refute the TDP’s Goebbels’ propaganda that the party did not field a candidate against the Chief Minister’s son as part of a tacit understanding with the Congress Party.

Mr. Prasanna Kumar himself told the media it was strange that the TDP did not notice him even as he went round the constituency from the day he filed the nomination and received daily coverage in the media.

Talking to the media, party spokesmen Katari Srinivasa Rao and V. Laxman Balaji pointed out that the party could not field candidates in 45 Assembly and 10 Lok Sabha seats despite its best efforts. The TDP which blames the Lok Satta for its debacle in the 2009 elections conveniently ignores the fact that it lost even in constituencies in which the Lok Satta did not field its candidates.

The Lok Satta leaders took exception to TDP leader Yerrannaidu questioning why the Lok Satta Party had been formed and the threat of certain TDP leaders not to allow Lok Satta President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan go round the State. They asked whether the Lok Satta needed clearance from the TDP to either form a party or for its leaders to go round the State.

In reply to TDP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy’s charge, they explained that since the Lok Satta did not believe in collecting black money like the TDP, it introduced four types of membership to raise finances. Associated members pay Rs.10 and primary members Rs.100 for three years. Those who pay Rs.100 per month or Rs.1000 a year become executive members. To become a lifetime executive member, one has to pay Rs.10,000. Those who pay more according to their capacity will be recognized as silver, gold, platinum and diamond members but they do not enjoy any extra privileges.

Lack-luster budget: Dr. JP

2009-07-06T17:24:00.001+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today described the Union budget as lack luster. There is little to write home about it barring the Government’s outlay crossing the Rs.10 lakh crore mark.

Talking to the media, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said that Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had formulated the budget with an eye on the elections in a few States in the next few months. He allowed the golden opportunity to craft a historic budget in the context of a global recession and a stable government and steady growth in the Indian economy in the country to slip through his fingers.

Dr. JP pointed out that no bold attempt had been made to create either employment opportunities or boost agricultural growth since the focus was on winning the upcoming elections in States. Since 70 percent of farmers are outside the institutional fold, they are not going to benefit from the increase in agricultural loans.

Dr. JP said: “Even now, the allocation for healthcare in the country remained where it was for decades – only one percent of the GDP. Educational allocations still remain at 3.5 percent of the GDP. There is no concerted attempt to eliminate poverty. Instead, there is a conscious attempt to give short-term sops to the poor to use them as vote banks, while perpetuating poverty.

“The revenue deficit also has reached 4.8 percent of the GDP or about Rs.215,000 crore. That means, the Government is spending only for day-t-day expenditure about Rs.600 crore more than its income every single day. The interest burden has exceeded Rs.300,000 crore, and this year’s additional debt alone is Rs.400,000 crore. If the States’ deficits are added, the combined fiscal deficit will probably reach 12 pre percent of the GDP. There is no road map to reduce the fiscal deficit. As a result, the younger generation is going to inherit a crushing burden of debt on account of the Governments’ profligacy.”

Lok Satta demonstrates It is different

2009-07-04T19:03:00.000+05:30

“It doesn’t matter which party comes to power. Our school continues to be in a pitiable condition.”

It was this remark of a woman attendant of the Government Primary School at Hydernagar in Serilingampalli Assembly constituency that inspired the Lok Satta to take up its renovation as a challenge. The attendant, Prameela, had remarked that she had seen politicians belonging to all hues visiting the school and promising its improvement.

The Lok Satta Party workers led by Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao collected donations of Rs.60,000 and completed renovation by putting in 100 mandays of ‘shramdan’ in the last one month.

The parents and students celebrated the school renovation by inviting Lok Satta President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan as their chief guest today.

Dr. JP recalled the Lok Satta activists had visited the school as part of a survey to assess the condition of schools before they opened for the new academic year. He said that if every rupee of the Rs.25 crore the Government spends on schools in Greater Hyderabad is utilized properly, amenities could be provided in all schools in five years. Of the 18 lakh students in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, two-thirds go to private schools because the Government schools are devoid of facilities. In the Hydernagar school for instance, there is only one teacher and six volunteers for 250 students.

Dr. JP said traditional parties are not interested in making people self-reliant by providing them good education. “Politics won’t change as long as people exchange their votes for money. And there won’t be any improvement in your lives so long as politics do not change. Think of the future of your children before you cast your vote.”

Dr. JP also visited the ZP High School at Nizampet whose land has been occupied by some people with politicians’ blessings.

Railway Minister promises tickets Without trains: Lok Satta

2009-07-03T19:49:00.001+05:30

Making reservation of rail tickets hassle free without provision of adequate number of train services in tune with the burgeoning demand is of little consolation to passengers, commented the Lok Satta Party on the Railway Budget today.

Talking to the media, party spokespersons Katari Srinivasa Rao, V. Laxman Balaji and Mrs. K. Gita Murthy pointed out that Andhra Pradesh had suffered injustice once again in that there was no mention of the laying of new lines or funds allocation for the second phase of the MMTS in Hyderabad. The Railway Minister ignored the fact that the South Central Railway contributed a huge chunk of railway revenue. The Chief Minister washed off his hands off by writing a letter to the Railway Minister on what needs to be done to Andhra Pradesh while the 33 MPs belonging to the ruling party played no constructive role. If funds allocation to Andhra Pradesh continued at the present pace, construction of new lines and extension of the existing ones would take decades.

The Lok Satta leaders said that the so-called express trains in India run at a speed of 60 km an hour against 150 km in the developed world for want of track and signaling modernization.

They ridiculed the Railway Ministers claim of the plan to lay 3500 km of new railway track as courageous by recalling that the British rulers laid 40000 km of railway track in three years 160 years ago.

They, however, welcomed the proposals to develop 50 stations including Secunderabad, to improve hygiene and sanitation, concessions to women, the physically challenged and unorganized workers and reduction in the tatkal reservation charge.

Do rains respond to prayers? Asks the Lok Satta

2009-07-02T16:55:00.000+05:30

Propitiating Gods for precipitation of rains in 2009 by an elected Government and a devasthanam board nominated by it borders on the ridiculous, commented the Lok Satta Party here today.

Instead of going to the rescue of farmers hit by the drought-like situation with an alternative plan, the Chief Minister is hoodwinking the people by initiating the ritual. The Endowments Minister who is supposed to protect temple properties from encroachers supervises the ‘Varuna yagam.’ The TTD, which is expected to productively utilize people’s offerings to the God for their welfare, is squandering away precious resources on such unwarranted rituals.

Talking to the media, party spokesmen Katari Srinivsasa Rao, V. Laxman Balaji and G. Raja Reddy said there was nothing wrong in a Government resorting to cloud seeding in a bid to precipitate rains. But scheduling the program for the middle of July when the rainy season would be at its peak naturally sparked doubts about the Government’s motive.

The Lok Satta leaders pointed out that the Government is going ahead with its pet scheme of cooperative farming, undeterred by advice to the contrary from saner elements. They told the Government if the productivity and production were low it was not because the holdings were small but because the farmers had no access to resources and markets. The Government supplied certified seeds enough only for eight percent of the total acreage and tested only four percent of soils. Apart from addressing such lapses, the Government should provide credit and marketing facilities to farmers.

The party spokesmen accused the Government of not displaying either leadership or competence in resolving people’s problems. It had so indiscriminately issued ration cards that the beneficiary families exceeded the number of families in the State. And yet, tens of thousands of poor families do not have white cards. It had not come up with any concerted action plan to prevent recurrence of Bholakpurs (where 14 people died of ‘drinking water’).

They also referred to the Government appointing an Advisory Committee on Public Safety and Security in which the Home Minister did not find a place, and said it once again mirrored the Government’s irrational and hare-brained policies.

“Instead of focusing on ensuring independent crime investigation and equal treatment to all before law, ad hoc, arbitrary decisions are being taken. The Government did not or could not explain why such a body is necessary or how it would solve the problems. These arbitrary ‘firmans’ remind us of the shenanigans of autocratic rulers like Mod. Bin Tughlaq. It is time the Government got its act together and acted with some degree of responsibility and good sense”.

Lok Satta rebuts malicious campaign

2009-07-01T17:30:00.000+05:30

Parties that blame the Lok Satta for their poor performance in the 2009 elections had better advocate single-party democracy as in China and the erstwhile Soviet Union, the Lok Satta said today in a sharp rejoinder.

A number of leaders in both the TDP and the BJP had been griping and wailing over the Lok Satta “hijacking their’ votes and contributing to their dismal show, according to media reports.

Talking to the media, Lok Satta Party spokesmen V. Vijayender Reddy and E. Chennayya said that far from being chastened by the electoral debacle and mending their ways, some of the traditional parties seemed to regard the electoral arena as their sole preserve. “They conveniently forget that in a democracy, every one has a right to form a party and seek voters’ blessings. The beauty of democracy lies in the fact that no party has a monopoly over any section of voters. A mature political party in a democracy should humbly accept the people’s verdict instead of trying to find scapegoats in other parties or blame the voters themselves. Perhaps they believe in single-party democracy.”

Referring to the allegation that the Lok Satta seemed to have a secret understanding with the Congress since it did not field candidates against the Chief Minister and his son in the Pulivendula Assembly and Kadapa Lok Sabha seats respectively, the Lok Satta leaders dubbed it as not only baseless but also malicious. The party did field Mr. Gudipati Prasanna Kumar to contest against the Chief Minister’s son in the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat. Despite its best efforts, the party could not find candidates in 45 Assembly and 10 Lok Sabha seats. Pulivendula and Kuppam happened to be among Assembly seats where the party could not locate suitable candidates. The party allocated the Kuppam seat to the Backward Classes United Front which had come forward to field a candidate.

“People’s welfare is the sole touchstone for our stand on any issue, and not partisan considerations,” underlined the spokesmen in the context of the Government moves to supply mineral water to every habitation and promote cooperative or collective farming.

The Lok Satta Party was the only party, which included supply of safe drinking water in all problematic areas as one of its 50 “irrevocable guarantees.” “We are glad the ruling party has taken a leaf out of our manifesto. But unfortunately, its copying is not smart.” The Lok Satta had promised water supply through installation of reverse osmosis plants in areas where the water is not potable either because of excessive fluoride or salinity or pollution by industrial effluents. The Lok Satta scheme to devolve a per capita grant of Rs.1000 to every panchayat/ward/division will enable the local body to go in for such plants and provide even livelihood to plant operators.

The Lok Satta is unequivocal in its operation to cooperative or collective farming as conceived by the State Government because productivity and production are not scale-dependent. Many countries including Russia and China were forced to beat a retreat from collective farming as their experience was disastrous. In contrast, the productivity in a small land holding is higher because of the care bestowed by the small farmer. Productivity in the Indian context has to do more with accessibility to and affordability of technology and not fragmented holdings. Cooperative farming can perhaps be experimented in saline areas and rain shadow areas.

Lok Satta screens candidates For GHMC elections

2009-06-30T17:41:00.001+05:30

The Lok Satta Party, which is determined to make a good showing in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections, has completed screening of candidates for 70 of the 150 divisions.

Mr. Katari Sriniasa Rao and Dr. P. Bhaskara Rao, party spokesmen and Mr. Dasari Ratnam, State Convener, Yuva Satta, told the media that the Lok Satta call to the young and educated to contest the elections on the Lok Satta platform had elicited tremendous response. What is heartening is that a number of candidates with leadership qualities and competence and commitment are among the applicants. The candidates would be finalized once the Government finalized the reservation of wards for different communities.

The Lok Satta leaders pointed out that the Lok Satta, despite the enormous good will it enjoyed, could not poll votes in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the same proportion because of the malicious propaganda that a vote to the Lok Satta would be a wasted vote. In addition, considerations of caste, money and liquor played a significant role.

In contrast, the local elections would be fought on local issues. The Lok Satta is in the process of finalizing division-wise and time-bound agenda to resolve the burning problems of people ranging from drinking water supply and sanitation to traffic and public transport.

The Lok Satta leaders said that the GHMC elections provided a golden opportunity to develop Hyderabad on par with the best cities in the world provided the citizens utilized their vote with discretion. As of now, land grabbers and goondas ruled the roost as the young and educated shunned politics and civic matters. They said that in the recent past attempts had been made to grab land in ENT Hospital, Kothi and in Chikoti Gardens, Begumet.

Thanks to the Lok Satta, the young and the educated have now realized that they should lead politics from the front, like Subhash Chandra Bose, Chittaranjan Das, Jawaharlal Nehru and Prakasam Pnatulu in the past.

The Lok Satta is launching its Mission 2014 (of coming to power) beginning with GHMC, asserted the leaders.

Cooperative farming will end up In disaster, warns Dr. JP

2009-06-29T21:05:00.001+05:30

The cooperative or collective farming envisaged by the Andhra Pradesh Government to step up both productivity and production will end up in a disaster, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan warned today. “The remedy proposed is worse than the disease.”

Dr. JP, who took part in an all-party meeting convened by the Chief Minister on cooperative farming earlier in the day, said farming in Andhra Pradesh suffered from a host of ailments all of which had little to do with the size of farms. “Productivity and production in the farm sector have been low not because the land holdings are small but because farmers do not have access to technology.”

He pointed out that “technology is scale neutral.” Farmers irrespective of the size of their holdings embrace new technologies if they are available as is evident from the fact that 80 percent of cotton farmers have taken to the pest resistant BT cotton variety all over the country. The farmers are helpless either when modern technology is not available or they have no access. Although there are cane harvesters all over the world, they are not available in Andhra Pradesh.

Dr. JP highlighted that only eight percent of seeds used by farmers are certified and four percent of their soils tested. On both counts, the farmer is a loser. The problem, therefore, lay with the Government and not the farmer in making new technologies accessible to him.

Dr. JP told a media meeting that the Government’s advocacy of large, consolidated holdings in the name of cooperative or collective farming for precision farming is untenable. Precision farming involves control of temperature, moisture etc in green houses as in the raising of tulips in the Netherlands. The holdings involved are all small and not at all large.

Dr. JP pointed out that all over the country productivity in small farms is higher than in large farms because the small farmer invests his labor of love, besides other inputs, to reap higher harvests. He does not include his labor in costing. If cooperative farming is introduced, the small farmer becomes a wage earner and loses his dignity. As he charges for his labor, the cost of production in cooperative farming is bound to be higher.

Dr. JP said the real problem lay in the absence of breakthroughs in technologies after the Green Revolution of the 1960s. The Government could address some of the problems like absence of dryers and threshing platforms.

“Nowhere in the world large-scale farming has been a success. In India itself, we have 14 Central State Farms spread over tens of thousands of acres. But all the farms run by the Government of India are bankrupt. The erstwhile Soviet Union paid a very high price for promoting collective farming. In India, cooperatives have succeeded where they are engaged in processing and marketing and not in primary production. Milk cooperatives are a good example. Even in dairy cooperatives whenever the Government controlled them as in Kadapa and Chittoor, the dairies went bankrupt whereas farmer-controlled processing cooperatives are doing well.”

Dr. JP did not rest with rubbishing the Government proposal. He suggested alternatives for stepping up productivity and production. He wanted the Government to enact a law as in Punjab to promote consolidation of fragmented holdings. The present monstrous tenancy law has to be liberalized. Although two-thirds of land holdings in the State are in the hands of tenants, owners do not register them for fear of losing ownership.

Once tenancy is brought on record, the tenant can access bank credit and other inputs. A liberalized tenancy law will also facilitate contract farming which is in the interest of the farmer as also the country. For instance, sugarcane and oil palm are raised as a contract between processing mills and farmers. In a similar fashion, paper producers enter into an understanding with farmers for supply of softwood in Andhra Pradesh, and vegetable producers for supply of raw material to processing industry in Punjab.

Dr. JP wanted the Government to focus on value addition, warehousing and marketing. The marketing societies should be under the control of farmers, and all restrictions on marketing should be removed.

Lok Satta demands ACB inquiry Into Jindal land scam

2009-06-29T21:04:00.001+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today demanded an ACB inquiry into the Rs.10-crore scam in the acquisition of land for the Jindal Aluminum factory in Vizianagaram district.

Addressing a media meet, party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan regretted that although the party submitted a report on the irregularities in land acquisition to the Chief Minister on September 8, 2008, no action had been taken.

The party today released a detailed report on its field-level findings.

Dr. JP and Mr. Bhisetty Babjee, Vizianagaram district party President of the party, said that politicians and officials colluded and siphoned off at least Rs.10 crore of the Rs.22.44 crore payments by creating bogus farmers. Some genuine farmers had been paid nominal compensation while some others had not been paid at all.

The Lok Satta inquiry had revealed that the officials tampered with revenue records and indulged in forgery. The Lok Satta leaders demanded that justice be rendered to displaced farmers and the guilty punished.

Punish the guilty in white card scam: Lok Satta

2009-06-26T19:23:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today welcomed the Government’s determination and drive to weed out bogus white ration cards but wanted it to issue white cards to all the eligible.

Talking to the media, party spokesmen Dr. P. Bhaskara Rao and G. Raja Reddy said it was good the Government had woken up to the need to correct its mistakes. It should also own the responsibility for the injustice caused to the deserving poor and the loss to the exchequer.

The spokesmen pointed out that the Government which took up many schemes on a saturation basis like issue of white ration cards, grant of INDIRAMMA houses, sanction of pensions and treatment under ‘Arogyasree’ allowed them to be abused by ruling party leaders and workers with an eye on elections. Even according to the Chief Minister himself, there are 30 lakh bogus ration cards while unofficial estimates put them at 80 lakh. All these have involved an avoidable loss of a few thousands of crores to the exchequer.

Dr. Bhaskara Rao and Mr. Raja Reddy said such a huge scam cannot be swept under the carpet by terming it as an administrative lapse. They demanded that an inquiry be conducted into the scam and action taken against the guilty. After all a scam of such a magnitude would not have taken place without the support and encouragement of top politicians and officials.

The Lok Satta leaders also demanded that the Government recover the money siphoned by ineligible beneficiaries and local leaders in the implementation of the INDIRAMMA housing scheme, instead of merely punishing employees.

Centralization of power at Root of our ills: Dr. JP

2009-06-25T18:18:00.002+05:30

The bane of governance in India is the centralization of power and emasculation of local governments, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said yesterday.

"The local governments are structurally strong going by the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution which are lengthier than the American Constitution. But they are functionally feeble."

He was addressing the Emerging Markets Forum, which met in Mumbai, focusing on the theme of "Creating an affluent society in India by 2039 on par with the U. S. and Europe."

Emerging Markets Forum is a network of thought leaders, opinion makers, policy formulators and business people who come together to discuss issues of global and national significance. It is mainly a network of leading minds, who create a platform for an open and informed debate focused on emerging markets. The conference was organized by IDFC and supported by the Express group along with the Bombay Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking on governance reforms, Dr. JP pointed out that many districts in India are bigger than 50 percent of the countries in the world and the metropolitan cities are larger than 80 percent of the countries. Yet the local governments have been made irrelevant. No wonder, most people in the country do not know the names of Mayors of even large metropolitan cities in India, unlike those of London, New York or Mexico City.

Dr. JP said that power had been concentrated so much that there are only three decisions makers in India - the PM, the CM and the DM (district magistrate).

He called for genuine decentralization with devolution of powers, responsibilities, resources and personnel on the local governments. The people would not realize the importance of their vote unless they appreciated how it was going to transform their lives. Otherwise they would succumb to short-term sops or money and liquor offered by political parties.

Dr. JP underlined the need for civil service reforms. India is perhaps the only modern democracy in the world, which clings to institutions created by colonial rulers a century and half ago.

