Asking people to treat the Commonwealth Games as a national festival, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday exuded confidence that the country will successfully host the October event, preparations for which have been plagued by controversies.
“The Commonwealth Games will start in Delhi after about one-and-a-half months. This will be a proud moment for the whole country and especially for Delhi,” Dr. Singh said addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
“I am convinced that all our countrymen will treat the Games as a national festival and will leave no stone unturned to make them a success,” he said.
The Prime Minister said a successful Delhi Games would also be a signal that India is rapidly marching ahead.
“The successful organisation of Commonwealth Games would be another signal to the world that India is rapidly marching ahead with confidence,” he said.
The preparations for Commonwealth Games have been marred by a spate of corruption charges and delay in construction works following which the Prime Minister stepped in and gave overriding powers to a committee of secretaries to supervise the event.
Observing that there have been slippages in time schedules and deficiencies, Dr. Singh on Monday directed thorough probes into complaints of procedural and other irregularities by the ministries concerned and said that those found guilty should face severe and exemplary punishment.
Message to Pakistan
Dr. Singh said he wants to resolve differences with Pakistan through dialogue but much progress cannot be made unless terrorism emanating from its territory ends.
“Whatever differences we have with our neighbouring countries, we want to resolve them through discussions. As far as Pakistan is concerned, we expect from them that they would not let their territory be used for acts of terrorism against India,” he said.
He said India has been emphasising this in all its discussions with Pakistan.
“If this is not done, we cannot progress far in our dialogue with Pakistan,” Dr. Singh said.
He underlined that India wants prosperity, peace and harmony in its neighbouring countries
Poor worst affected
Admitting that poor people are the worst hit due to rising food prices, Dr. Singh said the government is making every effort to control inflation, which has been over 10 per cent for last several months.
“It is the poor who are the worst affected by rising prices, especially when the prices of commodities of every day use like foodgrains, pulses, vegetables increase ... We are making every possible effort to tackle the problem ...,” Dr. Singh said on the 64th anniversary of Independence Day.
The food inflation was at 11.40 per cent during the week ended July 31, 2010, while the overall inflation was 10.55 per cent in June this year.
It is for this reason that the government has endeavoured to minimise the burden of increased prices on the poor, he said, while exuding confidence that “we will succeed in these efforts.”
Although Dr. Singh took pride in offering high support prices to farmers since 2004, he said that this also resulted in increased food prices in the open market.
“The support price for wheat was enhanced to Rs. 1,100 per quintal last year from Rs. 630 per quintal in 2003-04. In paddy, this increase was from Rs. 550 per quintal to Rs 1,000 per quintal. But one effect of providing higher prices to farmers is that food prices in the open market also increase,” he said.
He, however, defended the recent hike in petroleum prices saying India imports nearly 80 per cent of its requirement and the subsidy was increasing every year.
“If this had not been done, it would not have been possible for our budget to bear the burden of subsidy and our programmes for education, health and employment of the poor would have been adversely affected,” Dr. Singh said.
Appeal to Naxals
In a fresh bid to bring the Maoists to the table, Dr. Singh appealed to them to abjure violence, come forward for talks and to join hands with the government for accelerated social and economic growth in the backward areas.
“We will deal firmly with those who resort to violence. I once again appeal to Naxalites to abjure violence, come to talks with government and join hands with us to accelerate social and economic development,” he said.
Committing to his government’s resolve to deal firmly on internal security, Dr. Singh said the Centre would provide “all possible help” to States to “maintain the rule of law” in areas affected by Naxalism.
The Prime Minister also promised to fully implement the consensus that emerged in the meeting he held with Chief Ministers of Naxal-affected States and stressed the importance of both the Centre and State governments working together to meet the challenge posed by the ultras.
“It is imperative that the Centre and the States work together to meet the challenge of Naxalism. It would be very difficult for any State to tackle this problem without cooperation from the Centre and coordination between States.
We all need to rise above our personal and political interests to meet this challenge,” he said.
Tribals should be compensated
Allaying fears of tribals over loss of livelihood, Dr. Singh said they should be compensated for land acquired from them and made stakeholders in the developmental projects coming up in their areas.
“Apart from adequate compensation for land which is acquired from them, we should also ensure that our ‘Adivasi’ (tribal) brothers and sisters have a stake in the developmental project being undertaken,” he said.
He said tribals should not be compelled to lose forests as a source of their livelihood without provision of alternative mechanism for their survival.
“They (tribals) have been dependent on forest produce for centuries and this dependence should not end without the creation of new sources of livelihood,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s comments assume importance, since a Group of Ministers recently proposed that 26 per cent of the net profit of the mining project should go towards the displaced tribals and others.
