Dear Friends,
Greetings.
Janata Vikas Manch (JVM) has received a very good feed
back on our Padyatra-Yatra plan starting from April 26, 2014 to take the Andhra Pradesh People’s Manifesto
prepared by us to the people.
Donate
Us
Please donate us to meet the expenses of the
Padyatra-Yatra. We will carry a massive media campaign, posters, banners, publicity
material, press conferences, vehicle/s, print Ads, boarding and lodging
expenses of the Yatra Team.
Please call us at 09702888261 or send a line at janatavikasmanch@gmail.com about
your willingness to donate for the Yatra expenses. We will soon send you our
bank account details for the fund transfer or you can deposit the amount at the
bank in our account.
We request you to respond soon to our request as it will
help us in arranging the logistics for the Padyatra.
Other details of the Yatra and People’s Manifesto is
pasted below.
Name
of the Padyatra / Yatra
The name of the padyatra / yatra will be Mee Votu – Mee
Satta (Your Vote – Your Govt). During this Padyatra, we will convey the Voters
to elect a people centric MPs and MLAs and not to fall prey to money, caste or
any other narrow considerations.
Broad Coalition of Civil Society Organisations /
Individual Activists: As mentioned in the earlier post, the Janata Vikas Manch
(JVM), a people’s forum working on the Policy Research and alternative policy,
has been getting several requests from various quarters to launch a mass
movement to educate voters on real issues confronting the New AP and at the
same time convey them to elect people-centric representatives who will work for
the interest of the state.
As it is known to all that JVM is working on the policy
research and alternative media for the past five years with the active
participation of educated class. After a long consultation with the various
civil society organisations and individual activists on this subject, JVM
has decided to form a coalition of civil
society organisations (Front) where various organisations / individual
activists can join hands to work collectively.
A number of names have been suggested for this Coalition
(Front). After received 10 suggested names, we have finalised to keep the name
of the Front either Praja Shakthi Or Praja Samarudhi. We will chose either of
these two by the time we start our Padyatra.
Join
Padyatra / Yatra Team
A team of 15 members will tour for 10 days to all the 13 districts
of New Andhra Pradesh: Srikakulam, Vizianagarm, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari,
West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Annathapur
and Chittore. The interested persons can also join us in the respective
districts. We request two things here:
1. Please let us know if any one wants to become part of the 15 Member Team for 10 days. The team members will need to walk a
minimum of 10 KM to 15 KM every day.
They can send a line of confirmation of their participation at janatavikasmanch@gmail.com.
2. We request the civil society organisations in all the above mentioned 13
districts to convey us if they can support the Team in all the 13 districts in
organising the meetings and also if they can arrange other logistics.
Looking forward,
Thanks & Regards,
Sai Prasan
Janata Vikas Manch (JVM)
Released on April 6, 2014.
...............................................................
Janata Vikas Manch
Andhra Pradesh
Draft People’s Manifesto for the New Andhra Pradesh
Introduction
The Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in collision with the main opposition RSS led
BJP has divided the Andhra Pradesh at a time when India including AP was also
hit by the global meltdown. The people of Andhra Pradesh were already suffering
from steep price hike, rampant corruption and increasing unemployment.
Congress
and BJP jointly divided Andhra Pradesh to get the political mileage. UPA
government took the decision to split the state to form a separate Telangana
also to deflate the people’s attention from the main issues. However, Congress
and BJP alone can not be blamed for the division of the state. Even other two
main opposition regional parties TDP and YSR Congress have also expressed their
willingness in written to divide the state to the Central government. The
outgoing chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s stand on the division of the state
was also suspicious. Even the tiny political outfit like Loksatta was also
non-committal on the unity of the state.
One of the main reasons for the division of Andhra Pradesh was the lack of a
unified and forceful voice as the people was historically divided on the caste
lines. The divided Andhra society failed to register its protest at the
national level specially at New Delhi.
Now, the
truncated Andhra Pradesh is going for the 2014 Lok Sabha and New Andhra
Assembly poll on May 7, 2014 while the election is scheduled for April 30, 2014.
This time we should ensure that the people of New Andhra Pradesh must elect a people-centric
representatives both for the Lok Sabha and State Assembly. We should ensure
that the electorate cast their vote on the basis of the merit of the contesting
candidates instead of Caste and Money. The electorate should cast their vote
not on the basis of the party but on the basis of the good qualities and
progressive approach of the candidates. The winning candidates should be that
they should side with people in the time
of crisis instead of preferring to be a fence sitter.
The division of Andhra Pradesh is the beginning of new challenges. The people
of the state are bound to face new emerging problems on the front of finance,
water, employment and similar other issues.