The Lok Satta President said that decentralization should provide for local policing and local courts. There has been a market demand for criminals and thugs because the people could not depend on the police and the courts to render them timely justice.

Dr. JP asserted that India could not be transformed unless competent people with leadership qualities entered politics as they did during the freedom movement. People like Jawaharlal Nehru, Dadabhai Naoroji, Chittaranjan Das, Prakasam Pantulu, Subhash Chandra Bose and Vallabhbhai Patel started their political by taking interest in local civic affairs and emerged as national leaders during the freedom struggle. "Since there is now an absence of such leaders, sons and daughters of politicians and criminals have filled the vacuum. People are thirsting for change and waiting for a miracle. But the miracle won't happen unless the educated young and middle class people plunge into politics."

Among those who took part in the EMF proceedings were EMF Chairman and Philippines former President Fidel V. Ramos, Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, former Mexican President Vincent Fox and former Union Minister Arun Shourie, economist Sankar Acharya, political scientists Prof. Asutosh Varshney and Prof. Inder Sud and Maharashtra Lok Satta President Surendra Srivatsava.

Lok Satta allotted 'whistle'

2009-06-25T18:18:00.001+05:30

The State Election Commission has decided to include ‘whistle’ among free symbols and allot it to the Lok Satta Party as requested by it.

In a letter to Mr. V. Laxman Balaji, General Secretary of the Lok Satta Party, Mr. G. M. Ramesh Kumar, Secretary of the Election Commission, said, “this is an interim arrangement restricted to GHMC elections only and will not confer any right on the Lok Satta Party to claim the same symbol in future local body elections.”

This was disclosed at a media briefing by party spokesmen V. Laxman Balaji and Mohd Ishaq Khan here today.

The Lok Satta Party had contested the May 2008 by-elections to the Assembly and the 2009 general elections to the Assembly and the Lok Sabha on the ‘whistle’ symbol.

Lok Satta revamping district units

2009-06-24T16:41:00.001+05:30

The Lok Satta Party has constituted an 18-member committee to go round districts and evaluate the district units’ performance as a prelude to the reshuffling of office-bearers. Based on the feedback from the committee, the revamp will be undertaken by the State leadership. The party had already declared that the earlier elected committees would function as ad hoc committees pending reorganization.

Giving this information here today, Mr. V. Vijayender Reddy and E. Chennayya told the media that the 18 members of the committee would split themselves into six groups for the district visits.

The spokesmen made it clear that performance of the party units during the just concluded Assembly and Lok Sabha elections would be the criterion for their evaluation. Under no circumstances would office bearers who harmed party interests would be tolerated.

The committee members would also enlighten district units on the new categories of membership -- primary, executive and honorary – and motivate them to enroll 20 lakh primary members.

The party would appoint four persons to be in charge of divisions in the four parliamentary constituencies in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. It is in the process of drawing up division-wise agendas as part of its campaign for the GHMC elections.

The party regretted that the Chief Minister injected religion into administration by ordering rituals to propitiate the rain God.

Dr. JP key speaker at world conference

2009-06-23T18:57:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan will be a key speaker at the Emerging Markets Forum’s fourth world conference being organized in Mumbai on June 24 and 25 and in New Delhi on June 26.

The Washington DC-based forum, comprising political, corporate and social activists, aims at finding practical solutions to common political, economic and social problems the developing markets face.

Among those taking part in the forum’s conference are the EMF Chairman and Philippines former President Fidel V. Ramos, Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, World Trade Organization Deputy Director General Alejandro Jara, former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, former Mexican President Vincent Fox and former Union Ministers Arun Shourie and Suresh Prabhu.

Dr. JP will be addressing the forum on administrative and political reforms. The Bombay Chamber of Commerce is hosting the three-day conference.

Lok Satta to name young candidate For Mayor’s position

2009-06-23T16:55:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party would choose a young candidate for the Mayor’s post and announce the name soon, party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan has announced.

Addressing young professionals from Secunderabad who joined the party under the leadership of Mrs. Akula Maharani, Dr. JP said the Mayor candidate would be picked up from among the young who have leadership qualities, clear understanding of problems and commitment.

The GHMC elections, he told the youth, provided a golden opportunity to transform Hyderabad into a world-class and most livable city of which every one could be proud. Every young man and woman should realize it was possible if they utilized the most powerful weapon in their hands – the vote.

Dr. JP said that after detailed studies and great deliberation, the Lok Satta is giving five irrevocable guarantees all of which can be fulfilled with the resources already available. And the Lok Satta has the sincerity, commitment and competence to fulfill its promises.

The five guarantees are:

Supply of safe drinking water in all colonies and bastis which do not have the facility now with the installation of reverse osmosis plants
Implementing a citizen’s charter under which failure to attend to a public grievance in a specified period invites penalty on the GHMC
Identification and resolution of problems basti-colony wise and implementation of a division agenda in three phases – 100 days, one year and five years respectively.
Devolution of GHMC funds at the rate of Rs.2 crore for each division every year, so that an elected divisional committee could spend it on attending to pressing local problems
Integration of the functioning of the GHMC, Metrowater and Urban Development Authority

Dr. JP called upon the youth who are eager to rid the city permanently of problems concerning drinking water, sanitation, traffic and encroachments to utilize the Lok Satta platform and contest the elections. He told the youth that leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and Prakasam Pantulu were first civic leaders before they became national leaders. They could get in touch with the party on Tel. Nos. 040-23231818 or 040-40405050 or email their applications to GHMCCandidates@loksatta.org

Lok Satta campaign to amend anti corruption law

2009-06-22T17:02:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta party has called upon the people and party activists to write to the Chief Minister on the need to plug loopholes in the Prevention of Corruption Act and punish the guilty.

It may be recalled that Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan had presented a draft Bill for amendment of the Act to the Chief Minister and the Speaker of the Assembly in the first session of the Assembly.

The Bill proposes to bring all those elected to public offices including legislators under the purview of the Act. It seeks to tighten several provisions which allow the corrupt to go unscathed now.

The party proposes to mobilize public opinion on the need to eradicate corruption by associating all political parties and civic society organizations.

Talking to the media, party spokespersons Katari Srinivasa Rao and Mrs. S. Manorama requested the Chief Minister to demonstrate that he stood by his promise to eradicate corruption by getting the amendments to the law passed in the Assembly’s budget session.

The party spokespersons strongly condemned Mr. Sarvey Satyanarayana, the Congress MP elected from Malkajgiri, that the people of Kukatpally had committed a blunder by electing Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Lok Satta Party President, as their representative in the Assembly. It was nothing but an affront to the enlightened Kukatpally voters. To claim that development works would be taken up only if the Congress candidates were elected to the GHMC since the party is in power both in the State and at the Center was a travesty of the Constitution and democracy.

Schools in awful shape: Lok Satta

2009-06-21T12:23:00.000+05:30

A Lok Satta sample survey of schools in the public sector in the State has revealed that they continue to be bereft of basic amenities even as the new academic year has begun.

Disclosing this at a media meet, party spokespersons V. Laxman Balaji and Mrs. Gita Murthy said that party volunteers had surveyed some schools in Greater Hyderabad and in Warangal, Nizamabad and Vizianagaram districts.

The survey shows that most schools do not have pucca buildings and in most schools classes are conducted in one or two rooms. Most teachers happen to be volunteers and most of the schools do not have drinking water or toilet facilities. Women teachers in primary schools on Hydernagar Road and in Martanda Nagar, the Zilla Parishad School on Nizampet road and the Urdu school in Hafizpet are forced to knock at neighbor’s doors for want of toilet facilities. The funds earmarked for provision of basic amenities in the Nizampet school were diverted for purchase of 40 computers but all of them remain unutilized. Although there are 800 girl students in three municipal schools in Vizianagaram town, none of them has a toilet.

In addition, students have to reckon with shortage of textbooks and teachers awaiting transfers.

The spokespersons pointed out that the Government has launched a drive for student enrolment in schools with great fanfare. But without providing basic amenities, the Government could not expect the students to excel in their studies. No wonder, even the poorer sections are forced to send their wards to private schools for better education.

The Lok Satta Party has decided to adopt the school on Hydernagar Road in Serilingampalli Assembly constituency and develop it as a model school, said the spokespersons.

Lok Satta to rope in opinion makers

2009-06-19T17:05:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party plans to identify at least 100 influential opinion makers in every Assembly constituency and enlist them as honorary members by invitation.

The party, which conducted a three-day intensive review of its performance in the 2009 elections by interacting with the contestants, came to the conclusion that there was an enormous gulf between the public esteem it enjoyed and the votes it polled.

Disclosing this at a media conference, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said the challenge before the Lok Satta is formidable in that it has to operate amidst a hostile and corrupt political and electoral system to translate its support base into votes.

Dr. JP said that for the first time in a generation the middle classes have realized that politics is a necessity and noble endeavor and owned up the Lok Satta Party and its agenda as their own.

Transformation in any society, Dr. JP, said was possible only when the middle classes, the media and influential opinion makers joined hands. With the middle classes already on its side, the Lok Satta has to associate the media and influential opinion makers in its mission to transform India. Dr. JP hoped that the media, as a moral instrument, would in the long run identify itself with the interests and aspirations of the middle classes. The real challenge lay in providing space to public opinion makers with ability and influence. The Lok Satta would identify such people and enlist them as honorary members.

The party identified deficiencies in leadership, organization and resources as responsible for its poor electoral performance. The party needed leaders of quality and integrity, clean money to run honest politics and a robust organization. To address all the issues together, the party decided to create an institutional mechanism.

The party plans to have three types of members. The most important category is the executive membership. It is open to all citizens with a good personal track record. They pay an annual membership fee of Rs.1000 or Rs.100 a month. They will have the right to contest at every level in organizational elections. They will also be entrusted with the task of identifying candidates to contest to elected offices.

The other two types of members are primary members and associate members. Primary members pay a fee of Rs.100 for three years and enjoy the right to vote in village and mandal organizational elections in rural areas and ward/divisional elections in urban areas. Associate members pay a fee of Rs.10 and enjoy the right to vote in party elections at the local level.

Dr. JP said that honorary members enlisted by the party would enjoy all the privileges of executive members.

The revamping of the organization has been so conceived that it facilitates mobilization of resources from members and emergence of leaders, said Dr. JP.

Dr. JP invites the brightest to Contest GHMC elections

2009-06-19T17:00:00.001+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today appealed to the brightest citizens in Hyderabad to take active interest in civic affairs by contesting the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

“View the ensuing elections as a golden opportunity to transform our city for good and not as a political exercise”, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said here.

“It is a disgrace to all of us that people should go through the indignity of living amidst overflowing sewers or die of drinking water.”

Dr. JP recalled that many stalwarts of the freedom struggle cut their teeth in politics by taking part in civic affairs and subsequently emerged as national leaders.

The Lok Satta, he said, has finalized a sharply defined agenda for transforming the city in the next five years.

The five promises the party is making are:

Supply of safe drinking water in all colonies and bastis which do not have the facility now with the installation of reverse osmosis plants
Implementing a citizen’s charter through a call centre, under which failure to attend to a public grievance in a specified period invites a Rs.100 per day penalty on the GHMC
Identification and resolution of problems basti-colony wise and implementation of a division agenda in three phases – 100 days, one year and five years respectively.
Devolution of GHMC funds at the rate of Rs.2 crore for each division every year, so that an elected divisional committee could spend it on attending to pressing local problems
Integration of the functioning of the GHMC, Metrowater and Urban Development Authority

Dr. JP said the Lok Satta is keen on fielding candidates of integrity and leadership qualities and appealed to the younger generation eager to contest the elections to contact the Lok Satta Party headquarters (Tel: 23231818) or its call center (40405050) with their bio data. They are also welcome to email it to the GHMCCandidates@loksatta.org. The aspiring candidates will be screened and interviewed by a committee once the Government finalizes the reservation of wards.

Dr. JP appealed to the State Election Commission to honor its commitment to the High Court by ensuring there is a gap of at least a month between the finalization of wards’ reservation and the election notification. The parties need the time to choose candidates in a transparent and democratic manner. He also requested the Election Commission to include ‘whistle’ among free symbols. The Lok Satta would like to contest on the ‘whistle’ symbol with which the party has been identified.

2014 belongs to the Lok Satta, Asserts Dr. JP

2009-06-18T20:58:00.001+05:30

If the Lok Satta Party sticks to its values without any compromise, the year 2014 definitely belongs to it, asserted party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan here today. “And the political calendar too favors the fledgling party”.

Addressing party people who contested the 2009 elections, Dr. JP said the Lok Satta is here to stay and determined to fight for transformation in people’s lives, however arduous struggle is going to be. “People are ready for real change and it will happen in 2014 (when the Assembly elections are due again) going by the winds of change blowing across the State.

Party spokesmen V. Laxman Balaji and Mohd. Ishaq Khan gave this information to the media today.

Although vast numbers of people admired the party in the 2009 elections, they stopped short of endorsing it. “The months and years to come are a testing time for us. People will keenly watch whether the Lok Satta sticks to its values or compromises on them to garner a few seats in elections, like other parties.”

He recalled that a survey conducted by a TV channel immediately after the 2009 elections were out showed that 96 percent of the respondents viewed the Lok Satta Party as an alternative to both the Congress and the TDP, mirroring the high hopes the people had of the Lok Satta.

Dr. JP pointed out that the political calendar too favored the Lok Satta in that elections scheduled for various local bodies would provide a golden opportunity to mobilize public support. After elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, elections to municipal councils will take place in 135 towns accounting for almost 150 Assembly constituencies. Thereafter, elections to panchayati raj bodies would take place. If the party made good use of the local body elections, facing the 2014 elections would be an easy task, said Dr. JP.

Dr. JP reiterated that none need to make great sacrifices to build up the party. It was enough if they devoted a little part of their time, increased party membership and invited and encouraged competent people to take up leadership. He wished politicians in Andhra Pradesh had emulated Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and leader of the Opposition L. K. Advani who apologized to each other for election-eve bitter exchanges and agreed to let bygones be bygones.

The fault lies with us, concede Lok Satta contestants

2009-06-18T11:44:00.001+05:30

Umpteen are the causes for the poor electoral performance of the Lok Satta Party in the 2009 elections, revealed party candidates who contested the elections in an introspection session at the party headquarters here today. Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan and Vice President D. V. V. S. Varma chaired the session on the second day of the review of the party’s performance.

Party spokespersons V. Vijayender Reddy and Mrs. Ravala Jhansi Lakshmi and Vice President Bhisetty Babji briefed the media on the deliberations.

The participants pointed out that they could not tap the enormous good will the party enjoyed in the form of votes largely because of organizational weakness. The party had a large number of members everywhere but they were not given to taking active part in party programs. The Lok Satta did not emerge as a real contender in the eye of the voter as it did not splurge money and whip up frenzy in its favor like the traditional parties. It could not even constitute an adequate number of booth committees.

The participants revealed that a section of rural voters was not aware of the importance of the vote in transforming their lives and they voted for their largest benefactor in terms of money and liquor. That most candidates were new to politics and elections, that the party would not make any credible promises on redressing local problems and that the candidates had little time to campaign also worked against the party.

The participants suggested plugging of organizational weaknesses by encouraging local leadership and increasing membership, initiation of training programs for active members, mobilization of resources, formation of party wings to represent different sections in society and education of voters.

The contestants opined that although people were fed up with the traditional parties they still voted for them as the Lok Satta had not yet emerged as a viable alternative to them. The Lok Satta could measure up to people’s expectations if it emerged stronger organizationally.

Dr. JP said his confidence in the Lok Satta’s ability to usher in new politics had doubled going by the feedback from contestants. Their determination to make a better showing in all elections in future was heart warming.

Develop killer instinct, Dr. JP tells party workers

2009-06-16T18:05:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party President Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan told party activists today that they had to develop the killer instinct and not depend solely on the party’s image to win in elections.

Addressing a meeting of party people who contested the 2009 elections, Dr. JP recalled that although most of them were new to politics and elections they had put up a creditable performance in the face of the traditional parties’ bid to induce voters with money and liquor and the vicious propaganda that a vote to the Lok Satta would be a wasted vote. “But you don’t win an election simply by being good and sincere. You have to live amidst people, fight for their causes and provide competent leadership to convert their good will into votes.”

The party leadership today began a three-day detailed review of its performance in the 2009 elections. The contestants, divided into three batches, are giving their feedback. Party spokesmen Katari Srinivasa Rao and P. Ravi Maruth briefed the media on the first day’s deliberations,

In his address, Dr. JP said that the party had reached most people in the State going by the fact that it had polled some votes in every polling booth. Unlike other parties, it had a clear-cut agenda. But it had to strengthen itself organizationally, identify competent people and provide them space in the party to make an impact in elections.

Dr. JP rubbished certain parties’ propaganda that they had lost the elections because of Lok Satta’s inroads into their vote banks. Claiming certain sections of people as the vote banks of any party was nothing an affront to them. He cited two instances to drive home the point that parties did not have any permanent vote banks. The BJP claimed that it had lost in the May 2008 Musheerabad by election because of the Lok Satta. Although the same candidates were in the race in the 2009 Assembly elections, the BJP polled less votes than in the by election while the Lok Satta doubled its votes. Similarly in the Secunderabad Assembly constituency, the TDP, which contested in alliance with the TRS in the 2009 elections, was defeated while the Lok Satta polle 50 percent more votes than in the 2008 by election.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao and Mr. Ravi said the party contestants displayed enormous confidence in the future of the party, and displayed no signs of disappointment or despair over their inability to convert people’s good will into votes. They believed that every vote they polled was equivalent to 100 votes of their opponents because it was a fight between dharma and adharma. The party was determined to make a better showing in the local body elections, the spokesmen said.

Lok Satta asks for contingency plan

2009-06-15T16:36:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today wanted the Government to be ready with a contingency plan to safeguard the interests of farmers as also consumers as the monsoon is playing truant.

Talking to the media, party spokespersons V. Laxman Balaji and Mrs. S. Manorama said the common people are already bearing the brunt of skyrocketing prices of food grains and vegetables and if the monsoon is further delayed it will hurt both consumers and producers.

The party suggested that the Government stockpile short-gestation seed varieties, and ensure there is no shortage of drinking water and fodder. Since warehouses are overflowing with food grain stocks, the Government should have no difficulty in keeping prices under check.

Dr. JP’s ‘Meet the People’ program

2009-06-13T21:26:00.002+05:30

Lok Satta Party President and MLA Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan will take part in a “Meet the People” program at Imax Garden, on Road No 4 in KPHB Colony, Kukatpally from 2 p.m. on 14th June 2009.

Dr. JP will interact with the public in the presence of civic officials in a bid to facilitate resolution of their problems.

School management bows to parents

2009-06-13T21:25:00.001+05:30

Cal Public School in Kapra today agreed to roll back the steep fees it had effected following an agitation by parents.

The school had raised the fees by 57 percent sparking the agitation. At a meeting held with the school management today, the parents agreed to an increase of only 10 percent in the fees subject to the management providing drinking water and toilets to students in three months.

Mr. Guduru Sudarshan Reddy, J. Krishna Rao and Mr. G. Venkanna, all Lok Satta Party leaders, were among those who negotiated with the school management.

Resource constraints stymied Lok Satta In elections: Dr. JP

2009-06-13T21:22:00.000+05:30

Had the Lok Satta had Rs.40 crore as its election fund, it would have emerged as a significant player in Andhra Pradesh politics today, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said today.

Addressing a media meet, at which he released a statement of donations received and expenditure incurred by his party during the elections to the Assembly and the Lok Satta, Dr. JP said the party was handicapped by paucity of resources in engendering confidence about its fighting mettle. Although the party succeeded in taking its message to the public, it could not whip up a wind in its favor because of its low-key campaign.

