CPI national secretary K. Narayana on Thursday urged the Centre to treat the floods in Andhra Pradesh and Telagana as a “national calamity” and extend liberal assistance to the two States.
Addressing the media here, Mr. Narayana said the flood situation in the two States was grim. The Centre’s liberal financial support was needed to help the two States to take up relief and rehabilitation measures on a war-footing.
The CPI leader accused the ruling BJP at the Centre and the ruling TRS in Telangana of paying too much attention on Hyderabad alone with an eye on the civic body elections for the sake of “political gains” and ignoring the other flood-affected areas.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s caution to people as the threat of COVID-19 still continued, he said, “Empty words do not matter.”
Health sector allocation
The Centre should show its commitment in the fight against the pandemic by stepping up allocation to the health sector to at least 6% of the Gross Domestic product (GDP) against a little less than 2% earmarked now.
He demanded that the Centre withdraw the three “corporate-friendly” farm Acts as they spelt doom for the farmers in the predominantly agrarian country.
The Centre was pursuing its “corporate-friendly” economic agenda, including reforms in the power sector, much against democratic principles and federal spirit of the Constitution, Mr. Narayana alleged, adding that it was unfortunate that the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government backed the BJP’s “suicidal economic policies” to the hilt.
At the time of COVID-19-induced economic meltdown, the Modi government was preoccupied with currying favours to the corporate sector by aggressively pursuing liberalisation policies, he charged.