In the above backdrop, Janata Vikas Manch (JVM) has prepared a Draft People’s
Manifesto – a Development Plank - for the New Andhra Pradesh.
The People’s Manifesto has included mainly two parts: First, the demand
emanating from the division of the state. What the Voters should demand from the
contesting candidates and political parties. What package the elected MPs should demand from the Central government.
And, the approach with regard to the common capital – Hyderabad.
Second part of the manifesto has included which are the sectors ranging from
Health, Education, Industry, Agriculture, Financial Inclusion, Environment, Youth,
Land, Regional Imbalance to Social Justice and needs a detailed road map after
a long deliberations for the holistic development of the state both in terms of
geography – backward North Andhra and Rayalseema and society – development of
SC and ST. In fact, the new state should be a Milita (Holistic) Andhra Pradesh.
Point No.: 1
Make Hyderabad a Permanent Joint Capital
both for New Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
The next government should amend the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Bill, 2014
and make Hyderabad a joint capital for both the New Andhra Pradesh and newly
formed Telangana state.
As the Bill passed in Parliament, the Hyderabad will be the joint capital both
for the State of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for 10 years. And after that
Andhra Pradesh will have its own state capital and Hyderabad will be the Telangana
capital.
In fact, there is no reason for donating Hyderabad to Telangana state after 10
years because it was the people of Telangana who demanded a separate state, so
it is the residuary state and not the Andhra Pradesh.
Hence, the Hyderabad should be made a Union Territory (UT) and a joint capital
both for the Andha Pradesh and Telangana after ten years. Hyderabad can be made
Joint Capital for both the states even after Ten years like presently Chandigarh
is for Punjab and Haryana.
Apart from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh should have a second Capital in Seemandhra
region and the Central government should give financial support to Andhra
Pradesh to construct a second capital in next Ten years. So, Andhra Pradesh
will have two capitals – One, Hyderabad and second state capital in AP region.
This will be on the lines of Maharashtra where state Assembly runs from Mumbai
as well as Nagpur.
To make the point clear,
1. The Hyderabad should be made Joint Capital, not just for Ten Years, but for
ever as a Permanent arrangement for both the states – State of Andhra Pradesh
and newly formed state - Telangana . This city should be made Union Territory
(UT) like Chandigarh which is the state capital both for Punjab and Haryana.
2. After Ten Years, Andhra Pradesh will have two state capitals - One Hyderabad
and second in one of the cities of the Andhra region on the lines of
Maharashtra where Assembly functions from Mumbai and Nagpur. The Union government
will give 20 times finance of the current annual revenue of Hyderabad to State
of Andhra Pradesh for the construction of the second capital in Andhra region.
This arrangement can be made by making amendment in AP Re-organisation Bill.
Point No.: 2
Ten per cent of New AP annual budget should be allocated for Youth development
All the contesting candidates for Parliament and Andhra Pradesh Assembly should
be asked to spell out their stand for the development of Youth in the new
state. The political party forming the next government should commit before the
voters that it will formulate a pragmatic youth policy which can meet the
challenges of division of Andhra Pradesh and grab the opportunities of the
globalised economy. The new government should draw a roadmap for the education,
health, sports, employment and livelihood opportunities for the youth of the
state.
The division of Andhra Pradesh has thrown several challenges before the youth
of the new state. The youth should be trained to know to fight for their rights
on one hand and at the same time state building (constructive work) on the
other hand.
The students of backward regions – North Andhra and Rayalseema region and the
deprived section – SC and ST - are not able to get proper education in the
professional colleges as they are not able to afford the high cost of these
colleges. The government should re-locate the engineering, management and
professional colleges to the backward regions which can enable the students to
take education.
The next government should allocate 10% of its annual budget for the
development of youth. And, a sizeable portion of this budget should be spent on
the backward region and deprived section.
Sports
The political leadership should ensure that both the government and the private
entities jointly organize a national level marathon – Andhra Pradesh Marathan
on the lines of Mumbai Marathan, New Bombay Marathan. Others sports including
Hockey, Football should also be encouraged. It will rejuvenate the youth of the
state and will inculcate fighting spirit and bring the state at the national
map.
Point 3
Change of Mind Set is a MUST
In the recent United Andhra Pradesh movement, it has come to the fore that the
most important reason for the lack of strong voice in Andhra Pradesh is the
Mind Set. The historically priviledged class has less concern for the deprived
section – SC and ST and backward areas – North Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema. The society is fragmented on
caste lines which is a major hurdle in bringing unity among various sections of
the youth. So, there is a need to motivate youth to shun 3,000 years old caste system
and work for the holistic development of the society.