Dr. JP pointed out that a political party cannot function without resources. “Honest politics needs honest money. The party accepted donations only by cheque, accounted for every rupee it spent and placed the facts before the public.”

Dr. JP called upon leaders of competence and integrity from all walks of life to make the Lok Satta their forum for bettering people’s lives.

The party was introducing executive membership with a view to making the party self-sustaining in its day-to-day operations. An executive member has to pay Rs.1000 as fees per year or Rs.100 per month as a token of his owning the party.

On the occasion of 2009 elections, the party received contributions amounting to Rs.3,23,73.900. It incurred a total expenditure of Rs.3,16,01,095 including Rs.2,25,83,670 on electronic and print media. The contributions included those from NRIs. Dr. JP spent a total of Rs.4,92,326 on contesting from Kukatpally to the Assembly.

In reply to a question, Dr. JP said the three traditional parties in Andhra Pradesh would have spent Rs.4000 crore, most of it on inducing voters with cash and liquor, during the elections.

Dr. JP said the Lok Satta would contest the GHMC elections with a clear-cut and practicable agenda. The five promises the party is making are:

Supply of safe drinking water in all colonies and bastis which do not have the facility now with the installation of reverse osmosis plants
Implementing a citizen’s charter under which failure to attend to a public grievance in a specified period invites penalty on the GHMC
Identification and resolution of problems basti-colony wise and implementation of a division agenda in three phases – 100 days, one year and five years respectively.
Devolution of GHMC funds at the rate of Rs.2 crore for each division every year, so that an elected divisional committee could spend it on attending to pressing local problems
Integration of the functioning of the GHMC, Metrowater and Urban Development Authority

“We have the clarity of purpose, determination, competence and integrity to deliver on our promises. We can make Hyderabad a truly get city worthy of our heritage. Right now, the city is on the verge of paralysis with poor water supply, inadequate drainage and sewerage, and nightmarish traffic. This election should serve as a wake up call, and all youth, women, middle classes and the poor should join hands to transform our city”, said Dr. JP.

In reply to a question, Dr. JP said his party would consider an alliance with other parties in the GHMC elections provided there is total agreement on the agenda for the city, and there is willingness to practice ethical politics.

Mr. V. Vijayender Reddy, Lok Satta Secretary and Mr. Nandipeta Ravinder, President, Greater Hyderabad Lok Satta unit, flanked Dr. JP.

Amend anti corruption law, Dr. JP suggests to CM

2009-06-12T20:39:00.001+05:30

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan has in a letter asked Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy to translate his intent to put an end to corruption by amending the Prevention of Corruption Act, which suffered from many lacunae.

Releasing copies of Dr. JP’s letter, party spokesmen Dr. P. Bhaskara Rao and G. Raja Reddy told the media that Dr. JP had sent copies of a draft Bill to amend the Act to the Speaker of the Assembly, Chairman of the Legislative Council, Chief Minister, Ministers for Law and Legislative Affairs, and leaders of the TDP, PRP, TRS, MIM, CPI, BJP and CPM in the legislature.

Pointing out that there are now six agencies dealing with public servants’ acts of corruption, Dr. JP said all of their functions should be integrated so that the guilty cannot go unscathed. He suggested that the Anti Corruption Bureau should be made autonomous and brought under the supervision of the Lok Ayukta. He wanted legislators and other elected public representatives to be brought under the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Dr. JP requested the Chief Minister to convene an all-party conference to discuss measures to eradicate corruption.

Referring to the Intermediate Board’s suspension of principals for low percentage of passes, the party spokesmen said such actions would not serve the purpose. A solution lay in creation of basic amenities in colleges, appointment of more teaching staff and improvement in teaching methods.

Lok Satta demands all-party meet On increase in school fees

2009-06-11T21:06:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today demanded that the Government convene an all-party meeting to hammer out an acceptable solution to the problems parents are facing because of the steep hike in fees in private schools.

Talking to the media, party spokesmen V. Laxman Balaji said the 200-300 percent increase in schools fees had forced many families to run into debts. Even poor and middle class families have no alternative to sending their children to private schools because of Government failure in providing quality education in pubic sector institutions.

Mr. V. Vijayender Reddy, Mr. G. Raja Reddy and Mr. Mohd, Ishaq Khan, party leaders, took part in the media meet.

The Lok Satta also demanded that the Government put an end to the practice of allotting liquor shops to highest bidders. (Excise auctions are scheduled for May). Pointing out that some liquor shops fetched as much as Rs.2 crore each by way of license fees, the Lok Satta leaders said that the successful bidders promoted liquor sales through unauthorized outlets, also known as belt shops. When the matter was raised in the just concluded Assembly session, the Chief Minister repeated his old reply that his attention should be drawn if there were belt shops. The Government was not ashamed of implementing welfare schemes with revenue generated from liquor, which ruined the very people whom it wanted to help.

Commenting on the Assembly proceedings, the party regretted that members of both the Congress and the TDP chose to indulge in mutual recrimination and wasted precious time instead of engaging themselves in meaningful discussion. Although the Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan explained how Andhra Pradesh stood at the bottom among southern States in the human development index, and how it lagged behind some of the Bimaru (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) States, considered economically backward, there was no discussion.

Dr. JP underlines need to restore Service Ethos in bureaucracy

2009-06-07T19:10:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) today counseled Civil Service entrants to regard their career as an opportunity to serve the public and not to make money.

“Service in armed forces, bureaucracy and politics has long been regarded as a badge of honor and dignity in the U. K. But in India, the ethos of public service in politics has almost vanished while it is compromised in armed forces and the bureaucracy in India.”

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, who quit the IAS to launch the Lok Satta movement 13 years ago and the Lok Satta Party two years ago, was addressing a meeting in Chennai today. Sri Kala Sudha Telugu Association organized the meeting to present ‘Telugu Tejam’ awards to nine students selected for Civil Services. The following are the receipients of the awards... Mr. C. HariKiran (18th rank), Mr. N. Venkatesh (19th rank), Mr. B. Goutham (23rd rank), Mr. U. Krishna Mohan (24th rank), Ms. Dasari Sindhuri (43rd rank), Mr.KR Lavanya Kumar (54th rank), Ms. Akurati Pallavi (55th rank), Mr. D. Prashanthi Reddy (64th rank), Mr. Nanduri Sandeep (91st rank), Mr. P. Srinivasa Reddy (583rd rank). Though visually impaired, Mr. Srinivasa Reddy acheived his goal of civils.

Dr. JP called upon the civil service entrants to appreciate that India is one nation although it is multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual. Unless the bureaucracy made a conscious and determined effort to foster national unity and integrated development, parochial tendencies stemming from caste, religion, region and language raise their ugly head and threaten India’s unity and integrity.

Dr. JP, who had observed bureaucracy from close quarters for a decade and half, and made far-reaching recommendations as a member of the Administrative Reforms Commission, regretted that it had become dysfunctional, hierarchical and inward looking. “We cannot allow bureaucracy to degenerate into permanent priesthood. Bureaucrats think they belong to a higher caste order based on their entry into service and not their competence or efficiency in serving the public.”

Dr. JP said the point of entry should not dictate the growth path of an IAS official. One’s growth in career should be determined on one’s competence in delivery of high quality service. “A solution lies in lateral recruitment to all key positions in civil services and fostering of competition among the incumbents.”

“You are the servants of the people and the Constitution and not the party or politicians in power. Let public service be your motto, national unity your goal and creation of equal opportunities for growth to every child irrespective of its accident of birth in a certain caste or family, your sacred duty. Do appreciate that most children in India have not been able to realize their true potential for no fault of theirs, and do your best to go to their assistance”.

Let parties field women in one-third seats: Lok Satta’s alternative

2009-06-05T17:27:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today wholeheartedly welcomed the UPA Government move to provide for reservations to women in legislative bodies as part of its 100-day program.

Addressing a media conference, party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan recalled that that a Bill to provide for women’s reservations had been introduced many times in the last 13 years but had not been passed apparently because most parties were not serious about it.

Dr. JP pointed out that the Bill as it is conceived is seriously flawed. The Bill proposes reservation of one-third seats for women and the rotation of such reserved seats once in every general election. As a result, two-thirds of incumbents will be forcibly unseated in every general election. When male incumbents are forced out, they field their womenfolk as proxies and hinder development of natural leadership. “Such compulsory unseating violates the very principles of democratic representation and jeopardizes the possibility of any legislator choosing a constituency and nursing it. When legislators do not have the incentive to seek re-election from the same constituency, politics will become more predatory and unaccountable. The Bill in its present form is silent about women’s representation in the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Councils. In addition, the Bill warrants a constitutional amendment.”

Studying all these, the Lok Satta had as early as 1999 presented an alternative for consideration by all political parties. It calls for an amendment to the Representation of the People Act making it mandatory for every recognized political party to field women candidates in one-third of constituencies. To prevent a party from nominating women candidates only in States or constituencies where the party’s chances of winning are weak, the Lok Satta proposes that each party should consider the State as a unit for fielding women candidates in elections to the Lok Sabha. In other words, a party has to field one-third of women candidates in every State. A party’s failure to field the requisite number of women entails a penalty. For the shortfall of every woman candidate, the party cannot field male candidates in two constituencies.

The Lok Satta Bill proposes that for reservation of seats for women in a State Assembly, the unit shall be a cluster of three contiguous Lok Sabha constituencies.

Dr, JP said that the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act should be amended to provide for reservation of one-third of seats to women in the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Councils.

The Election Commission had endorsed the Lok Satta Bill, Dr. JP said.

Dr. JP appealed to all political parties to adopt the Lok Satta’s hassle-free and flawless proposal, and ensure adequate representation to women in legislatures.

Smt. N. Saroja devi, convenor of Mahila Satta, Party spokespersons Katari Srinivasa Rao and V. Vijayendar Reddy were also participated in the press meet.

Charges against Dr. JP malicious: Lok Satta

2009-06-02T19:53:00.002+05:30

Frustrated over the resounding rebuff it received in the 2009 elections and worried over the exodus of its cadre into the Lok Satta, the TDP is resorting to baseless and malicious allegations against the Lok Satta and its founder Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, charged the party today.

The Lok Satta rebutted TDP leader Revanth Reddy’s allegations against Dr. JP point-by-point and said that far from realizing that its opportunistic policies and alliances had led to its debacle, the TDP was insulting voters by faulting them. The voters did not constitute the vote bank of any party and all those who voted for the Lok Satta were opposed to all other parties including the TDP and the Congress.

Talking to the media, party General Secretary G. Malyadri and spokespersons K. Srinivasa Rao, V. Vijayendra Reddy said that the TDP seemed to be unaware of the saying in Telugu that a squint-eyed person is better than a blind person. In the Lok Satta’s opinion, there was little to choose between the Congress and the TDP because they belonged to the same genre and that the voters opted for the lesser evil.

Replying to the query on Lok Satta’s track record in fighting Congress corruption, the Lok Satta leaders recalled the party had demanded the constitution of special courts to try cases of corruption when Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu and Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy traded allegations of massive corruption against each other in the Assembly. Significantly, both the traditional parties chose not to respond to the Lok Satta demand. A fight against corruption need not involve enforcing bandhs and rasta rokos with mobilized crowds.

The credit for exposing the inadequacy of ‘Arogyasri’ – welcomed by all parties and beneficiaries --in providing health for all goes to the Lok Satta. While the Lok Satta launched a large-scale agitation against belt shops, the TDP enacted the farce of an agitation since some of its leaders themselves operated belt shops. The Lok Satta is committed to providing education of corporate college standards to every child irrespective of its caste and religion but is not opposed to corporate education. The Lok Satta did indeed field a candidate in the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, contrary to the TDP charge. The Lok Satta did not contest in 45 Assembly constituencies including Pulivendula because it could not attract competent candidates who were prepared to fight without inducing voters with money and liquor.

The Lok Satta believes that it should strive to benefit the people to the maximum extent, whichever party happened to be in power. By being a member of the National Advisory Council, Dr. JP had played a pivotal role in the formulation of the Right to Information Act, the Gram Nyayalay Act, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and the National Rural Health Mission. He worked closely with BJP leaders like Arun Jaitley when the NDA was in power and offered his constructive suggestions on the Bill to amend the Cooperatives Act during Telugu Desam rule in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Malyadri ,Mr. Srinivasa Rao and Mr. Vijayendra Reddy said that one of every three candidates fielded by the Lok Satta in the 2009 elections happened to be a BC and that the party chose SC candidates even for unreserved seats.

The Lok Satta suggested that the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly be elected unanimously and the Deputy Speaker’s position offered to the Opposition.

TDP resorting to slander, Charges Lok Satta

2009-06-01T16:47:00.002+05:30

"We are not surprised by the Telugu Desam Party resorting to slander against our founder President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan", asserted the Lok Satta Party today.

"Parties and forces which ignored and ridiculed us initially are now hitting below our belt as anticipated by us, testifying to the momentum we have gained in the 2009 elections," commented party spokesman Smt G.Pratibha Rao, Katari Srinivasa Rao, Laxman Balaji, Raja Reddy, Vijayendar Reddy and N. Saroja Devi briefed the media today responding to TDP's outburst.

Interacting with the media, they said, "We can understand TDP's frustration over its failure to come to power although it mounted Himalayan efforts. Instead of honestly introspecting, it initially sought to blame other parties and electronic voting machines for its debacle. When its convoluted arguments did not cut ice, It is now attempting to make baseless allegations against Dr. JP."

The Party spokespersons recalled that Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan had launched the Lok Satta Party in 2006 believing that people's lives cannot be transformed unless politics was unshackled from dynastic families, which have turned the noble profession into a lucrative business enterprise. Within a short span of less than three years, the Lok Satta has captured the minds of millions of people all over the State with its clear-cut ideology, practicable program, integrity, sincerity, commitment and competence of its leader Dr. JP to rewrite the grammar of politics.

"We feel humbled by the faith the voters reposed in us spurning irresistible inducements like liquor and money here and now and cash transfers and color televisions in future. We are sorry that we have not been able to translate the unparalleled people's support into votes because of our organizational weaknesses and resource constraints. Instead of blaming others or stars for our performance, we have decided to overcome our weaknesses and make the Lok Satta the driver of politics in the months and years to come."

The Lok Satta Party, they recalled, had offered to join hands with any party, which was prepared to abjure use of liquor and money to induce voters and fielding of candidates with criminal antecedents. Not even one party including the TDP had paid even lip sympathy to our criteria leave alone abiding by them. It was only then the Lok Satta chose to contest the 2009 elections on its own. There was no reason d'etre for the Lok Satta if it were to align with any of the traditional parties, which were not prepared to change a wee bit and were committed only to pursuing politics of corruption.

Refuting TDP charges, they said that the Lok Satta was the only party, which functioned democratically and transparently. Its income and expenditure could be accessed by anybody on the Internet. It was so poor that the expenditure incurred by the party and all its candidates in the elections was less than half of what a traditional party candidate spent in one parliamentary constituency.

Lok Satta spokespersons pointed out that Dr. JP had resigned from the National Advisory Council before launching the party. He did indeed meet the Prime Minister and the UPA Chairperson when he took part in NAC meetings. Lok Satta leaders have excellent personal relationships with all leaders including LK Advani, Arun Jaitely, Venkaiah Naidu, as well as leaders of all political parties in the state. Lok Satta believes that we all belong to one country and we have the common obective of transforming the lives of our people. But to attribute ulterior motives to cordial relations and ordinary courtesies was nothing but an attempt at character assassination.

Lok Satta launches Project 2014

2009-06-01T16:45:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party is launching Project 2014 with a view to coming to power in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections and transforming politics and people’s lives. Lok Satta is the only authentic and credible alternative to the politics of corruption and incompetence prevailing now. Among traditional, vote-buying, family - controlled parties, it doesnot matter which party is in power. Nothing changes in people’s lives as long as these parties are elected to office. Plunder, family rule, populism and poverty of ideas are their hallmarks. Perpetuation of poverty is the sad result of their failed policies and poor governance. Lok Satta alone has the will and clarity to transform politics, eradicate poverty and give power to people.

Announcing this at a media conference here today, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said that the party is going in for a massive restructuring to reflect the changed ground realities.

The Lok Satta Party had generated tremendous enthusiasm and support for the party in sections like the elite, middle classes, youth and women in the 2009 elections. The party, however, could not translate the support into vote because of organizational and resource constraints. At a three-day brainstorming session, the party reviewed its strengths and weaknesses and decided to restructure itself by overhauling membership criteria and co-opting people of integrity and with leadership qualities.

Dr. JP announced that pending the membership drive and elections afresh, all the elected committees now in place would become ad hoc committees. They would be restructured following a detailed district-wise review. Dr. JP disclosed that hereafter there would be three types of members: Associate members who pay Rs.2 for admission, primary members who pay Rs.25 for three years and executive members who pay Rs.100 per month. Executive members will be eligible to contest elections within the party. The party will confer honorary membership on opinion makers who have standing in society and are eager to work for changing politics and transforming people’s lives.

Dr. JP asserted that the Lok Satta is supremely confident of coming to power in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections because, unlike in elections to the Assembly and the Lok Sabha, there won’t be caste-wise polarization of voters nor will there be tactical voting. In addition, the voters would be interested in electing a party that has a clear-cit agenda and competence to solve their day-to-day problems.

The Lok Satta Party’s agenda is unparalleled in that it will straightway devolve Rs.2 crore on each divisional committee from the corporation’s resources to enable it to identify and resolve the people’s immediate needs. It will strive to persuade the State Government to make a per capita grant of Rs.1000 to each divisional committee. The divisional committees will be elected by people. The party will ensure merger of Metro Water Board and the Urban Development Authority with the Municipal Corporation for effective coordination among different authorities and speedy solution to problems pending for many, many years.

The Lok Satta will come up with a division-wise agenda with definite time schedules for implementation. Some problems will be resolved in 100 days, some in one year and some others in five years.

200 Karwan youth join Lok Satta Party

2009-05-25T11:11:00.000+05:30

About 200 youth belonging to Karwan Assembly constituency today joined the Lok Satta Party in the presence of party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan. They were led by Mr. Manik Prabhu, Mr. P. V. Rao and Mr. Paramesh Kumar.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. JP called upon the youth to utilize the Lok Satta forum for contesting the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections. The Lok Satta Party alone is committed to ensuring equal opportunities to every child irrespective of its caste and religion to realize its potential.

Dr. JP pointed out that for traditional parties politics begin and end with elections while the Lok Satta concerns itself with what happens in between elections also.Mr. Nandipeta Ravinder, President, Greater Hyderabad Lok Satta unit, Mr.Dasari Ratnam, State Yuva Satta President, Mr. Ravinder Reddy and others took part in the meeting.

Lok Satta candidate, a responsible citizencompliments from old neighbours-

2008-05-28T11:41:00.001+05:30

MEDIA RELEASE
(Hyderabad, 26/05/2008)

Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao, Lok Satta Party candidate to Khairatabad assembly constituency in by-elections is taking his innovative campaign to all corners of the constituency. He is getting thumping response even in Bastis. Lok Satta Party's Free Quality education and health along with local governments is really impressing people. Today Mr. Srinivasa Rao took Padayatra in Borabanda slum areas. He met his old friends in V. Ramaraonagar, where he lived some years ago. Many of the people there remembered him with pride and respect. He is a responsible citizen and very much concerned about the social problems around such as traffic, drinking water, sanitation, literacy, said one old neighbour. Srinivasa Rao is the right person for the right Party, they opined.
"I personally knew the problems in slums. If elected, I will strive to provide the basic amnities to all the Bastis on permanent basis. Let no child should be without quality education and no poor man should suffer due to burden of medical expense. We will bulid a healthy and enlightned society where every citizen can become a part of the governance" Srinivasa Rao said.
Ms. Sujatha, Mrs. Subhashini, Mr. N. Srinivasan, Mr. Prasad, Mr. Jitender, Mr. Narasimha, a large number of Lok Satta Party youth cadre participated in the Padayatra.

