Terming the demand for statehood for North Karnataka put forward by a few organisations, seers and individuals from Bombay Karnataka region a politically motivated one, Communist Party of India (CPI) held that the division of the State would not be a solution to the backwardness of the region.
Addressing a media conference here on Thursday, P.V. Lokesh, national council member of the party, said that the lack of unity among people’s representatives in the region right from gram panchayat to Parliament, cutting across party lines, was the major reason for the backwardness of Hyderabad Karnataka and Bombay Karnataka regions.
“We have discussed the issue in detail in the recently held party State council meeting and came to a conclusion that the demand for statehood cannot solve the problem of backwardness. The collective efforts of the people’s representatives and civil society groups only can goad the government to address regional imbalances. The government should also take up special development initiatives to fight backwardness in the region,” he said.
Mr. Lokesh criticised the BJP-led Union government for its proposed amendments to the Right To Information (RTI) Act and Prevention of Corruption Act. He said that the Union government was trying to “weaken” the Acts to protect corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
“Information Commissions have maintained certain independence because of which they are able to rule against the interests of powerful politicians in governments and public authorities. Now, the government wants to control this by introducing certain amendments, particularly in the appointments of information commissioners. It is clear that the purpose of the amendments is to weaken the institution and help the corrupt. Similarly, the amendments proposed to the anti-corruption law are aimed at protecting the corrupt officials and politicians. As per the proposed provisions, investigation and enforcement agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation will have to obtain prior permission from a competent authority to conduct raids on residences and offices of corrupt individuals,” he said.
March to Delhi
Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “betraying people with false promises”, Mr. Lokesh said that his party would organise people’s rallies across the country after uniting like-minded anti-BJP forces for the purpose.
“None of the promises made by the BJP in the run-up to the last Lok Sabha elections has been fulfilled, even after four-and-a-half years in power. The promises on black money, employment generation, inflation, farm crisis and others have turned out to be hoaxes. To expose the BJP and Mr. Modi, we are conducting people’s rallies that would start from four different points and march through the length and breadth of the country before converging in the national capital,” he said.
One such rally that would set off from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 12 would enter Karnataka on September 19 and cover important cities and towns for three days in the State, he added.