Point No.: 4
Wage
Board / Commission for the organised and unorganised private sector
The
introduction of Sixth Pay Commission by the government has brought lot of wage
disparity between the Government and Private Sector workforce. The Sixth pay Commission
is also one of the main reason for the inflationary pressures on the Indian
economy. The workforce in the organised and unorganised private sector are the
worst sufferers. The government should set up a Wage Board / Commission to give
its recommendations within one year for its implementation which will help in bring
a parity between the government and non-government sector.
Point No.: 5
Ensure
corruption cases to continue even after division, New AP should be
corruption-free
The new AP should be corruption free. Here, the Clause 45 in the AP Re-organisation Bill, 2014 is important.
According to the Clause 45:
“45. (1) The reports of the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India referred to in clause (2) of article 151 relating to
the accounts of the existing State of Andhra Pradesh in
respect of any period pri or to the appointed day
shall be submitted to the Governor of each of the successor States of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana who shall cause them to be laid
before the Legislature of that State.
(2) The President may by order––
(a) declare any expenditure incurred out of the
Consolidated Fund of
Andhra Pradesh on any service in respect of any
period prior to the appointed day during the
financial year or in respect of any earlier financial year in excess of the
amount granted for that service and for that year
as disclosed in the reports referred to in
sub-section (1) to have been duly authorised; and
(b) provide for any action to be taken on any
matter arising out of the said
reports.”
In the above context, It means that the investigating agencies should take the
prior permission of the President before taking action in earlier cases also
related to corruption or any irregularities like there were several cases going
on against the officials and political leaders ? If it is so, than both the Centre and government of State of Andhra Pradesh
should allow the investigating agencies to continue the cases of corruption or
financial irregularities which were going on against the officials and
political leaders in the United Andhra Pradesh. The state government should convince
both the Union government and President that the need of consent or permission
of the former (President) to prosecute the corrupt people / cases and should
not dalay the investigation process in the corruption cases and the guilty
should be booked soon.
The government of State of Andhra Pradesh should strengthen
the office of Lokayukta and a time bound trial should take place to prosecute
the guilty. The government will ensure a corruption free state which is very
important for the development.
Point No.: 6
Union
govt should give Special Category Status to New AP for 20 years instead of only
5 year and all six point of Special Package should be implemented
The Prime Minister has extended Special Category Status to New Andhra Pradesh
for five years. The government should ensure that both the special status and
special package is implemented in toto.
The
five years period of special status will not help
as any project itself takes five years to set up. Hence, the next government of the State of Andhra Pradesh should ask
the Union government to grant Special Category Status to New Andhra Pradesh for
20 years instead of five years only.
According to Srikrishna Committee report,
Rayalseema and North Andhra Pradesh are more backward than Telangana region.
The next state government should map all the 13 districts of New Andhra
Pradesh.
These districts should further be divided in
smaller units which help in the good administration. A monitoring committee or
a separate ministry on the backward regions should be formed to develop the
backward districts of AP. It will help in the holistic development of the new
state.
Another thing is that the new central grants must
be in proportion of population and relative backwardness and lack of
infrastructure development between the two newly formed states. Apart from
this, the existing outstanding Debt of AP needs to be divided in proportion to
the development spending done by AP government in State of AP and Telangana
region before the division. This would ensure that debt distribution is
equitable.
Point
No: 7
Share of New Andhra Pradesh in the Natural Resources specially in KG Basin
The New Andhra Pradesh has abundance of Natural Gas
which the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industry has been exploiting in KG Basin .
The Andhra Pradesh has been facing lot of problems due to this.
The
central government should make the allocation of gas in the KG basin on the
proportionate basis which will solve the gas shoratage problem in Andhra
Pradesh also.
The
next government should make Kakinada a power and fertiliser hub by using KG
Basin Gas. Setting up of Gas Grid is costlier than Power Grid. An integrated
special investment region can be set up near Kakinada where Gas based Power
Plants and Fertilizer Plants are set up. This will enable triggering capital
investment backed economic growth of newly formed state and also become a huge
employment generator for people of the newly formed state.
Point
No.: 8
Withdraw cases filed against United AP supporters, set up a Commission to
punish the guilty
A large number of cases have been filed against the
United Andhra Pradesh supporters specially in Vizianagaram district. The
politically controlled district administration has muzzled the democratic
rights of the agitating people demoing United Andhra Pradesh. The people of
Vizianagaram district were the worst victim. Around 640 people were booked for
false cases and put behind the bars in this one district alone. The worst kind
of human rights violation were witnessed in this North Andhra district.