Dr. JP condemns violence against daily

2008-05-28T11:38:00.002+05:30

Hyderabad, May 26

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan unreservedly condemned the MRPS attack on “Andhra Jyothi” as unwarranted in a democracy.

Dr. JP said in a statement that the freedom of the Press -- an extension of freedom of speech guaranteed under the Constitution -- is inviolable. .

If any one has any grievance against the media, one has many ways to express it. Since the Press or the electronic media did not enjoy a monopoly, the aggrieved party can draw others’ attention to the problem. One can ask the concerned newspaper to make amends to an objectionable report. One can go even to the Press Council of India. If one thinks that one’s reputation is sullied, one can file a case of defamation in a court of law.

However, resort to violence would spell the death knell of democracy and lead to anarchy, Dr. JP said.

Dr. JP appealed to the media to observe restraint and not glorify violence even unwittingly as heroism whatever be the circumstances.

Dr. JP’s innovative solution to reservations issue

2008-05-28T11:36:00.001+05:30

Hyderabad, May 24
Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today regretted that traditional political parties continued to foment hatred and clashes between castes and divide society on the issue of reservations in jobs and educational institutions without providing a constructive solution.

Dr. JP was commenting on the agitation by Gujjars in Rajasthan seeking Scheduled Tribe status for their community. Gujjars at present are treated as Backward Classes. Meenas, who are Scheduled Tribes now, are opposed to inclusion of Gujjars among their ranks. A commission appointed by the Rajasthan Government when clashes erupted between Gujjars and Meenas last year, had opposed Gujjars’ inclusion in STs.

A similar schism has developed between Malas and Madigas on the issue of reservations.

Dr. JP recalled the Lok Satta Party has proposed an innovative solution to end the problem once and for all. Without disturbing the present reservations for different classes, poor and rural candidates can be given bonus marks of 10 per cent in competitive examinations for admission to educational institutions and jobs. All the children, irrespective of their caste, shall be provided free and quality education in English for 12 years. The Government shall help all the interested and eligible to pursue higher education ranging from medicine to engineering.

LOKSATTA FIELDS ‘APARICHITUDU’

2008-05-28T11:30:00.002+05:30

(Media release, 22/05/08)
The Lok Satta Party has fielded “Aparichitudu”, a movie character, in flesh and blood to undertake a campaign against political corruption as part of its by-election campaign. Attired in black and sporting flowing hair, he makes the point that by voting for the Lok Satta Party, people can bring about changes in the polity. There is no need for an "Aparichitudu" who in the movie indulges in retribution for corruption, in a democratic setting. The road show of “Aparichitidu”, like the movie, is a resounding success and has become the talk of the town .

Whistle for Change, calls Lok Satta

2008-05-19T14:15:00.004+05:30

The Lok Satta Party is deftly utilizing the by-elections to remind voters that they are sovereign and they can change the future of their lives and the country by exercising their franchise.

The party believes that most of the people are fed up with political corruption, inequity and injustice and bad governance. They have changed governments in the past but have not experienced any change in their lives. The players on the political scene have changed but not the political culture. As a result, the people have become cynical. The Lok Satta Party, which is pledged to ushering in a new political culture, calls upon people to use the party as a platform to realize their hopes and aspirations. The party believes that provision of free and quality healthcare and education and job-oriented skills alone will bring about a transformation in people’s lives.

The party has chosen young and highly educated professionals and entrepreneurs as its candidates in all the four constituencies going to polls – Khairatabad, Musheerabad, Secunderabad and Terlam. Party cadres had chosen them by consensus, impressed by their track record of service to society. The party did not look into their pedigree, money power or muscle power or even their caste when it opted for them.

With the election date drawing nearer, all the party candidates are engaged in a door-to-door campaign. Their main focus is on the youth, the middle classes and women all of whom feel let down in the present system and who are thirsting for an alternative.

They call upon voters to exercise their franchise without succumbing to liquor or money. Politicians of traditional parties have been perpetuating their dynasties only with their consent. “If you stop patronizing them, their citadels of power will crumble.”

The Lok Satta Party candidates carry on their campaign without any pomp or show. You don’t find huge party banners or cutouts of leaders or a cavalcade of cars anywhere. Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan undertakes road-shows in support of party candidates. His simple message is: A vote is much more powerful than a gun or a pen. Use it and unveil a new chapter in Indian politics.

The by-elections are not going to result in a change in government or in policies. But they provide an opportunity to the people to demonstrate that they have had enough of traditional parties. The Lok Satta hopes to become their lodestar.(Whistle is the election symbol of Lok Satta Party candidates).

Dr.JP’s poll campaign in Twin Cities

2008-05-19T13:21:00.001+05:30

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan is undertaking an intensive tour of the Khairatabad, Musheerabad and Secunderabad constituencies in support of party candidates contesting the Assembly by-elections.

Mr. Bandaru Ram Mohan Rao, Election Co-oridnator, in a statement released the following schedule of Dr. JP:

May 18: Secunderabad
May 19: Musheerabad
May 20: Khairatabad
May 22: Secunderabad
May 23: Khairatabad
May 24: Musheerabad
May 26: Secunderabad
May 27: Secunderabad,Khairatabad,Musheerabad

Lok Satta is Your vehicle, Make use of it.

2008-05-19T12:13:00.004+05:30

In Indian mythology many Gods have vehicles to rest on and in the same way, the voter being the God in democracy can rest on the vehicle of Loksatta to achieve his basic needs as a sovereign, said Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, the Lok Satta party President... In his campaign in Secunderabad to promote the party candidate Mr. M.Pradeep Kumar, he toured through Lalapet, Lakshminagar, Shantinagar, Noorpanshop, Masjid areas on Sunday.
The response to Dr. JP's roadshow and Padayatra in some areas was tremendous and very interactive. Especially women received his message with keen attention. In Lakshminagar, women complained about liquor menace in their area. Jayaprakash Narayan explained that Loksatta has taken this issue seriously and has been fighting for the eradication of liquor belt shops. And also Lok Satta was pestering the political parties not to distribute liqour in elections. But no Party is responding our appeal, he regretted. Unless you cleanup the politics, you cannot restrain the liqour menace, he explained the women.
Dr. JP appealed the voters to support a common youth Mr.Pradeep among other traditional competents, as Loksatta is for redefining politics. He asked them to vote for whistle, which is the symbol for Loksatta in the bye-elections.
Party leaders Ravi Martuth, D.Lakshmi, Vinod, Kiran Kumar, Sriman Narayan and volunteers participated in Dr.JP's campaign.

'Seeti Bajao, City Bachao

2008-05-19T12:13:00.003+05:30

Lok Satta campaigning vigorously

Lok Satta Party contesting in the Assembly by-polls in Greater Hyderabad, with the hope of bringing about New Political culture is goingon with vigorous campaign. Khairatabad Party candidate Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao was recieved by the people with splendid response in his Padayatras at Miyapur and Chandanagar on Saturday. The campaign slogan 'Blow the whistle, Save the City' (Seeti Bajao, City Bacho), as the Party was given the whistle as their by-election symbol, impressed many people.

"The people are expressing their solidarity in a big way to the ideology of Lok Satta. We are hoping that this by-election will bring a big change in the present political system" said Mr. Srinivasa Rao.

"This year IAS topper Mr. A. Karthik also said that his role politician is Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan, whcih symboliges that the youth are in favour of Lok Satta New Political Order" he added.

Mr. Surendra Srivatsava, Ashok, Meera, Subhashini, Sujata along with other volunteers participated in the Padayatra.

2008-05-13T13:34:00.004+05:30

Lok Satta Party in the Election Battle 2008. Read the latest issue of Lok Satta Times- May 2008 edition.

Eschew foul public debate, Appeals Dr. JP

2008-05-09T15:56:00.002+05:30

Hyderabad, May 6

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said today that there could not be a greater disgrace in the land of Gandhi and Ambedkar than politicians indulging foul language against each other in public debate. He appealed to all parties to exercise restraint and elevate public discourse.

He was commenting on the polemical exchanges between TDP leader Devender Goud and TRS President K. C. Chandrasekhara Rao, and Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and the TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu, and other leaders in the recent past.

The Lok Satta always believed that politics is a noble endeavor. Elections provided an opportunity for political parties to mobilize public opinion in favor of their policies and ideas. But when politics degenerates into private business and political parties are driven by their unbridled lust for power without any agenda, they indulge in personal rivalry, disgraceful public debate and cheap diatribes unbecoming of people aspiring to be or pretending to be leaders. If public functionaries cannot become role models, they have no place in public life, Dr. JP said.

Dr. JP regretted that traditional parties and politicians seemed to believe that they could not survive without the crutches of power or the nuisance value it confers on them. Although politics is important it forms only a small part of life. Unfortunately in India, the entire society is revolving round politics and political parties are receiving disproportionate and unwarranted attention.

Dr. JP said: “Our society is facing grave short-term and long-term problems affording an opportunity to find meaningful solutions. But when parties have no agenda, they indulge in rabble-rousing and disruptive behavior. The media and society shall deprive such politics and politicians the oxygen of publicity and attention. The need of the hour is promoting a healthy and vigorous debate on education, health care, equity, employment, justice, rule of law and corruption in politics”.

Read the Telugu Press Release

Off-beat nominations by Lok Satta candidates

2008-05-09T15:49:00.003+05:30

Hyderabad, May 5

Lok Satta Party candidates in the by-elections to the Assembly will be filing their nominations without any pomp or ostentation and demonstrate their party is unique.

Accompanied by their followers attired in party T-shirts and sporting paper caps, the candidates will undertake a ‘padayatra’ to the offices where nominations are to be filed. They will carry national flags as well as party flags to drive home the party’s commitment to national interests.

Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao, the party candidate for the Khairatabad seat, and Mr. Rohit Kumar Parasa, the candidate for the Musheerabad seat, will be filing their nominations in the forenoon of Wednesday, May 7. Mr. Maganti Pradeep, the candidate for the Secunderabad seat, will be filing his nomination on May 9.

Read the Telugu press release

Dr. JP wants political parties to disclose income and expenditure

2008-05-09T15:19:00.005+05:30

Hyderabad, May 1

The Lok Satta Party today welcomed the Central Information Commission’s order that political parties should disclose their income-tax returns on a request filed under the Right to Information Act.

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan recalled in a media statement that his party has set an example to others by placing an audited copy of its income and expenditure on its website, although no law compelled it. It is because of its belief that the people have a right to know how the party raised its resources and spent them.

Dr. JP demanded that all political parties should follow suit in the interests of democracy. Even the Election Commission would like a law to be enacted making it mandatory for political parties to disclose their sources of funding and ways of expenditure.

In a democracy, Dr. JP said, a political party should not become the private property of some without any say for other members. The Lok Satta Party has been built as a party of the people. It chose its office-bearers and candidates to contest elections by taking the opinion of the rank and file by secret ballot. In contrast, most parties have turned dynastic, undermining democracy in the process.

Dr. JP called upon parties to heed CIC opinion that transparency in political parties’ organization, functions and their means of funding is a democratic imperative and is in public interest.

Read the press release in Telugu

Lok Satta Party's rejoinder to Sakshi's editorial on JP and Lok Satta Party

2008-05-02T18:20:00.002+05:30

Please read the Lok Satta Party's rejoinder and clarification to Sakshi's editorial that appeared on 29th April 2008.

Lok Satta Party fields young & educated in Assembly by-elections

2008-05-02T18:04:00.004+05:30

The Lok Satta Party is ushering in new political culture by fielding young, educated professionals or entrepreneurs with a clean record and a burning desire to change the politics of the country in the by-elections to the Assembly.

The party is contesting by-elections from Khairatabad, Musheerabad, Secunderabad and Terlam.

Announcing the names of candidates the party is fielding, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan told a media meet here today that the party is providing a platform to the silent majority to assert itself. The silent majority comprising youth, women and middle classes has been fed up with corrupt and dynastic politics but is feeling helpless in the absence of an alternative platform. The Lok Satta Party is utilizing the elections to present the alternative platform so that the silent majority can unleash a silent revolution.

Dr. JP said the party candidates do not have political Godfathers, money power or muscle power. The party rank and file have chosen them unanimously, impressed by their commitment and dedication to the nation and their impeccable background. In fact, they are people who have excelled in their professions or occupations although they belong to disadvantaged sections. The average age of the contestants is just 31.

The following are the Lok Satta Party candidates:

Khairatabad: Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao. A Master of Computer Applications, 38-year-old Srinivasa Rao has been serving as an Assistant Professor in Chaitanya Bharati Institute of Technology for the last one decade. The Vice-President of the Greater Hyderabad Lok Satta Party, Mr. Srinivasa Rao has had a sterling record in fighting for public causes including the easing of traffic hassles in the Twin Cities.

Secunderabad: Mr. Maganti Pradeep. Founder of Cogent Techsol Private Limted, 25-year-old Pradeep has trained hundreds of young graduates in the skill sets needed by employers and helped them find placement in the last three years in IT and ITES fields. A Bachelor in Business Administration, Mr. Pradeep underwent training in General Management & Entrepreneurship at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Musheerabad: Mr. Rohit Kumar Parasa. A self-made entrepreneur, 33-year-old Rohit is the founder chief of Spring Soft Solutions and Spring Consulting Services, ‘Spring Soft Rohit;, as he is popularly known, has had the distinction of molding the careers of over 2,500 youth of the Twin Cities by providing career counseling and helping them secure rewarding jobs in the IT sector.

Terlam: Reddi Lakshmu Naidu. Twenty-seven-year-old Lakshmu Naidu, the son of a two-acre dry land owning farmer, did his Bachelor of Education after obtaining M.A. in English. Instead of taking to teaching, he has chosen to devote his life to bringing about transformation in society by working as a full-time Lok Satta Party volunteer. He has had the distinction of enrolling more than 3000 people as Lok Satta Party members.

Lok Satta to Expose MLAs’ Evil Empire

2008-03-29T13:17:00.003+05:30

The Lok Satta Party is training its guns on the evil empire of MLAS as part of a four-month-long ‘Surajya’ campaign from March 31. The campaign seeks to educate and enlighten people on how ‘Swarajya’ has been distorted into a ‘swaharajya’ and galvanize them into action.

The party will be mobilizing nearly 25000 volunteers in April to spread the movement to every nook and corner of the State.

Lok Satta Party General Secretary D. V. V. S. Varma told a media meet here today that MLA Raj has become the kingpin of ‘legal plunder and constitutional brigandage’ in independent India.
“The Lok Satta Party acknowledges that several MLAs are personally clean and honest, and they are helpless victims of a vicious cycle. But the whole corrupt structure of government is symbolized by vote buying and multiple returns on investment, making politics big business and citizens, mere vote banks”.

Said Mr. Varma: “They splurge crores of rupees to buy voters outright or drown them in liquor or dangle other baits. Once in office, MLAs carve out a mini evil empire of their own in the constituency to recoup ten times their investment in the business of politics. Revenue offices, police stations and all Government departments become pawns in their hands. Without the MLA’s note or nod or recommendation, no file moves in offices or a work gets grounded. Projects, roads and buildings contracts, transfers and postings, police cases, houses, pensions and all schemes come in handy for milking people. In the MLA’s empire, panchayats, municipalities and zilla parishads all stand emasculated. The MLA is indeed the fulcrum of ‘swaharajya’. The Lok Satta is determined to expose the MLAs’ evil empire as a prelude to its ‘Surajya’ campaign from March 31”.

Exhibitions and cultural programs will be conducted throughout the State to expose the loot and plunder being indulged in by MLAs. The party plans to enlist 25000 volunteers for a fortnight from April 6 to spread the movement all over the State.

As part of the ‘Surajya’ campaign, the party will organize mega dharnas in front of Government offices between May 15 and 25 demanding curbs on liquor consumption which is playing havoc with people’. The Government itself should run liquor shops in limited numbers, instead of auctioning them with an eye on maximizing revenue.

The party will be conducting a survey on implementation of Government schemes by choosing one village in every district as a prelude to launching a direct action program in August.

Lok Satta Party Launching 'Surajya' Movement

2008-03-17T11:35:00.001+05:30

The Lok Satta Party is spearheading a citizens' movement for Surajya beginning from Andhra Pradesh on March 23, 2008 (77th death anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh).

Announcing this here today, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) said that while the Swaraj movement sought freedom from colonial rule, Surajya movement aims to free citizens from the chains of corrupt and distorted rule. While Swaraj movement achieved its objectives through non-violence and non-cooperation, Surajya movement will be based on the power of the vote.

Dr. JP said the Swaraj movement has yielded us self-governance and since independence, significant progress has undoubtedly been made across several fields. "However, the present political and governance culture has reduced this hard-earned Swaraj to Swaha-raj where public good has become merely incidental to the fulfillment of vested interests of a distorted political culture".

Dr. JP said that the nation today faced several critical challenges. They include:

Eliminating the pervasive and monumental corruption from our society and replacing the notoriously kleptocratic governance culture with a truly citizen-centric one
Establishing a political culture that is free from criminals and political dynasties
Ensuring equitable access to quality education, healthcare, and employment opportunities to every citizen irrespective of his or her position at birth
Eliminating societal discrimination based on caste and creed, and providing genuine opportunities for vertical growth to all sections of society
Ensuring true devolution of power to local governments, and empowerment of citizens
Ensuring access to speedy and affordable justice to all sections of society and restoring the rule of law

Dr. JP said: "There is a pressing need to build a credible, just, and equitable society that provides dignity, justice, and opportunities for all".

A number of renowned social activists, including Magasasy Award winners, are taking part in the Surajya movement. They include:

:: Anna Hazare
:: Ramesh Raamanathan (Janagraha)
:: Madhu Kishwar (Editor, Manushi)
:: Desikan (Catalyst Trust)
:: Sandeep Pandey
:: M. V. Devasahayam
:: T. N. Seshan
:: Shiv Khera
:: Julius Rebero
:: Arvind Khejriwal

Lok Satta Condemns Attack on Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram

2008-03-12T16:48:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today condemned the attack on Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram and regretted the attempt at damaging the portrait of Sundaraiah, who had earned the affection and admiration of masses.

In a statement, party General Secretary D. V. V. S. Varma said that there is no place for violent, physical attacks and personal recrimination in politics, although there could be ideological clashes.

Mr. Varma said that everyone transcending politics should respect Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram as a distinguished cultural center. All democratic forces should condemn such physical attacks engineered by narrow-minded people to rouse people’s emotions.

He appealed to the Government to arrest the culprits immediately and deal strictly with such evil culture. All parties should focus on promoting constructive politics without stoking feelings of hatred.

Lok Satta leaders Mr. B. Satyanarayana, Mr. Bandaru Rammohan Rao, Mrs. D.Saroja visited Baghligmpally and paid respects at Sri Sundaraiah’s portrait.

Dr. JP Meets his Orkut Friends

2008-03-09T10:48:00.000+05:30

Orkut is a social networking site popular amongst youth in India. Youth discovered it is a great way of being connected. One can find long lost friends, stay connected with current friends, and make new friends. One can create communities of their own on any topic of their liking or join existing ones.

