The Hindu : 'I only want to reach out to suffering masses'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 09, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

'I only want to reach out to suffering masses'

By W. Chandrakanth

HYDERABAD April 8. The leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, firmly believes that his "padayatra'' is the need of the hour and there can be no better time to launch it.

``The suffering masses need some soothing balm. Injustice has been heaped upon them. They are reeling under the misrule of a heartless government. Suicides and starvation deaths have become the order of the day. Hence, the yatra now.''

``There are no politics involved, internal or external. Politics is not the be all and end all. I am not looking at it from any angle,'' he says.

On the eve of the launch of his 60-day long 1,500-km march through 11 districts of the State from Chevella of Rangareddy district, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy presents a composed picture though he admits it will be a tedious exercise.

Talking to The Hindu on Tuesday Dr. Reddy vehemently argues, "Our efforts to sensitise the Government to the sufferings of the masses have failed. People are facing hardships due to the insensitive governance of eight years. The disastrous policies being pursued by Mr. Naidu have ruined our economy. Farmers, weavers, artisans, daily wage earners and the working class are all equally suffering. It is not a question of timing even. Some one needs to infuse confidence in them about tomorrow. As a political party, we (the Congress) got to stand by their side.''

He says the Chief Minister does not bother to take people's opinion into account. "Did he ever ask them about their choices? Does he know anything about their priorities? His priorities are dictated by the World Bank. His compulsions stem from the demands of the multinationals. His vision is restricted to the fanciful goals of the big industry.''

``Ask people whether they need four-lane roads? International flights? Or is it that they simply demand work and food? Do you (the Chief Minister) know that they need assured power supply, drinking water and adequate fodder for their animals? Shall we refer to subsidies, inputs and farm credit at low interest? Any one of these or all. ''

``Why don't we convert governance into a need-based one? If my padayatra saves even one life, it would have achieved its goal. As a responsible opposition, it is our duty to pressurise the Government into doing some good. The road to disaster must be avoided at any cost.''

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy also admits, "This is in a way an extension of the yatra I undertook some time back. The Government did yield to some of the demands then. It is not sufficient however and I had travelled by road then. This yatra will take the party closer to people's hearts.''

Dr. Reddy says the plan to embark on the yatra was a result of collective thinking. "It began as loud thinking during the Assembly session. We wanted to go to people's court with the Government's failures as it was not yielding to any of our demands. The Government must hear the people's voice on pending projects, remunerative prices and power tariff.''

He dismisses the speculation that his padayatra is aimed at his detractors within the party. "There may be several angles to it. It all depends on how you look at it. There are no political compulsions or reasons to it. We want to tell people that they do not have to lose heart as the Congress party under Sonia Gandhi's leadership would usher in Indira-raj once again.''

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