Members of Poura Samaja Vedika, Vijayawada, on Saturday burnt copies of the Lokpal bill tabled in Parliament by the Government, stating that the ‘toothless' bill was unacceptable in its present form.
The Vedika members gathered at the office of the Vijayawada Exhibition Society on 100-ft Road to condemn attempts to dilute a mass movement seeking a strong, comprehensive Jan Lokpal Bill to check corruption effectively.
“Creation of a corruption-free society is our dream. The youth must wage a second freedom struggle to end corruption and to bring home the black money stashed in foreign banks,” read a banner in the background.
Reducing copies of the Lokpal bill to ashes, the members raised slogans against corruption and the forces working behind it. “The Lokpal tabled by the Government is lopsided and will not serve the purpose of curbing corruption. It is a mere eyewash,” said T. Premnadh, a member of the Vedika.
Pointing out that people of this nation looked up to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as an upright and honest leader, he said the masses had expected a clean administration from him.
“But a series of major scams involving top rank leaders and bureaucrats had unfolded under his rule, tarnishing the country's image.
Mr. Premnadh said to express solidarity with the social activist Anna Hazare who proposes to sit on a hunger strike in Delhi from August 16, the Vedika members would stage relay hunger strikes in front of the Rammohan Roy library from the same day.
“Depending on the developments in Delhi, we will intensify the stir here,” he added.
He said that people from different walks of life had extended support to the proposed protest. On August 16, students from various educational institutions had offered to participate in the hunger strike, on August 17 women would make known their resentment against the Government move while on August 18, members of various walkers' associations in the city would demonstrate their support to team Anna at the Centre.
Syed Rafi of the Vedika cautioned people against falling prey to the ‘misleading campaign' unleashed by certain vested interests with regard to the Lokpal Bill.
Malineni Narayana Prasad of the organisation said the proposed Bill should be a comprehensive one envisaging constitution of an independent body that would investigate corruption cases and complete the investigation within a given time frame.
P. Venkata Rama Rao, P. Venkateswara Rao, Mahendra Singh Sahani and others were present.