Many communities have been created by earnest Orkutters on political topics. The communities have become hotbeds for emerging trends in political thought amongst Indian youth. Youth discuss here wide-ranging political ideas and thoughts. Youth discuss the state of the existing political culture and the need for a change and how we can bring about the change. They discuss the pressing need to combat the menace of corruption in our governance and politics.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan and Lok Satta Party are popular among young Orkutters. There are more than 110 communities in Orkut dedicated to Lok Satta Party and Dr. JP. Thousands of youth are members of these communities.

They drum up support for Lok Satta Party and discuss the importance of ensuring to all equal opportunities for growth and ending any discrimination based on birth. They discuss the novel measures introduced by Lok Satta Party that stand testimonial to the party’s commitment to transparency and democracy. Many earnest, erudite youth desiring change participate in these discussions. They have been advocating the need for a New Political Culture in the cyber world.

LSP provided the virtual world Lok Satta Party activists a chance to get involved in the activities of LSP in real.

Dr. JP met his Orkut friends at the party head office at 1:30 pm on Sunday, 9th March and had an interaction with them. There was a lively discussion on the current political scenario in Andhra Pradesh. Dr. JP emphasized the need for youth to take an active part in politics. The youth expressed their support to Lok Satta Party and wished to participate in its activities.

The active members of the party then guided them on how they can get involved in the activities of LSP in their locality.

The meet concluded with the youth taking a pledge for a corruption-free, developed India.

Fare Reduction an Eye-wash, Says Lok Satta Party

2008-02-28T15:07:00.002+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today regretted that the railway budget had by and large neglected the laying of new tracks, although many surveys had already been completed. Only when new tracks are laid, more and more trains can be introduced to new areas.

Mr. D. V. V. S. Varma, General Secretary of the Lok Satta Party, in a statement today described the so-called reduction in fares as an eye-wash as the Railways had steeply raised the burden on passengers by converting express trains into super fast trains and increasing the ‘tatkal’ quota at the expense of the general quota.

Facilitating easy purchase of tickets would not solve the basic problem of inadequate services. For instance, the ‘garib rath’ being introduced between Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam should have been a daily service instead of one meant for three days a week.

He welcomed the concession in fares to students and women, although it might have been done with an eye on elections.

Golden Age or Era of Stupor? Asks Mahila Satta

2008-02-25T16:42:00.001+05:30

It is not milk and honey that is flowing in the streets of Andhra Pradesh in the "golden age" of Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy; it is simply Indian made foreign liquor and illicitly distilled country liquor, says Mahila Satta, the women's wing of the Lok Satta Party.

The Mahila Satta organized demonstrations and sit-ins at Excise Department offices all over the State today to protest against the Government policy of treating Excise as an "akshaya patra" for its revenue receipts. They courted arrest volunterily, taken to Abids police station and subsequently released.

Talking to the media, Mrs. D. Saroja, Mahila Satta state Secretary, said that successive Governments had already ruined the lives of 70 lakh families in the State by promoting unbridled liquor consumption through unauthorized outlets and turning a blind eye to illicit distillation of country liquor and 'gudumba'.

If the Government planned to get a revenue of Rs.11,000 crore by way of excise and sales tax, people would be spending Rs.25,000 crore on purchases of liquor. "People's expenditure on liquor far exceeds the amounts the Government spends on Rs.2 a kg rice supply, INDIRAMMA houses, pensions and three per cent interest schemes - all ostensibly meant to uplift the poor".
"The Government is indulging in sheer hypocrisy when it claims to work for the welfare of the poor through umpteen schemes even as it ruins their health and finances by encouraging liquor consumption by upping sales targets year after year. Are we in a golden age or in an era of stupor", Mrs. Saroja asked.

In response to the Mahila Satta's agitation against belt shops since July 2007, the Chief Minister had promised to shut them down and asked police and excise officials to extend their cooperation to women. Although the Mahila Satta had given details of belt shops district-wise, no action had been taken. The Chief Minister, however, had the audacity to declare once again the other day in the Legislative Council that there were no belt shops in the State.

"A Government that shuts its eyes to ground realities is bound to face people's wrath", Mrs. Saroja warned.

Mrs. Saroja added that the Mahila Satta would resist belt shop auctions when they take place in the next few months. Party Women leaders S. Manorama, N. Saroja Devi, D. Lashmi participated in the protest.

India Faces Threat Of Falling Apart If Issues are Not Addressed: Dr. JP

2008-02-24T16:47:00.000+05:30

India faces the threat of balkanization unless systemic changes are carried out to provide political space to every group, said Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan here today. “Mere protestations of ‘Mera Bharat Mahan’, without addressing the basic fissures, will not rescue India from falling apart”, he added.

Addressing a “One India – One People” forum organized by the Lok Satta Party in the context of attacks against non-Marathis in Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra, Dr. JP pointed that political India has already been decimated since national parties, elbowed out of most of the States, are forced to join hands with regional parties. The first-past-the-post electoral system enables parties based on region and religion, language and caste to whip up narrow sentiments and ride to power. The so-called national verdict is nothing but an aggregation of State verdicts. Widespread illiteracy and universal adult franchise are an explosive combination ,which narrow-minded parties are shrewdly exploiting.

Dr. JP identified caste-based reservations as another issue that is tearing part the country. Instead of dissipating the anger of neglected sections through innovative solutions, political parties merely stoked the flames in pursuance of their vote bank politics. He feared the break-out of a conflagration in the hinterland of New Delhi where Gujjars and Meenas are fighting each other over reservations.

Dr. JP clarified that reservations are indeed necessary for sections neglected for centuries as an interim measure. They, however, do not provide a permanent solution. That, however, does not mean that the son of a Collector or the daughter of a Minister too should enjoy reservations simply based on their caste. A solution lies in ensuring that every one born in this country irrespective of his caste or religion has a right to free and quality education for 12 years and every one, willing and eligible, is enabled to purse higher education at Government cost.

The economically backward, who are not eligible for reservations in jobs and education can be given a weightage of say 10 per cent marks in the qualifying examinations considering their income and rural upbringing. Politicians, instead of forging such win-win situations, are deliberately and crudely provoking anger and hatred among sections of people.

On the recent developments in Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal where some politicians have tried to fan parochial feelings, Dr. JP said that the sons of the soil thesis should be dismissed categorically if India were to remain one. The right of every Indian citizen to pursue education or employment or business or profession or simply anywhere in the country is non-negotiable. Every Indian should condemn parochial tendencies, recalling Martin Luther King’s quote, “The silence of good men is more dangerous than the brutality of bad men”.

One India – One People

2008-02-23T14:58:00.001+05:30

The recent crude and opportunistic attempts by some politicians to whip up regional chauvinism call for responsible citizens across India to come to the rescue of the idea of

One India - One People

It is the constitutional right of all law-abiding Indian citizens to have education, carry on business, seek employment, and have residence in any part of the country. India survives as a single nation of free people or it does not survive at all.

The recent attempts by some to whip up narrow parochialism and resorting to violence is contrary to the spirit of national unity, irrelevant and injurious to the culture necessary for economic growth and national prosperity. The strength of our cities lies in their multicultural cosmopolitanism.

With this in view, Lok Satta Party is organizing a forum to discuss the need to foster the spirit of tolerance and peaceful co-existence. Lok Satta Party invites representatives of all communities to attend the forum, express their views in this regard, and strengthen the spirit of fraternity among all Indians.

Meet Agenda

1. Welcome
2. Introduction – Lok Satta Party advocates equal rights for all Indians across India
3. Opening of the discussion by Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan on the importance of combating parochial attitudes
4. Pass a resolution and take a pledge to develop a stronger pan-Indian community spirit in Hyderabad.

Venue: FAPCCI
11-6-841, Red Hills,
Lakdikapul
Hyderabad 500004

Time and Date: 10 – 1 pm
Sunday, 24th February, 2008

Mahila Satta Demonstrations to Expose Govt. Duplicity

2008-02-22T16:27:00.001+05:30

Hyderabad, Feb.18 - Mahila Satta, the women's wing of the Lok Satta Party, will organize sit-ins ('dharnas') and demonstrations in front of Excise Department offices all over the State on February 25 to protest against Government’s duplicity. Even as the Government dangled schemes like supply of rice at Rs.2 a kg and three per cent interest loans with the ostensible purpose of helping the poor, it ruined them by promoting liquor consumption. "Constitution of a committee to campaign against liquor consumption by a Government which encourages belt shops to boost its revenue is nothing but hypocritical."

Mrs. D. Saroja, Mahila Satta Secretary, pointed out in a statement that liquor sales would shoot up to Rs.25000 crore in the coming financial year, if the Budget presented to the State Legislature is any indication. The Budget provided for an increase in excise revenue by Rs.866 crore during 2008-09. The Government would be earning Rs.11000 crore by way of excise and sales tax on liquor sales against Rs.8000 crore now.

"What is the point in the Government unveiling scheme after scheme in the name of the poor even as it ruins them money wise and health wise through unbridled liquor sales?”, Mrs. Saroja asked. "The Mahila Satta will not rest until belt shops are closed. It will resist liquor shop auctions when they take place in the next few months".

No Attempt To Arrest Leakages: Dr. JP on State Budget

2008-02-22T16:25:00.001+05:30

Hyderabad, Feb.15 - Mrs. D. Saroja, Mahila Satta Secretary, pointed out in a statement that liquor sales would shoot up to Rs.25000 crore in the coming financial year, if the Budget presented to the State Legislature is any indication. The Budget provided for an increase in excise revenue by Rs.866 crore during 2008-09. The Government would be earning Rs.11000 crore by way of excise and sales tax on liquor sales against Rs.8000 crore now.

Dr. JP said today that mere allocation of funds without a radical restructuring of systems was a futile exercise. There has been no substantial decline in poverty over the past two decades despite huge budgetary allocations. On the contrary, there has been an increase in the incidence of distress among vulnerable sections of the population.

Referring to the proposal to supply rice at Rs.2 a kg, he pointed out that going by the number of white cards already issued, the number of the poor exceeded the State’s population. On top of it, the Government now proposed to issue more and more white cards. On construction of houses for the poor, Dr. JP said the scheme was commendable but the Government turned a Nelson’s eye to the huge irregularities. Everybody knew about corruption in the execution of irrigation schemes but there was no word in the budget about curbing it.

Dr. JP said that the budget “does not address critical problems in education and health care or in tackling unemployment or making agriculture remunerative. For instance, Borabanda locality in Hyderabad with a population of over 10000 does not have a single Government school as a result of which even the poor are forced to send their children to costly private schools. Reposing its faith in ‘Aarogyasri’, which caters to a miniscule of people needing surgeries, the Government continues to neglect the public health sector. The Government fails to address the problem of the unemployed. Even if all the special economic zones materialize, they provide jobs only to less than 3 lakhs of people whereas there are 15 lakhs of educated unemployed. There is no attempt at making them employable by imparting the requisite skills or making farming remunerative with provision of credit, extension work and value addition. The so-called debt relief benefited only one-third of the farming community covered by official channels of credit while the remainder, dependent on private moneylenders, are pushed deeper into debt.

Dr. JP said that extension of quality education and health care free of cost to one and all, imparting of skills to the jobless and ensuring higher incomes to farmers alone will eradicate poverty.

Dr. JP complimented Finance Minister K. Rosaiah for abiding by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act targets and for extending scholarships and fee reimbursement to all backward class students on par with those of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

However, the huge debt burden of the State exceeding over Rs.100,000 crore exposed a serious structural problem. Most of the revenue the State realized on sale of Government lands and liquor went towards the repayment of loans along with interest.

LSP Enunciates “Pancha Sutras” for Development of Tirupati

2008-02-06T10:16:00.000+05:30

Dr. JP Launches LSP’s campaign for Tirupati Elections

LSP announces Sri T. Janardhan Naidu as its Mayoral Candidate

Lok Satta Party has launched its campaign for the Tirupati Municipal Corporation elections. Lok Satta Party came up with “Pancha Sutras”, a five-point policy framework, for the development of the Tirupati city.

Lok Satta Party has announced Sri T. Janardhan Naidu, IAS (Rtd.) and former Chittoor district collector as its mayoral candidate for Tirupati City. Sri T. Janardhan Naidu is also the party district president.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan launched the party’s campaign on Tuesday with a three-day padayatra in the temple city and interacted with the public en route. The padayatra by Dr. JP and the party activists is being carried out to get first-hand information on public grievances and to put across to the public the “Pancha Sutras.” Youth were seen interacting with Dr. JP throughout the walk.

The “Pancha Sutras” of LSP for empowering the citizens of Tirupati and providing them an accountable, responsive, and responsible city government are enunciated as follows:

1. Enabling people’s participation in governance by forming Division committees and allocating the committee Rs. 1 crore for five years;

2. Putting in place a 24-hour toll-free call center to ensure faster response to civic complaints and paying the complainant Rs. 100 per day of delay from the salary of the concerned official(s);

3. Lok Satta Party to recall its corporator/mayor in case of substantial evidence on charges of corruption, criminality, or land grabbing;

4. Eliminating corruption by ensuring complete transparency in public procurement and tendering process and forming a special squad under the combined aegis of the revenue and police departments; and finally

5. Taking steps to improve public sanitation and building ring road, bypass roads, and flyovers to withstand the heavy traffic of pilgrims.

Dr. JP said Lok Satta Party is moving with clear goals of making the fruits of development reach the poorest man and woman and ensuring dignity, equality, and opportunity for all.

He urged the people of the Tirupati City to reject the prevailing political culture that brazenly uses money and muscle to coerce and woo the poor at election time to rob them later. He called for greater participation of youth and middle classes in politics to usher in the New Political Culture.

Dr. JP Calls for Greater Participation of Women in Politics

2008-02-02T11:16:00.000+05:30

Women should look at politics as a means of achieving self-respect and self-reliance for themselves as well as the people at large said Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan. He spoke at the self-employment training programme organized by Mahila Satta, the women wing of Lok Satta Party at the party State office. Representatives from Mahoobnagar Ideal Women’s Association provided training to women in making chocolate, surf, pain balm, liquid soap, shampoo. The women who acquired training will in turn train other women in their localities.

He said women should not get disheartened with the immediate problems they grapple with, but step forward with confidence and take an active part in politics. He said moving away of women from politics because it has got corrupt and criminalized will only aggravate the problem.

Dr. JP explained the women present the importance of their participation in local governance proposed by Lok Satta Party at the ward and district levels. He said women have developed an aversion to politics because bandhs, rastarokos, slander, and fighting have become an indispensable part of the prevailing political culture. He said the life of the common man will deteriorate further if the political culture remains the same. He said Lok Satta Party came into being to usher in a New Political Culture.

He said instead of becoming a private affair of a few as with other political parties, provisions have been made to enable genuine people’s participation in Lok Satta Party. He said LSP is built to be the property of the people and steps are taken to not cause any inconvenience to people during party events and maintain dignity even while criticizing someone. He said in a democracy the common man is king. He said empowering local governments and providing quality education, effective healthcare, and employment opportunities to all constitute the main agenda of LSP.

He said Lok Satta Party has reserved space for women in the organizational structure and party tickets like no other party has. He exhorted women to utilize this opportunity. He said greater women’s participation will expedite the process of ushering in the New Political culture.

He said setting up division-level governments to take governance to the door step of citizens ranks high on the agenda of Lok Satta Party for the coming GHMC elections and greater women’s participation in local governance will ensure 100% results. He exhorted the women who undertook training to in turn train women in their localities and help them stand on their own feet.

Mahila Satta State general secretary, Mrs. D. Saroja, treasurer Mrs. D. Manorama and Dr. Shoib, Mrs. K. Geetamurthy, Mrs. Rama Devi, Mrs. Subhashini, Mrs. Gajanani, Mrs. Umabala, Mrs. Mudhosid, and Mrs. Fatima have participated in the programme.

Lok Satta Welcomes Suspension of Building Regularization Orders

2008-01-29T14:58:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today welcomed the Government decision to suspend the building regularization orders, which had sought to penalize ordinary people for crimes committed by officials and builders.

The Lok Satta Party had launched an agitation against the orders both in the districts and in Hyderabad city.

Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) reiterated in a statement that penalties for regularization of apartments should be collected from officials and builders who were guilty of dereliction of their duties and not owners. Only in respect of independent houses, owners who deviated from approved plans should be made to pay the penalty.

Dr. JP also urged the Government to rationalize the proposed penalties considering factors like the location of buildings, and the year and cost of their construction.

LSP Throws Open Toll-Free Number for Complaints on Civic Issues

2008-01-26T14:54:00.000+05:30

Toll-Free Number

On this Republic Day, Lok Satta Party will throw open a toll-free number for the citizens of GHMC where they can complain on slackness, delay, or failure of the department/agency concerned in the delivery of services in civic amenities.

The toll-free number is:

1800-4256222

Lok Satta Party offices to Function as Citizen Service Centers

2008-01-25T14:51:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party offices will be functioning as Citizen Service Centers said Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, President of Lok Satta Party. He said in the first phase, on this Republic Day, 157 Citizen Service Centers will start functioning throughout the length and breadth of the State. Of them 43 fall under the GHMC.

He said a Citizen Service Center will perform the following functions:

· It will become the hub for citizen action and informed assertion
· It will be a repository of information that is simple, accurate and useful on a variety of services the citizens are entitled to receive from government and its agencies
· It will carry information on a wide spectrum of government activities including certificates, land-related issues, public distribution system, voting rights, civic issues, public utilities, civil rights and stake holder empowerment
· It will act as counseling center for young people seeking information on employment opportunities and where possible senior staff of LSP will guide the youngsters in the career plans

In the objective of encouraging and enabling people’s active participation in the governance process, the Citizen Service Center is an important milestone said Dr. JP.

Competitive Populism Only Perpetuates Poverty: Dr. JP

2008-01-25T14:45:00.000+05:30

In their unabashed quest to get into power at any cost, traditional political parties are indulging in competitive populism, charged Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today.
Pretending to be benefactors, politicians treated people as mendicants and doled out sops and handouts as if they owned the money. Unfortunately, Governments and the media conveniently glossed over the fact that politicians lorded over money collected from people themselves. They remained silent even as politicians exploited people's poverty, illiteracy and ignorance.

Dr. JP said that that no one would dispute that the State should protect the poor and the dispossessed in an underdeveloped country like ours. But it should not be at the cost of the Government's fundamental and primary duty of eliminating poverty and enabling people to stand on their own feet with dignity. "But in India politicians have developed a vested interest in perpetuating poverty and lost sight of the country's future".

Dr. JP was reacting to the sops being showered on people by both the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party with an eye on the elections to the Assembly and the Lok Sabha in the near future. If one party promises loans at 'pavala vaddi', the other rivals it with '10 paise vaddi'. If one offers to write off interest, the other promises to write off loans plus interest. If one promises subsidies on a product or service, the other offers to provide it free of cost. If one arranges free marriages, the other offers a golden 'tali'.

"What the nation needs today is a comprehensive social security scheme and not piecemeal and ad hoc relief".

Dr. JP said "doles and handouts will not mitigate the suffering of the poor or enable them to live with dignity unless Governments address people's basic problems". The Lok Satta Party, he said, firmly believes that people can live with dignity and partake in wealth creation only when all forms of discrimination based on birth are eradicated.

It is possible when:
:: Quality education is made free and accessible to all
:: Free and comprehensive healthcare is guaranteed to all
:: Youth are empowered to participate in wealth creation through acquisition
of skills.
:: Incomes of people in traditional occupations like farming and weaving are enhanced.

Dr. JP said it was a shame that a visiting British Prime Minister has to remind the Indian Prime Minister on the importance of universal and free primary education. "It is time that the politics of competitive populism and plunder gave way to politics of promoting human dignity." There should be a national debate on the appropriate anti-poverty schemes and the methods of their implementation.

