Freedom fighters on Monday called for a movement on the lines of the Independence movement to free the nation of the “cancerous corruption” and ensure that the fruit of development reached the grassroots level.
After witnessing the Republic Day parade here, noted freedom fighter Karavadi Venkateswarulu lamented that the gap between the haves and the have-nots had widened even 68 years after Independence, thanks to liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.
“A lot more has to be done to achieve the goals set in the preamble of the Constitution to ensure socio-economic justice for one and all,” pointed out Mr. Venkateswarulu, who is also a seasoned lawyer. “It is time we found out as to what had gone wrong and took corrective steps to ensure that the mission of the welfare State is accomplished,” the octogenarian said.
Another freedom fighter, Aswath Narayana, expressed concern over corruption permeating into every walk of life, making the life of common people miserable and said: “We feel let down by the rulers.”
“The Jan Lokpal Bill, drafted by civil-society organisations, should become a law to effectively curb corruption and realise the dreams of freedom fighters who had sacrificed everything during the Independence movement,” he felt.
Tanguturi Gopalakrishna, grandson of Tanguturi Prakasam Panthlu, said his grandfather who sacrificed his huge wealth earned by him as a lawyer, is an inspiration for youth.
“It is time both the Union and State governments adopted fiscal prudence and concentrated on attracting huge investments to help the common people still struggling to eke out a living.