The political activists have undergone the worst
kind of human rights violations in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. The
innocents were picked up at mid-night - tortured and framed. The districts
administration was used as a private army by the political masters of the
district who happen to control the state government also. And, the opposition
leaders of the district were the mute spectators to the police atrocities
against the innocent protestors as both the ruling and opposition leaders were
the business partners in the district. Similar was the case in other districts
also. The people fighting for the United Andhra Pradesh were left like an
Orphan by all the political parties.
The political parties should promise:
A. All the cases booked against the protestors of
United Andhra Pradesh under various sections in Vizianagaram and other places
of Andhra will be withdrawn by the next government soon after it comes to
power.
B. The next government will form a Judicial Enquiry
Commission to identify the guilty responsible for the police atrocities against
the innocent people. And, they will be prosecuted as per the law.
Point
9
Electoral Reforms
Betrayed and dumped by all, Andhra Voters confused - Whom
To Vote in 2014 Poll ?
The voters of New Andhra Pradesh are betrayed by all
the political parties. Congress Party and BJP have collided to divide Andhra Pradesh.
The Chandrababu Naidu led TDP was the first
to send a letter to Union government asking it to divide Andhra Pradesh.
Similarly, YSR CP followed and sent a letter to the
government to form Telangana. And, the people consider Jai Samaikhyandhra is
the B Team of Congress Party. The Jana Sena is considered as a seasonal party.
Even the Tiny outfits like Loksatta was also non-committal on the unity of the
state.
A large number of people have conveyed us that the
formation of new political parties, as currently Kiran Kumar Reddy and Pawan
Kumar planning, is not the permanent solution for selecting and electing MPs
and MLAs in the state. Instead, the process of selection of candidates by the
political parties should change. The current top down approach like the High
Command of the political parties deciding the names of the contesting
candidates should change and bottom to top approach should be followed in
selecting the candidates.
The system of Primaries, which is being followed in
the developed societies, should be adopted by all the political parties in
selecting the party candidates for contesting poll. As a part of the Primaries,
the members of the parties elect the aspiring candidate for the party to
contest in poll through secret ballot.
There is a need to popularise Primaries in Andhra
Pradesh as well as in India as a part of electoral reforms and to bring
vibrancy in the electoral system of the country. Both the political parties
workers and voters should force the political parties to adopt Primary system.
This system of Primaries needs a wider debate as
well as awareness in Andhra Pradesh which helps in electing MPs and MLAs who
will be loyal to the people and not to High Command after getting elected to
the State Assembly or Parliament. Let us take this message to the political
parties as well as people and force the political parties to adopt Primaries. A
wider public debate on the subject is necessary.
Point
No.: 10
Financial Inclusion
All the indicators of financial inclusion in Andhra Pradesh is not very
encouraging. The people should be conveyed the importance of financial literacy
for managing their financial needs. The state needs a proper banking network
for a proper implementation of government schemes like NREGS. The political
parties should ensure following things:
Ø The state government in consultation with Union finance ministry should
recommend RBI to open new bank branches specially in the backward regions and
deprived section of the state.
Ø The political parties should educate people about the importance of
financial literacy. They should be conveyed the importance of insurance sector
and new investment destinations like Mutual Funds.
Ø The people should also be conveyed which are the banks that offer loans
at a reasonable interest rate.
Point
No.: 11
The various sectors concerning economy and society of Andhra Pradesh need a
detailed roadmap for a holistic development. This road map can be chalked out
after a detailed discussion with all the stake holders after the state Assembly
and Lok Sabha poll. All the winning candidates should adopt this development
plank. The following sectors need a blue-print: Health, Education, SC and ST
development, Mining, Energy, Industry, Agriculture, Development of Backward Region, Media,
Mining, Infrastructure specially Railways, Physically Challenged and
others.
Advisory
New Andhra Pradesh people should strive for a Samajika Telangana
The above is 11 points in the Draft People’s Manifesto. This point is not an
addition to the Eleven points. Rather, it is an Advisory. There is a general opinion across
Andhra that both the sides of the United Andhra Pradesh should prosper after
division.
In line with this, the people of New Andhra Pradesh
should ensure the formation of a Samajika Telangana where the 75% of the
deprived section of Telangana region gets its due as they were at the forefront
of the Telangana movement and hundreds lost life in this process.
One of the main reasons for the political unrest in
Telangana region has been the feudal social structure. The 11% upper castes are
the major land owners across the region. The globalization has further
marginalized SCs, STs and BCs in all spheres of social life.
Hence, the land reforms should be carried
throughout Telangana state for a holistic development of the society in
Telangana region. The excess land should be distributed among SCs, STs and BCs.
The deprived section should be given due importance
in the political structure and they should be trained for a better placement in
the private sector in the post-globalised economy.
The first chief minister of the new Telangana state
should be either SC or ST.
Note:
The People’s Manifesto released on the occasion of Martyrs Day.