Dr. JP pointed out how inefficiencies and corruption prevented even targeted people from availing of Government sops. For instance, the people covered by white cards in Andhra Pradesh exceeded the State's population. According to the Planning Commission and the National Sample Survey, only 16 per cent of people in Andhra Pradesh with a population of 80 million are below the poverty line. But Andhra Pradesh has more than 18 million families with white cards, accounting for a population of more than 80 million, assuming that each family has four and half members. "Yet, we hear that thousands of genuinely poor do not have white cards. Similarly, we hear pensions meant for widows, the aged and the handicapped as also houses under the INDIRAMMA scheme are cornered by the rich."

Even when the schemes reach deserving families, there is corruption every step of the way. Typically, Rs. 3000 is the bribe demanded for releasing money under housing programme for the poor. As Mr. Rajiv Gandhi once said, only 16 paisa is reaching the people on every rupee spent.

Dr JP called for a national debate on education and healthcare for all, and on ways of eradicating poverty and helping people stand on their own feet with dignity. "Political parties must shed self serving hypocricy and cynicism, and treat people as soverigns and citizens with self respect, not as vote banks and mendicants".

Aarogyasri : Lok Satta challenges Botsa for a debate

2007-12-26T13:09:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today charged the Government with enriching private and corporate hospitals by aggressively promoting “Rajiv Aarogyasri” and by quietly withdrawing from the health care sector in its bid to privatize it.

In a strong rejoinder to Housing Minister Botsa Satyanarayana taking exception to Lok Satta Party’s criticism of “Aarogyasri”, party spokesman Karthik Chandra challenged the Minister for a public debate. Of the 7600 surgeries performed under “Aarogyasri” until December 1, 2007, 95 per cent had been done in private and corporate hospitals and that three hospitals groups cornered the lion’s share of the insurance amounts.

Mr. Karthik Chandra said it was a matter of shame that the Government advertised the scheme as a boon to the poor by arranging for 7600 surgeries till now, ignoring the grim reality that every year six million people were sliding below the poverty line, most of them unable to pay for their medical care. “Aarogyasri” covers only a few rare ailments but not ailments like gastroenteritis, diarrhea, malaria, encephalitis and dengue and dog and snake bites that plague the common man most.

Mr. Karthik Chandra said “Aarogyasri” was nothing but “corporatesri” in that it was meant to benefit them and not the poor people.

"Is Government fuelling caste wars?" Asks Lok Satta

2007-12-20T12:51:00.000+05:30

Dr. JP Advocates 10% Weightage to Poor

Hyderabad, Dec. 20 - Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) today came down heavily on the Andhra Pradesh Government's "insincere and cynical" decision to constitute a commission to go into the inclusion of Kapus and 17 other castes among backward castes.

Addressing a media conference, Dr. JP said "the manipulative decision is meant to drive a wedge between Kapus and other backward castes to derive short-term political gains."

There is indeed backwardness and deprivation among Kapus and for long they have demanded that they be included among backward castes. But the timing and manner of the decision makes it amply clear that the Government is motivated not by a genuine desire to help those suffering from deprivation and discrimination, it has all of a sudden resurrected the long ignored demand apparently in the light of the changing political firmament in Andhra Pradesh.

The decision will merely spark another 'kula kurusketra' (caste war of epic proportion) like the ones between Malas and Madigas in Andhra Pradesh and Gujjars and Meenas in Rajasthan.

Need for scientific study

Dr. JP said that several disadvantaged communities have genuine grievances about their non-inclusion in reservations, or wrong classification of BCs, SCs or STs. He demanded that all such communities should be carefully considered and included among categories eligible for various reservations only after a scientific, independent, objective and credible analysis of their economic, social, cultural and anthropological background. Without such a study, the Mandal Commission had included Kamma, Reddy and Telaga castes among other backward castes. Any unscientific effort will merely trigger irresistible demands for inclusion of every community as in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

But pending a scientific study, the Lok Satta Party believes, that justice can be rendered by awarding 10 per cent weightage in marks to children from poor families and with rural background irrespective of their community in both admissions to educational institutions and Government jobs. If a qualifying exam has total marks of 1000, children from poor and rural backgrounds shall be added 100 marks to their score. Then they too will be in a position to compete with their wealthy, urban counterparts.

"The Lok Satta Party is irrevocably committed to such a weightage in all competitive examinations for higher education including in MBBS, engineering and other professional courses and for Government jobs for all poor and rural children. Dr. JP said such a formula will once and for all guarantee justice to all communities and ensure that the Government does not exceed the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations mandated by the Supreme Court". Existing reservations can thus be continued that yet justice can be done to all deserving, underprivileged children irrespective of caste.

Free quality education to all

Dr. JP demanded that the Government provide at its cost quality education in English medium up to the 12th class to all children and higher education to all deserving and desirous students irrespective of their means. "The Lok Satta Party has, therefore, made quality school education to all children and free higher education to deserving students of all castes the centerpiece of its political and social agenda. Eventually caste should be abolished over a generation and our children should grow up with their heads held high, untainted by caste and parochialism, Only then will the dream of Dr. Ambedkar be realized".

At present only seven per cent of all children pursue higher education while 93 per cent do not go to school or pursue higher education. Even the seven per cent in the 11-14 age group that attend school are victims of poor quality education. Thirty per cent of them cannot read a single passage in any language while 70 per cent cannot answer even a simple arithmetic problem like division.

Dr. JP also called for the establishment of schools and hostels and provision of scholarships to children of EBCs (economically backward castes). Government apathy towards education of SC and ST children was evident from its failure to spend Rs.342 crore, as pointed out by CAG in its latest report.

Lok Satta's "Grama Nyayalaya" Initiative Gets the Cabinet Nod

2007-12-14T13:21:00.000+05:30

Parliament to approve seven-year fight for common man's justice

After a stiff resistance within the government, the cabinet finally approved the "Grama Nyayalaya" bill after seven long years.

Lok Satta, pioneer of political and governance reforms in the country had spearheaded this cause and submitted a report with the aforesaid "Grama Nyayala" initiative to "The National Advisory Council" 2003 in order to facilitate speedy justice at the grass root levels in the country.

According to Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, "it definitely is a satisfying moment not only for us but also for the cause of democracy and rule of law.

Commenting further, he stated "It is the most important step towards implementation of speedy justice. We at Loksatta movement had been fighting for this since its inception. Loksatta party painstakingly drafted this bill and pursued it at every level right from the beginning" he added.

He further stated" There is a market to demand for criminals to provide rough and ready justice through brutal means. This lead to criminalization of the society and politics as well. Without rule of law, due process and speady justice, democracy becomes illusory to the bulk of the people.

"Once this bill is implemented, it will be a great step towards a more efficient and accessible justice system. But for local justice to be effective, the police must be reformed. The crime investigation process should be made independent of partisan politics and at the same time made accountable", he said.

He further emphasised that "These local courts should conduct trials in local language and there is a dire need for "mobile courts" where in the courts will go to the location or crime or dispute and record evidence. This will substancially eliminate perjury. These courts would be an integral part of the independent justice sytem with a provision for appearance of lawyers to represent the clients"

Dr JP summed up by saying "A free society cannot exist without accessible systems of justice. Indian judiciary and legal profession have set high standards of excellence. But the bulk of the people are beyond the pale of our justice system. We need to restore public confidence in our legal system, and ensure peace, order and harmony in society. Many reforms are required to provide speedy, accessible and efficient justice. One simple, low-cost, effective, painless solution is the institution of local courts following summary procedures. This measure is not sufficient to address the monumental crisis facing our judiciary, but is a necessary first step in that direction".

If local courts are appointed at the rate of one per 50,000 in rural areas, and one per 1,00,000 in urban areas, we will have about 15,000 new mobile magistrates accessible to people at the local level, providing justice at the door-step, following simple, easy and citizen-friendly procedures, and ensuring all these at a very low cost, which can be recovered in multiples by imposition of even a small court fee. The presence of lawyers, effective mechanisms for monitoring and accountability, and provision for appeal, guarantee fairness in the process and real justice to the poor. The whole Local Courts system will be an integral part of the independent judiciary, and fully controlled by the judiciary. This ensures strict separation of powers as envisaged in the Constitution, and effective supervision and control by the judiciary.

Lok Satta announces state-wide anti-corruption movement

2007-12-09T13:25:00.000+05:30

People's Commission against Political Corruption

Are you tired of reading newspaper headlines on political corruption every day?

Do you know about a politician who is blatantly corrupt? Do you have some information on a public servant earning .tons of money. illegally?
Do you know about a public work, government project or a scheme where unscrupulous politicians, middle-men and contractors are misusing public money and resources?
Do you know about abuse of authority, land grab or blatant violation of public norms?

Our governments and political parties have utterly failed in catching and punishing those involved in serious, top-level corruption. Every once-in-a-while they make a show of catching the small-fry, but the big fish? They always managed to get away. Until now.

In order to highlight and combat the menace of corruption, Lok Satta Party has constituted a People's Commission against Corruption. The Commission will be chaired by Justice Ramanujan, former Lok Ayukta of AP. Other members of the Commission will be named in consultation with the Chairman within a week's time.

It is time, we, the citizens do our bit to uproot political corruption from our State. All you need to do is give us information about any corrupt politician, unscrupulous middlemen or about a scam in a public work. The best part is, you can do it in an easy, safe and anonymous manner!

People's Commission Against Corruption:

You can directly send your complaints to this Commission about:

Vast undisclosed assets of politicians and public servants (with as much documentary evidence as possible).
Gross acts of corruption by public servants in contracts, tenders, postings, transfers, etc.
Blatant misuse of office - serious instances of nepotism and favouritism
Misuse and misappropriation of public money/resources; serious instances of cheating and fraud by public servants
Land grabbing; unjust allocation of land and land alienation (resulting in wrongful loss to public and/or wrongful gain to any individual)
All forms of irregularities in public works and contracts; major cases of over estimates; any case where tenders pertaining to public money is actually executed by a sub-contractor - at a cost of 80% or lower than the bid price.

You can send your complaints with supporting documents/evident directly to the People's Commission Against Corruption by post, phone, and through email/internet.

How can you provide information on corruption:

A dedicated mailing address has been created to receive your complaints and information: PO Box 100, Hyderabad . 500 004. In case you wish to inform via telephone, our team of experienced volunteers are on standby: just call 040 . 2323-2711 anytime between 8 AM and 9 PM and our volunteers will help you provide the information, discreetly. You can also email complaints and information to combatcorruption@loksattaparty.com.

A website www.combatcorruptionindia.org has been launched where information will be posted about the information regarding electoral candidates. disclosures, assets and liabilities of legislators.

Post P O Box 100 Hyderabad 4
Phone 040-2323-2711 (8:00 AM to 9:00 PM)
Email combatcorruption@loksattaparty.com

The Commission will conduct a thorough, impartial enquiry into all your complaints. They will give specific and concrete recommendations to the Government and credible non-government organizations and associations.

MLAs: Assets or Liabilities?

2007-12-08T13:20:00.000+05:30

Statement on declaration of assets by elected representatives

Only 83 of the total 294 elected MLAs in the current (12th Assembly; from 2004) have submitted their financial details to the Speaker. 211 MLAs did not submit the details of their assets and liabilities to the Speaker, even once.

Only 36 MLAs have submitted their financial details for more than one year. Only 7 MLAs submitted for all four years (as on 7th November 2007):

KR Suresh Reddy (Speaker)
N. Chandra Babu Naidu
T. Devender Goud
Ch. Rajeswara Rao
Y. Ramakrishnudu
N. Rajyalakshmi
Patra Prakasa Rao

Apart from the Hon'ble Speaker, only 2 INC MLAs and 4 TDP MLAs submitted for all four years. Even the CM himself submitted only for 2 years - 2005 and 2006. The legislative affairs minister K. Rosaiah submitted only once. Ministers Konatala Ramakrishna, Mandali Buddha Prasad, K. Jana Reddy, Galla Aruna Kumari, D. Srinivas, Sabita Indra Reddy, Maganti Babu, J. Geeta Reddy, Pinnamaneni Venkateshwara Rao and Kanna Lakshminarayana submitted their financial details.

Ministers who did not submit even once: Md. Ali Shabbir, Sambhani Chandrasekhar, Reddyvari Chenga Reddy, Damodar Rajanarsimha, R. Damodar Reddy, J.C. Diwakar Reddy, Mohammed Fareeduddin, M. Hanumanth Rao, T. Jeevan Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, M. Mareppa, M. Mukesh Goud, Dharmana Prasad Rao, N. Raghuveera Reddy, J. Ramamohana Rao, A. Ramanarayana Reddy, Koneru Ranga Rao, J. Rathnakar Rao, D. Redya Naik, Botcha Satyanarayana, P. Subash Chandra Bosu, Gollapalli Surya Rao, K. Venkata Krishna Reddy, M. Venkata Ramana Rao, Sri V. Venkateswara Rao, S. Vijayaramaraju, G. Vinod

Out of 185 INC MLAs, only 45 submitted their details and 24 submitted only for one year. Out of 46 TDP MLAs, only 20 submitted their details, of whom only 12 submitted more than once.

Out of the 26 TRS MLAs, only 5 members have given their assets to the Speaker, of whom Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy submitted twice. The rest have disclosed their details only once.

The floor leader of TRS did not submit even once.

Out of 9 CPM members, only 3 submitted their financial details: Nomula Narasiah, Abdul Gafoor and Paturi Ramaiah.

Out of 6 CPI MLAs, only 3 three submitted their details: Sheikh Naser Vali, G. Demudu and Chada Venkat Reddy.

From the BJP, only Kishen Reddy submitted his financial details. Likewise, among the 5 Majlis

MLAs, only Akbaruddin Owaisi submitted his financial details and that too, only once.

Excepting, MV Pratap Appa Rao and Ch. Rajeshwara Rao, the following members of the Assembly Ethics Committee did not submit their financial statement even once: C. Ramachandra Reddy (Chairman of the Ethics Committee), Sudarshan Reddy, Manikya Vara Prasad Rao, Anam Vivekananda Reddy, Capt. V. Lakshmikanth Rao, Palla Venkata Reddy, T. Rama Raeddy, S. Santosh Reddy, Katta Venkatanarasiah, Jalagam Venkat Rao and Jupalli Krishna Rao.

The leader of the House, Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy declared his wealth in his affidavit before returning officer during elections to the Assembly as Rs. 3,36,61,943 which included 45 acres of agricultural land and 6.65 acres of non-agricultural land, two buildings at Hyderabad and Pulivendula. His shares in companies are to a value of Rs. 42 lakhs. He paid Rs 12,491 only as income tax for the assessment year 2004-05.

Leader of the Opposition Sri N. Chandra Babu Naidu declared his wealth in his affidavit before the returning officer during 2004 elections as Rs. 20,92,29,305 which included Rs. 16,69,63,220 worth of shares and three buildings at Hyderabad. Subsequently Sri Naidu submitted his financial statement to the Speaker revealing that he purchased 2,01,020 shares in Heritage Foods from the market, which are valued at around Rs. 3 crores. The total value of his shareholding in the company, at the current market rates, now stands at Rs. 55 crores.

Rescue Gulf workers, Pleads Dr. JP

2007-12-01T16:57:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party’s National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) today asked the State Government to go to the rescue of Nizamabad district workers who had reportedly been sentenced to death or various terms of jail. The State Government, through the Indian Embassy in the UAE, should provide legal assistance and enable the sentenced to go in appeal.

Dr. JP said the incident once again highlighted the troubles the illiterate and gullible migrant workers faced because of the unscrupulous methods employed by brokers with political backing. Those who had returned on their own or with Government assistance are facing extreme hardship and some of them have reportedly ended their lives.

Dr. JP said the Government should immediately arrange to bring back Telugu-speaking people who are without proper job visas by sea route, if necessary. The Government should declare a three-year moratorium on their debts and provide them employment skills.

The Government of India, he said, should take up with the International Labor Organization the grievance of Indian workers that they were being thrown out of Gulf countries without being paid wages for the days they had worked. Simultaneously, the State Government should take stringent action against brokers with political backing who were taking innocent people for a ride.

Ombudsmen to Monitor Lok Satta Activities

2007-11-29T15:57:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party, which came into existence on October 2, 2006, with the lofty ideal of ushering in a new political culture has taken a major step in that direction by opting for an Ombudsman system to monitor and guide its entire gamut of activities.

The Lok Satta is the first in the country to constitute a team of independent and outstanding people to oversee party activities.

The Ombudsmen will have the authority to monitor, inspect, advise, guide, and publicize their findings pertaining to Lok Satta Party’s organizational elections and open primary elections through which candidates to contest public office are chosen. They are empowered to look into party finances in terms of fund raising, expenditure, and accounting. The Ombudsmen will also look into the quality of the party’s public discourse and activities including forms of protest/dissent.

Sri K Madhava Rao, former State Election Commissioner and Chief Secretary, and Sri Justice Reddappa Reddy, former judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court have been invited to be the first Ombudsmen. Very soon another distinguished jurist from Telangana region will be joining the Ombudsmen team.

The Lok Satta Party, which is committed to transparency in all its activities, has posted its accounts on the Internet. It is now holding its organizational elections by secret ballot in Hyderabad city.

The Lok Satta Party believes that governance in the country cannot be improved unless political parties cleanse themselves first. Political parties, instead of being owned by the public, have become the pocket boroughs of a few politicians. Over the years, the politicians have mastered the art and science of making money for themselves and perpetuating dynastic rule to safeguard their ill-gotten wealth.

It is to fight against such political culture that the Lok Satta Party came into existence.
In its year-old existence, the Lok Satta has set an example to other parties by sticking to non-violent, democratic and constitutional forms of protest that do not inconvenience anybody. It has consciously shunned ‘bandhs’ and ‘rasta rokos’ and strikes, however provocative the issue might have been. It has stood for country’s unity and integrity and is not swayed by regional and parochial considerations whether the issue concerned sharing of river waters or reservations for deprived sections.

Lok Satta Party Pioneers Intra-party Democratic Process in India (Organizational Elections by Secret Ballot)

2007-11-22T11:35:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta party is all set to create history on the Indian political scenario.

For the first time in India, a political party, i.e. Lok Satta party is organizing intra party organizational elections by secret ballot and preferential voting for over 50 divisions as per the constitutional norms laid down by the party.

Addressing the media at a press conference held today at the party head quarters, Dr Jayaprakash Narayan- National coordinator, said "The Party's Constitution reflects the values of internal democracy, total transparency, and member-control. Apart from the Party's agenda and vision, there are critical measures institutionalized in the party's structure and functioning, which make it the harbinger of 'new politics for the new generation", he added

Speaking on the subject of a new political culture, Dr JP Narayan elucidated," All Party candidates for organization office will be chosen by the members of the party through a secret ballot. There will be affirmative action policies to promote leadership of women, youth, backward classes and minorities and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Elucidating further on the internal electoral structure, he further said," Article XXI of Lok Satta Party constitution mandates the creation of an autonomous Electoral Authority to oversee all internal party elections in the precincts of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

The party spokesperson chipped in further and said" The Election Authority for the city of Hyderabad will have the flexibility to constitute lower level election authorities at the level of Division to assist in the conduct of the organizational elections.

Mahila Satta Condemns Attack on Journalist

2007-11-19T13:47:00.000+05:30

The Mahila Satta, the women’s wing of the Lok Satta, today condemned the murderous attack on a rural reporter of Nalgonda district for writing about unauthorized liquor outlets and illicit distillation in his village.

