Coming down heavily on the State Government and the district administration on the proposed plans to shift slums outside the city limits, especially keeping the upcoming G20 summit in mind, CPI (M) Polit Bureau member B.V. Raghavulu, said that the poor should not be shifted away from their workplace, under the guise of beautifying the city.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said that if the slum dwellers are shifted from the city to faraway places, the authorities concerned will be depriving them of their livelihood. All of them are into some kind of profession, in and around the place of their present dwelling and by shifting them away, they will lose their livelihood. The authorities concerned should plan for in-situ development, he said.
Moreover, by shifting the poor who are primarily Dalits, the authorities concerned are replicating the old tradition of ‘bracketing the Dalits’, who were in earlier times told to live outside the villages or towns, said Mr. Raghavulu.
BBC documentary
Speaking about the gag order on the BBC’s documentary on the 2002 Godhra riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that freedom of expression is being curbed.
“Why should the government assume that by screening a documentary there may be unrest and prevent it from screening. If there is unrest, the authorities concerned should prevent them. The irony is that on one hand the Union Government is celebrating Republic Day to highlight the spirit of democracy and on the other hand it is squashing it by enforcing a ban on the documentary,” he said.
Mr. Raghavulu was also critical of the State Government’s GO no 1 and said it was against the spirit of democracy and it should be withdrawn immediately. “Instead of banning rallies and meetings, the government should think of preventive measures,” he said.
Mr. Raghavulu, welcomed the yatras of Nara Lokesh and Pawan Kalyan and said the Left party welcomes the vital principle of such yatras, as they are part of the democratic process and an expression of dissent.
We also support the yatra being conducted by the Pratyeka Hodha, Vibhajana Hameela Sadhana Samithi, which will be entering the North Andhra region on February 2.
NAOB issue
Mr. Raghavulu also said that both the Union and the State governments should immediately address the issues of the fishermen, who have been displaced by the NAOB (Naval Alternate Operating Base) project in Rambilli in Anakapalli district.
About 15,000 farmers are yet to receive rehabilitation project and they are left ‘high and dry’, he said.