Mr. Jagan, reporter for “Vaartha” Telugu daily, was stabbed on Saturday evening at Chittampadu village in Nampalli mandal of Nalgonda district. The newspaper had carried his report on women’s associations destroying liquor stocks in the village in the district edition on November 2.

Mr. Jagan was first taken to Devarakonda and later brought to Hyderabad and admitted in Yashoda Hospital here.

Mrs. E. Nagamani, Mrs. D. Saroja, Mrs. A. Subhashini, Mrs. D. Lashmi and Mrs. Y. Ramadevi, all Mahila Satta leaders, called on Mr. Jagan at the hospital and expressed shock and anger over the assault on him. They demanded that the Government take stern action against the guilty.

Metro Planning Committees Bill Does not Empower Mayor--Lok Satta

2007-11-15T13:54:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today strongly criticized the provisions of the Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) Bill passed by the Assembly yesterday. The party’s National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said, “Instead of statutorily making Mayor the Chairperson of the MPC - so that the metro city governments are truly empowered, the Bill passed by the Assembly provides for the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson to be nominated by the State Government. This will only create a new neta-babu sarkari layer and yet another defunct government body at huge public expense. It will serve the only purpose of accommodating narrow partisan interests.”

“This will inevitably lead to a further centralization of governance along with increased inefficiency and corruption. All this, while the citizens in our cities continue to suffer due to poor water supply and drainage, bad roads and street lighting in neglected colonies and dilapidated slums, and are plagued daily by the menace of mosquitoes and stray dogs, ” he said.

He explained the Lok Satta Party’s stance on this issue: “MPCs should be made the statutory authorities in-charge of all developmental activities in the metro zone including the preparation and approval of zoning and master plans. They should be empowered to collect development fees and coordinate and oversee the functioning of various public/parastatal agencies for urban development, infrastructure and amenities like water supply and sewerage, power, roads, waste management along with transport, education and healthcare. MPCs should be an integral part of the local government setup, for coordinating between the municipalities, corporation and gram panchayats in the metro zone.’

“Specifically, in the case of Hyderabad, HUDA and HMWSSB should function under the Hyderabad Metropolitan Planning Committee. Unless all city functions are brought under one umbrella, there is no city government.

“Importantly, the Mayor of the largest metro city should be made the chairperson of the MPC. MPCs’ membership should not be based on narrow, partisan considerations. Only then can they prepare, coordinate and execute complex metropolitan developmental plans.”

He pointed out that “the very fact that only 67 MLAs were present to discuss and vote on the bill, exposed the insincerity of the two major parties and lack of commitment towards genuine empowerment of metropolitan cities. Both the present ruling party and its predecessor have demonstrated, on several previous occasions, their intent not to allow the devolution of powers and resources to local and city governments in our State.”

Don't enter into MOUs on Rural Public Schools

2007-10-31T11:56:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today dubbed the State Government's scheme to promote Rural Public Residential Schools with private partnership as a populist scheme meant to benefit managements rather than rural students.

Mr. D. V. V. S. Varma, Lok Satta Party Secretary, in a statement asked the Government not to go ahead with the signing of MoUs with private managements but review the scheme.

Mr. Varma pointed out that that of the 31 lakh students in the 9000 odd high schools in the State, only 3.50 lakh students will get admissions in the 294 schools to be started at the rate of one per Assembly constituency. If the students admitted under management (25 per cent) and merit (25 per cent) quotas are excluded, only 1.75 lakh students or a mere four per cent of high school students benefit.

The Government was publicizing the scheme that benefits a paltry percentage of students with great gusto to gain political mileage. The proposed schools will not reform high school education. And the Government had totally ignored primary education in its bid to promote rural public residential schools. According to surveys made by Asar and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, primary education is in a parlous state with 62 per cent of students not able to write even the names of their teachers, 50 per cent their parents' names and 8 per cent their own names.

Mr. Varma demanded that 20 per cent of seats in primary and upper primary schools under private managements be reserved for the free education of poor students. He wanted Government schools to be strengthened on par with private schools.

The Lok Satta, if voted to power, will provide free and quality education to all irrespective of their caste or economic status.

Dr JP's Padayatra from 23rd October 2007

2007-10-20T13:32:00.000+05:30

Dr JP's Padayatra from 23rd October 2007

LSP demands closure of all liquor shops in localities where Dalits and poor people predominate

If women demand, even the licensed liquor shops should be closed

Hyderabad, Oct. 20 - Interacting with media today, Lok Satta Party's Secretary Sri DVVS Verma stated that his party is moving forward to ensure ?liquor-free villages/towns. He stated that Lok Satta party will be adopting a multi-pronged strategy to combat the menace of liquor problem. In this direction, the Party's National Coordinator, Dr Jayaprakash Narayan will be leading a Padayatra on 23rd October 2007 from Peddagotipadu in Guntur district. The three-day Padayatra will conclude on 25th October 2007 evening in Guntur with a public meeting.

Sri DVVS Verma pointed out that over 200 Dalit women in Peddagotipadu have resorted to indefinite hunger strike against the presence of a licensed liquor shop in their village and one of them even attempted to commit suicide. In spite of District Collector's report to Excise Commissioner to relocate the licensed liquor shop, no action has been taken thus far. DVVS Verma stated that the Padayatra, based on principles of Satayagraha, is being carried out to demonstrate Lok Satta Party's complete support to the legitimate demands of the Dalit women in Peddagotipadu. Mr. Verma demanded closure of the licensed shop in all in localities where Dalits and poor people predominate.

Apart from immediate closure of belt-shops, Mr Verma demanded that if large numbers of women in a locality demand the closure of licensed liquor shops, then their demands should be heeded. He also demanded that all political parties should take a vow in front of people stating that they will not distribute liquor during elections.

Mr Verma also stated that LSP is aiming to ensure a few pre-selected mandals as liquor free mandals. He stated his party will be using multiple means such as Padayatra's, citizen's arrest under Section 43 of CRPC and other constitutional means to give impetus to the on-going liquor control agitation.

Speaking on the occasion Mahila Satta State Convener D. Lakshmi, stated that they are operationalisng liquor control committees in various villages to ensure that closed belt shops are not re-opened. She called on various civil society organizations and media to join hands in this noble endeavor to find a lasting solution to the liquor problem in the state.

Lok Satta Party's spokesperson Y. Ramadevi referred to the recent incident where a mother killed her drunkard son in Namligonda village in Warangal district. She pointed out that such tragic incidents could have been avoided had the successive governments taken a proactive stand on removing the belt shops in the state.

On this occasion, Mahila Satta State convener D. Lakshmi, and Lok Satta Party's spokesperson Y. Ramadevi unveiled posters for Padayatra.

Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities - Letter to the Prime Minister

2007-10-19T13:11:00.000+05:30

Esteemed Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh ji,

There is enormous unrest in the farming community in Andhra Pradesh resulting from the severe discrimination in determining the minimum support price for paddy. In this connection, we appeal to you to examine three interrelated issues of procurement price of rice; trade policies in relation to agricultural commodities and marketing regulations affecting the producers' interests.

Procurement Price of Rice:

It is estimated that a quantity of about 90 million tons of paddy is produced by the farmers in the country and this is the largest quantity in the food-grain basket. There is a misconception in the minds of the policy makers that when paddy is converted to rice, only 65% is redeemed and the balance is wasted. However, the residual products like husk, broken rice etc., are valuable and marketable products. 100 Kg of milled-paddy would yield 65 kg rice, 10-12 kg of broken rice, 8 kg of cattle feed and the balance would be husk. The government already has a scheme to modernize all rice mills to enhance the yield of rice and minimize wastage in milling. Hence, the difference in value between wheat and rice is very marginal and accordingly the minimum support price difference also should be marginal.

Government of India is spending huge money on Food Corporation of India (FCI) for maintaining the buffer stocks. It is estimated that an amount of Rs. 760 is spent by FCI, as handling and carrying costs for one quintal of rice every year. Compared to this expenditure by FCI, the additional support given to the rice farmer by way of a proper minimum support price is negligible. The high operational costs of FCI are because of its highly centralized and corrupt administrative apparatus. Given these problems, public distribution system needs to be reoriented to meet the requirements of the people below poverty line by creating Grain Banks managed at the local level. This will definitely reduce transaction, transport, handling and storage costs, while enhancing the rural employment opportunities. Most importantly, it will eliminate corruption and leakages in the system, and reduce food subsidies.

Trade policies in respect of agricultural products:

As on date, the government seems to be having ad-hoc export and import policies with reference to many agricultural products. For instance, 7,90,000 tonnes of wheat has been imported from international markets by paying Rs. 1600 a quintal during 2006-2007, when the Indian farmer was paid at the rate of Rs 750 per quintal.

Similarly, cotton is imported periodically by paying higher prices for a limited quantity to meet the short-term domestic requirement and this step has an adverse affect on the price of cotton in the local markets. Such irrational, ad-hoc, anti-producer policies are distorting the market forces, and severely depressing prices of agricultural commodities. In case of garment industry, cotton cost is only a small proportion of the final product price and yet short-sighted policies have done great damage to the farm sector. Not surprisingly the largest numbers of farmer suicides are from the cotton-growing-areas.

Political sensitivity of onion prices since 1980 is well-known. The government certainly has responsibility to help consumers in times of severe price escalation. However, the producer cannot be penalized. And the government has an obligation to buy the produce at market prices and subsidize the consumer. Instead, over the years, dramatic short-term steps were taken to depress the prices and the farmers were left in lurch. At the same time the government and Planning Commission keep emphasizing the importance of rejuvenating agricultural sector.
As a great economist and architect of liberalization policies promoting competition and choice, you are more aware than anybody else of the crisis afflicting Indian agriculture. When over 60% of people depend on agriculture, which accounts for 19% of GDP today, a simple arithmetic tells us that the average rural per-capita is only 1/6th of that of the urban population. This is a potentially an explosive situation causing devastation to millions of households resulting in agrarian strife. Successive governments have been aggravating this crisis by acting in a cavalier and short-term fashion without deeper reflection or long-term sustainable policy.

When the World Trade Organisation (WTO) permits an aggregate of 10% subsidies, government policies have not merely denied active support to agriculture, but have actually done everything possible to undermine agriculture by depressing and distorting the markets. The least that the farmers expect from the government headed by a great economist and true champion of fair competition is to let the market forces prevail and provide judicious support to the poor consumers through subsidies when needed. It follows therefore, that our farmers should get benefit of international prices whenever there are supply constraints. Our farmers should also be supported by strong government protection through minimum support prices whenever the prices are depressed. Unfortunately, the exact opposite policy prevails now to the long-term detriment of agricultural economy.

Restrictions on Marketing:

There are about 7,810 regulated markets in the country. The average area to be covered by a regulated market varies from 200 Sq.Km to 780 Sq.Km. Most of these markets are controlled by middle men and commission agents. Small farmers suffer from poor access to markets and are forced to sell their produce to the local trader-moneylender-input supplier at a price dictated by him.

The farmers are also getting short-changed in the market yards, which are headed by nominated bodies. The commission agents and the traders join hands to offer the lowest possible price to the agricultural produce, apart from short-changing the farmer in weighments and charging exorbitant commission (20% - 25%) as against the authorized commission of 4%.
In order to address this situation, all the restrictions on movement, storage, processing and trading of agricultural commodities should be immediately lifted. However, the government should insist on reporting requirements in order to keep track of demand-supply situation. The farmers must be organized and empowered to undertake various marketing operations including exports.

Under these circumstances, Lok Satta Party earnestly urges you to immediately take the following steps:

The paddy procurement price of at least Rs. 1000/- per quintal should be announced. On a long-term basis, there should be parity between paddy and wheat as has been the case historically.

Agricultural trade policies must be immediately rationalized. When the international prices are higher, domestic farmers must have an unfettered right to export. In order to sustain the public distribution system, the government must procure at market prices or at minimum support price, whichever is higher, and bear the cost of subsidy. Minimum support price must guarantee fair returns to farmers as recommended by the National Commission on Farmers chaired by Dr. MS Swaminathan. Import of agricultural commodities if any should be only to the extent of actual demand-supply gap when there is inadequate production of agricultural commodities. Imports must never be resorted to as a mechanism to depress agricultural prices.
All regulations on agricultural trading, movement, storage, processing and marketing should be immediately repealed.

I am sure your government understands the gravity of the situation and will act swiftly to ameliorate the distress of paddy farmers in Andhra Pradesh, and help rejuvenate the agricultural and rural economy.

Yours Sincerely,
Dr Jayaprakash Narayan

Special Court immediately needed

2007-10-16T16:19:00.000+05:30

Corruption allegations against Dr. YSR and Mr. Naidu

Special Court immediately needed

Special Judges should be appointed by the Government

Assets of corrupt public servants should be confiscated

Given the ongoing allegations and counter-allegations between Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan demanded that the State government must immediately constitute a Special Court to probe the issue of disproportionate assets. He strongly emphasized that this is not a private affair between the current and former Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh. Lok Satta Party demanded that the investigation must be totally free from political pressures and a Special Independent Prosecutor with impeccable credentials should be appointed by the Chief Justice of High Court. Dr.JP also demanded that the State government should promulgate an ordinance for confiscation of assets of corrupt public servants.

Under section 2 (c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (1988), all Ministers, MLAs, elected representatives at State and local levels clearly fall under the definition of ?public servants?. Citing historical precedent for considering elected representatives as public servants, he referred to the famous HG Mudgal case, where the sitting MP was forced to resign for tabling questions in the Parliament (then known as the Provisional Legislature) for personal remuneration.

Additionally, under the section 13 (1) (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, possession of disproportionate wealth or pecuniary resources by a public official or by someone on his/her behalf is a crime. This Act mandates that public officials receive income from lawful sources only and they must also declare it to lawful authorities. Punishment for violation is imprisonment from one to seven years and fine.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan demanded that the State government must immediately constitute a special court for investigating corruption allegations against public servants under section 3(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The section 3(1) enables the State government to appoint as many judges as necessary. Given these powers, the current debate over whether the probe be handled by a sitting or retired judge is merely sidetracking the issue.

To eliminate the influence of political pressures, he also demanded that a special prosecutor with impeccable credentials should be appointed by the Chief Justice of High Court to probe the issue. Constituting an Inquiry Commission would be a time-consuming process as the findings of such commissions cannot be acted upon directly and would have to be placed in the court of law for further trial.

Lok Satta Party also demanded that if a public servant or her/his family members are charged with holding disproportionate assets then the burden-of-proof must lie with that public servant.
He also called for immediate implementation of Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, which precludes the person who acquired the property in the name of another person from claiming it as his/her own.

Lok Satta Clarifies Stand on Power Subsidies and Subsidised Rice

2007-10-15T14:52:00.001+05:30

Dear Sri Sainath,

I invite your kind attention to your column on Oct 12 in The Hindu: ‘Incredible India’ right here at home.

[Click on the link below for the article on Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/12/stories/2007101255291200.htm]

You made a reference to Lok Satta Party’s (LSP) platform on subsidies. I would like to clarify the Party’s stand on power subsidy to farmers and subsidized rice.

1. Power subsidy

Lok Satta Party believes that the debate on power tariff for agriculture is skewed. In the AP context, TDP government collected about 2 – 10% tariff through slab rates (Rs 50 per HP. Later raised to Rs 250 per HP). The current Congress government is offering it free of cost. All that is being debated is whether power should be free, or upto 10% of tariff should be collected. LSP believes this is a spurious debate on a non-issue for the following reasons:

Un-metered power, poor distribution management, and corruption are causing loss of nearly 27% of power.

Farmers are getting low quality power with voltage fluctuations, and often motors get burnt about twice a year on an average. Each time repairs cost about Rs 2000 – 3000, resulting in an annual expenditure of about Rs 5000 for each farmer with an agriculture pumpset.

Villages get very poor quality of power, often interrupted by outages or load shedding. In many villages about 6 hours’ power supply in summer is the norm. Even PHCs and schools run without power.

Corruption is rampant in power sector at every level.

Lok Satta movement outlined all these problems as early as in 2000, and argued for decentralized distribution management with effective energy auditing. Lok Satta Times’ issue of October 2000 examined the issue in detail. A team of experts including late Dr Tatarao, Sri Balaramireddy, Sri TL Shankar, Capt Jalagam Ramarao, Sri KP Rao and Sri SR Vijayakar examined the power sector crisis and recommended solutions.

As a result of Lok Satta’s advocacy, four feeder lines in Andhra Pradesh were handed over to franchisees for effective distribution management. The results, despite bureaucratic hurdles, corruption and lethargy, were impressive. In Kallacheruvu of West Godavari district, the line losses were reduced from 27% to 9% (a saving of 18%). Voltage was fully stabilized in farm sector, and incidence of damage to pumpsets was brought down to zero! Corruption was eliminated with people’s participation. Under one feeder alone, over ten youngsters were trained and employed in a sustainable manner.

Lok Satta Party has been advocating replication of such a model in the whole state. The power savings will be of the order of Rs 2500 crore, about 100,000 jobs will be created, voltage will be stabilized, and villages can be supplied quality power round the clock. Our party has made a public commitment to achieve these results. In such a model, power tariff for agriculture is a short-term, marginal issue. Farmers can be assured quality supply, villages will get 24 hour power supply, and the power subsidies can be continued for sometime until farmers’ condition improves. This rational management of power sector is Lok Satta Party’s stand; not casual and irresponsible populism. Sadly, given the low quality of our public discourse and lack of depth in debate, issues are seen in simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ terms.

2. Subsidized Rice:
Lok Satta Party has not offered any additional food subsidies. We are merely committed to two things:

Better targeting of all food subsidies including free rice now available to the indigent (Annapurna Antyodaya scheme).

Transfer of public distribution to the district government, and offering the subsidy saved by better targeting as an incentive to the local government to enhance its resources.

Right now, for a population of under 8 crore, 1.8 crore families are covered by food subsidies to which the poor one entitled. Official rural poverty figures in AP are at 16%, and probably 30 – 40% people deserve food subsidies. And yet, over 90% of the people are covered now! Despite this there are lakhs of poor families which do not have a ration card! This is what needs to be set right, and Lok Satta Party is committed to revamping the public distribution system.

I hope you will take note of our stand and inform your readers, so that serious and rational debate on subsidies can be promoted. .

With warm regards,
Jayaprakash Narayan
National Coordinator

Lok Satta Program to Provide Free Hospital Care for All

2007-10-10T14:02:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today unveiled a unique program of public-private partnership to ensure universal and free hospitalized care in Andhra Pradesh.

The program, estimated to cost Rs.2500 crore a year, guarantees hospital care to every citizen as a matter of right irrespective of his or her income status. Unlike other programs, it is not limited to those below the poverty line.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Lok Satta Party Coordinator, who had played a seminal role in formulating the national health policy and creating the National Rural Health Mission, told a media meet today that the Lok Satta Party's innovative program would put an end to the dismal health care situation. The concept brochure was released by Party State Working Committee member Mrs. G. Pratibha Rao.

At present, Dr. JP pointed out, hospitalized health care accounted for more than half (58%) of Indians' total annual expenditure on healthcare. As a consequence, more than 40 per cent of those hospitalized borrow money or sell assets to cover expenses. At least one quarter of hospitalized Indians fall below poverty line because of hospital expenses.

The following are the highlights of the Lok Satta proposal:
1. The patients will be given an option to get admitted in a hospital of their choice and the money will 'follow the patient'
2. Every patient will be given a health card and the utilization of services will be recorded on patient cards. At the end of the month, hospitals (public or private) will claim reimbursements from the Government on the basis of services provided to in-patients
3. Hospitals will be funded only by way of reimbursement of costs for services rendered. The coverage of private hospitals will exclude out-patient care
4. To effectively combat the menace of corruption, the proposal includes creation of institutions such as a District Health Fund and a District Ombudsman.

Dr. JP said that the Lok Satta proposal seeks to involve both Government hospitals and private facilities equally in providing quality care at Government cost. In addition, private practitioners can utilize government hospitals for practice, and claim reimbursements for the services rendered.

Dr. JP clarified that that a patient need not pay any deposit or a premium since it is not an insurance program. Every individual will be entitled for free health care whenever he/she is admitted to hospital. Such an approach is based on the premise that people living in this country are entitled for free health care as citizens paying taxes.

Once an individual receives a Health Card, s/he will not have to visit any Government office. All that an individual has to do is to carry the health card with him/her when getting admitted in a hospital. The hospital authorities (public or private) will claim reimbursements at the end of every month. All medical expenses of in-patients will be covered by the program. These include in-patient charges, medication, diagnostic tests and surgeries. In case of public hospitals, out-patient care will be included.

This program is not targeted at specific diseases. All common aliments will be covered. Rare diseases involving high cost care will be separately dealt with through a tertiary care program.

Dr. JP explained that the Andhra Pradesh Government's 'Aarogyasri' addresses only a few rare diseases that people are vulnerable to, which is a small portion of the disease burden. It targets people suffering from a limited number of illnesses like those affecting heart, brain and kidney or cancer or but not ordinary ailments, which account for most of the disease burden. It ignores maternity care, infectious diseases, routine surgeries and general ailments, and non-surgical interventions.
As of September 1, 2007, only 3841 people had undergone surgical procedures under AarogyaSri, while 60 lakh people are sliding below the poverty line every year in the State because of health care costs.

'Aarogyasri' benefited only corporate hospitals, as 95% of the cases were treated in big corporate hospitals. Most of the private practitioners and nursing homes providing low-cost, good-quality care are not utilized. Instead, expensive hospitals are involved in providing high cost care for a few selective aliments. Andhra Pradesh has an estimated 40,000 well-trained private allopathic practitioners.

The Lok Satta proposal seeks to mobilize all resources available in the State to ensure that every one gets quality health care at Government cost. A strong preventive primary health care programme, and high-quality health infrastructure in public sector will be the foundation of this programme of universal healthcare. Primary health centres will be strengthened and brought under local government control. A community Hospital of 50 beds will be built for every 1,00,000 population. (At present we only have one for every 4,00,000). All district and Teaching Hospitals will be improved substantially. Dr. JP gave a call for a debate on universal, affordal healthcare. He appealed all stake-holders - doctors, civil society and people of all sections -to join the struggle to build a viable universal healthcare programme.

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To see the media coverage, please click on the links below:

http://eenadu.net/panelhtml.asp?qrystr=htm/panel11.htm

http://www.andhrajyothy.com/mainshow.asp?qry=/2007/oct/10main14

http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/11/stories/2007101160430400.htm

Lok Satta invokes Section 43, gets illicit trader arrested

2007-10-06T12:43:00.000+05:30

Please click on the link below
http://www.loksatta.org/englishsite/pr/2007/pr_arrestoct07tel.pdf

Mahila Satta leaders meet CM, seek closure of belt shops

2007-10-05T12:40:00.000+05:30

Please click on the link below

http://www.loksatta.org/englishsite/pr/2007/pr_rep2cm.pdf

Camaign against irregularities in Ration Shops

2007-09-26T21:54:00.000+05:30

This cruel paradox has come to light in a study conducted by the Greater Hyderabad unit of the Lok Satta Party in the last one week. Lok Satta volunteers gathered the opinion of 79 fair price shop dealers and customers served by them in Greater Hyderabad.

The principal complaint of white cardholders is they are being given only five liters of kerosene against 10 liters they are entitled to. Cardholders are often compelled to pay well above the official price of Rs. 9.50 per litre. In many cases, the 10 litre coupon is accepted by the dealer, but only 5 litres are issued. In fact, their entitlement has been reduced over the years from 18 liters to 10 liters per month. This huge shortfall is putting them under enormous financial burden.

Poor people are also put to great hardship because of the dealers' insistence on their lifting the entire quota of 10 liters of kerosene and 20 kgs of rice at one go.

The users of fair shops are people who experience regular and consistent financial stress. Therefore, it is imprudent to assume that they can pay for all commodities at one time. Cardholders should be given coupons that facilitate purchase of commodities in small quantities and in installments.

Another finding of the survey is that fair shops do not adhere to the stipulated time schedules - 8 AM to 12 Noon and 4 PM to 8 PM - making it difficult for cardholders to access them at convenient times. While the poor complain that they are not receiving their basic entitlements from fair price shops, large quantities of kerosene and rice are going unutilized.

The Lok Satta Party survey has revealed that elected local government representatives - municipal corporators - have very little control over the functioning of fair price shops. Mr. Ankaiah demands that ward committees be constituted and empowered to oversee the functioning of the fair price shops within their ward. There is also need to constitute a stakeholders' committee for each fair shop with local users, members of local civil society, local youth and women groups as members. Such stakeholder empowerment will go a long way in improving the functioning of fair price shops.

Lok Satta Party calls upon local youth to become volunteers to monitor and improve the functioning of the fair price shops. The volunteers will be trained and given logistic support by Lok Satta Party to help improve distribution of essential commodities to poor households. Volunteers may please contact 040 - 2323 1818 / 2323 2829.

Lok Satta Defends Nuclear Deal with US

2007-09-04T21:33:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party today unequivocally supported the nuclear deal with the U. S. saying it served India’s economic and strategic interests and provided room for diplomatic maneuvering.

Lok Satta’s National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) said that the country’s national interest should be the sole criterion for judging such deals since there are no permanent friends and permanent enemies in international relations.

He was responding to a question at a conference of youth held to mark the launching of “Jana Chaitanya yatra” by the Yuva Satta.

Dr. JP said the nuclear deal would strengthen India’s energy security, facilitate access to high technology and promote bilateral trade. Strategically, India retained its right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, pursue its three-stage nuclear cycle that facilitates thorium use and strengthen defense capability.

Dr. JP drew pointed attention to the double standards of certain parties which defended Iran’s right to nuclearization and criticized India’s nuclearization. “To have another nuclear power in India’s neighborhood is antithetical to India’s self-interest”, he added. He ridiculed the contention that India voted against Iran’s nuclear quest in the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Authority) because it had become a stooge of the U. S. Pointing out that Russia, China and Pakistan too voted against Iran, Dr. JP asked whether anybody could say that the three countries too were U. S. stooges.

Dr. JP conceded that nuclear testing was an issue. Although there was nothing in the 123 agreement which inhibited India from testing a nuclear device, India was aware that testing was fraught with certain consequences. The Government of India in its wisdom had declared a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. But if national interests warranted a test, India would do so and face the consequences.

On the criticism that the deal abridged India’s sovereignty, Dr. JP said every international agreement imposed certain mutual obligations between contracting parties. It did not mean the sovereignty was violated. “The deal with the US is mutually beneficial”.

Dr JP pleads for assistance to police official's family

2007-09-04T12:46:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party’s National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) today requested Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy to provide all relief and help to rehabilitate the family of Mr. E. Madhava Reddy, Sub Inspector of Police, Malakpet, who was fatally mowed down by a speeding lorry as he chased and tried to stop it. “There cannot be a more painful incident than this in which a uniformed police officer was disobeyed and run over by a wayward lorry driver in a wanton act of culpable homicide.”

Dr. JP suggested that Mr. Madhava Reddy’s family be extended benefits on the lines of police killed in extremist operations. Under the policy, the Government treats deceased functionaries as on duty until retirement and provides wages and allowances to the family. In addition, one of the surviving members of the family is provided a Government job at an appropriate level depending on educational qualifications.

Dr. JP wanted the Government to ensure payment of wages and allowances to the family of Mr. Madhava Reddy until his retirement and pension after the retirement age. Mr. Madhava Reddy’s son, aged 26 and a Bachelor of Science, be appointed assistant sub-inspector as a special case. “Such a gesture from the Government would enhance the morale of all serving policemen and give them the strength and confidence to discharge their duties in the face of danger and adversity.”

Dr. JP called on members of the family of Mr. Madhava Reddy in the morning and conveyed his condolences.

In his letter, Dr. JP said the death illustrated the malaise afflicting the public order machinery. “We have eroded the self-esteem, confidence and image of the police severely, and as a result lawful orders of uniformed officers are ignored with impunity. The culture of permissiveness is a direct consequence of undue political interference in the day-to-day functioning of the police….”

Dr. JP called for making crime investigation independent and isolated from political influence and professionalization of law and order police.

Yuva Satta Launching “Jana Chaitanya Yatra”

2007-09-03T21:44:00.000+05:30

The Yuva Satta is launching a State-wide “Jana Chaitanya Yatra” from Hyderabad tomorrow.

Sixteen Yuva Satta leaders will be hitting the road from September 4 to September 27 and taking part in conferences of youth at all district headquarters. They will also be visiting colleges and dalit colonies in and around the district headquarters.

The district-level youth conferences, which bring all of the youth on to the same dais, will discuss the challenges and opportunities for youth in the fields of education, employment and political leadership.

Lok Satta Party’s National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan will be flagging off the youth campaign from Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram, Bagh Lingampalli, at a function at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The Yuva Satta will take out a silent march from Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram to RTC Crossroads in memory of bomb blast victims and pledge to work for the integrity of the nation.

Stamp out terrorism, appeals Dr. JP

2007-08-26T12:48:00.000+05:30

Lok Satta Party's National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) said today that terrorism had to be uprooted ruthlessly to protect society and civilization. In a statement, Dr. JP described terrorists, who took the lives of innocent people through bomb blasts in Hyderabad, as cowards.

"No religion sanctions terrorism although its perpetrators invoke religion for their acts. Terrorists are essentially barbaric people who have nothing but hatred for mankind and all values of civilization."

Dr. JP said blaming the police and Intelligence agencies for failure to prevent terrorist attacks was unwarranted. Even if Intelligence had information about likely terrorist attacks, they would not know when and where they would strike.

In times of crisis, people, political parties and the Government should stand united and do nothing to disrupt normal life. Calls for 'rasta rokos' 'bandhs' would merely serve the cause of terrorists, who were bent on destabilizing the country.

Dr. JP said that Governments in their bid to stamp out terrorism should not abridge people's fundamental rights. China could do without terrorism because it had a totalitarian system. "The need of the hour is striking a fine balance between national security and civil rights".

Dr. JP underlined the need for police reforms to ensure that the personnel were productively utilized. While thousands of police personnel were deployed as gunmen, intelligence personnel were used to serve the interests of the ruling party. Dr. JP in the morning called on the blast victims undergoing treatment in hospitals. Eleven Lok Satta volunteers donated blood to Chiranjivi Blood Bank for the benifit of victims.

Lok Satta to enroll 15 lakh members by December 2007: Dr. JP

2007-08-17T21:51:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party has decided to enroll at least 15 lakh members by December-end by launching a vigorous campaign throughout the State.

Disclosing this at a media conference at the end of the two-day conference of the organizational wings of the party, Lok Satta Party’s National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) said the people were thirsting for alternative politics. By voting for the two traditional parties alternately, they realized that were merely choosing between the fire and frying pan. The Lok Satta would be guilty of letting them down if it did not provide an alternative that liberates them from the traditional parties and politics of corruption. The Lok Satta Party aimed at having a unit in every village and 1000 to 2000 members in every mandal, a majority of them youth and women. The Lok Satta Party would thereafter hold party elections under the watchful eye of a three-member Ombudsman. The party had divided the State into eight zones and appointed zonal coordinators for the membership campaign and party elections.

On the claims of Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Mr. N. Tulasi Reddy, Congress Party spokesman, that there were no belt shops in the State, Dr. JP told them that they should have been aware of belt shops at least in their mandals if not the entire State. “There may be mandals without schools or villages without drinking water but there is not a single mandal in the entire State where there are no belt shops”. Dr. JP pointed out that Lok Satta and Mahila Satta volunteers had already furnished the Chief Minister with a list of 2000 shops in the State. According to the party’s estimate, there are 50,000 belt shops, besides 25000 gudumba and country liquor shops. “But we have a
Government that neither sees nor hears”.

Dr. JP said he would not be surprised if the Government chose to legalize belt shops unable to counter the Lok Satta campaign. In fact, the Congress MLA of Sattenapalli led a procession against belt shops in his constituency the other day.

Dr. JP welcomed the Prime Minister Manmohan’s Independence Day speech in which he focused on giving a thrust to higher and vocational education. “The Prime Minister is a man of sincerity and integrity. But unfortunately the responsibility of implementing laudable schemes rests with States. Thousands of crores of rupees meant for education and health care have gone down the drain because the State leadership has neither the will nor the machinery to implement the schemes. Industrial training institutes, for which the poor sent their children to learn a trade, did not have equipment to train them, said Dr.JP.

Citizen arrests to shut down belt shops

2007-08-14T13:00:00.000+05:30

Please click on the link below
http://www.loksatta.org/englishsite/pr/2007/citizen-arrests-belt.pdf

Camaign against irregularities in Ration Shops

2007-07-28T21:54:00.000+05:30

Every month, 467 kilo liters of kerosene and 2000 metric tons of rice are being declared as unused surplus in the city even as poor families complain they are being deprived of their entitlements from fair price shops. Eleven lakh families in the city of Hyderabad are dependent on fair price shops for their sustenance.

This cruel paradox has come to light in a study conducted by the Greater Hyderabad unit of the Lok Satta Party in the last one week. Lok Satta volunteers gathered the opinion of 79 fair price shop dealers and customers served by them in Greater Hyderabad.

The principal complaint of white cardholders is they are being given only five liters of kerosene against 10 liters they are entitled to. Cardholders are often compelled to pay well above the official price of Rs. 9.50 per litre. In many cases, the 10 litre coupon is accepted by the dealer, but only 5 litres are issued. In fact, their entitlement has been reduced over the years from 18 liters to 10 liters per month. This huge shortfall is putting them under enormous financial burden.

Poor people are also put to great hardship because of the dealers' insistence on their lifting the entire quota of 10 liters of kerosene and 20 kgs of rice at one go.

The users of fair shops are people who experience regular and consistent financial stress. Therefore, it is imprudent to assume that they can pay for all commodities at one time. Cardholders should be given coupons that facilitate purchase of commodities in small quantities and in installments.

Another finding of the survey is that fair shops do not adhere to the stipulated time schedules - 8 AM to 12 Noon and 4 PM to 8 PM - making it difficult for cardholders to access them at convenient times. While the poor complain that they are not receiving their basic entitlements from fair price shops, large quantities of kerosene and rice are going unutilized.

The Lok Satta Party survey has revealed that elected local government representatives - municipal corporators - have very little control over the functioning of fair price shops. Mr. Ankaiah demands that ward committees be constituted and empowered to oversee the functioning of the fair price shops within their ward. There is also need to constitute a stakeholders' committee for each fair shop with local users, members of local civil society, local youth and women groups as members. Such stakeholder empowerment will go a long way in improving the functioning of fair price shops.

Lok Satta Party calls upon local youth to become volunteers to monitor and improve the functioning of the fair price shops. The volunteers will be trained and given logistic support by Lok Satta Party to help improve distribution of essential commodities to poor households. Volunteers may please contact 040 - 2323 1818 / 2323 2829.

Lok Satta condemns Mudigonda violence

2007-07-28T13:03:00.000+05:30

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, National Coordinator of the Lok Satta Party, today appealed to all political parties and Governments to introspect whether violence and counter-violence were warranted in a 60-year-old democracy. Failure to arrive at solutions through peaceful and constructive means merely mirrored the deep democratic crisis the country faced and exposed our inability to resolve problems peacefully, he told a meeting organized by the party.

He made the observations in the context of the police firing at Mudigonda in Khammam district in which eight CPI(M) activists were killed.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan decried that governments, whichever party is in power, and political parties are perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence. Brutal lathicharge and extreme use of force and firing resulting in deaths of innocent and poor citizens has become all too common. Equally, civil society movements and parties are resorting to extreme tactics to provoke people and invite repression. Lives of innocent people are lost all too often. Political calculations, not human decency have become the norm. Political parties and Governments should ponder whether action and reaction reminiscent of colonial rule were warranted in a democratic society.

He was addressing a conference titled "Ration - Pareshan" organized by the Lok Satta to highlight how poor families were undergoing hardship because of their inability to draw the 10 liters of kerosene and 20 kgs of rice they are entitled to every month. The Government spent Rs.3000 crore of taxpayers' money on subsidized supply of rice and kerosene to white cardholders. Although laws, rules and regulations were clear and widespread government machinery was in place, it could not render justice to the poor.

He commended Lok Satta volunteers for trying to find a peaceful solution to the chronic problem of rations through citizen assertion constructive means. This is the meaning of new politics fit for a constitutional democracy. Resort to violence itself is a symptom of failure of our democracy, he added.

"If a young man or woman adopts a ration shop in his or her area and spends an hour or two a week monitoring the fair shop functioning, things would improve. Lok Satta Party would train these volunteers and give them the information to monitor shops, mobilize citizens and ensure implementation of rules. If that fails, they should represent the problem to officials. The Lok Satta Party would provide all support. Fair shop dealers too had their problems. They lifted Government allotted stocks by borrowing money on interest while their margins were low. The Government could consider permitting them to lift stocks on credit and provide a solution.

Mr. B. Ankaiah, Convener, Greater Hyderabad Lok Satta Unit, Mrs. D. Lakshmi, Mahila Satta Convener and Mr. G. Rama Murthy, senior party leader, took part in the conference in which many representatives from different parts of the city voiced their distress and anger over their plight.

Mahila Satta identifies belt shops, seeks their closure

2007-07-25T13:11:00.000+05:30

Please click on the link below

http://www.loksattaparty.com/english_site/pr_beltshops_25Jul2007.pdf

Tremendous Response to Lok Satta Primaries

2007-07-05T13:06:00.000+05:30

The Lok Satta Party's policy of asking voters to choose its candidates for by-elections to ZPTCs and MPTCs in the State has elicited tremendous response.

The party deliberately opted for candidate selection by people through secret ballot as part of its policy to make politics people-centred, instead of being politician-centred.

This marks a radical departure from established parties' culture of choosing candidates based on their money power or muscle power or pedigree. The Satta has, in fact, challenged other parties to contest elections without recourse to purchase of votes or distribution of liquor.
The party has so far chosen its candidates to contest two ZPTC and 10 MPTC seats through primary elections. The by-elections are scheduled to take place on July 12.

According to Mr. D. V. V. S. Varma, Secretary, Lok Satta Party, the people's response to primaries would have been far greater had there been more time between the announcement of by-elections and the filing of nominations. There was a gap of just one day, as per the election schedule.

Ungutur in West Godavari district where an election is taking place for the ZPTC stands as a shining example of new politics at work. The Lok Satta short-listed three candidates and appealed to voters to choose the best one to represent them. All the candidates travelled in one vehicle and appealed for votes in one pamphlet as they toured villages in the constituency.

Of the 45000 registered voters, 9095 took part in the primary election. Mr. Potla John Raju, who polled 5260 votes, was declared the party candidate.

Similarly, 300 to 600 voters took part in the Lok Satta MPTC primaries held in different parts of the State to choose its candidates.

Mr. D. V. V. S. Varma said in a statement that the primaries demonstrated people's contempt for the traditional parties' culture of foisting candidates selected in secret conclaves.

Mr. Varma congratulated the voters on embracing Lok Satta Party's new political culture.