Mr. Potturi Sivaji Raju has been appointed the new President of the State Yuva Satta by Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan.
Dr. JP has also named Mr. Panchadi Rambabu as Vice President, and Mr. Dosapati Ramu as General Secretary.
Dr. JP asked the new office-bearers to focus on enrolling members, constituting committees at al levels and taking up programs on youth issues.
Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today demanded that the Constitution be amended to make all terrorist offences as federal crimes. He also suggested that an umbrella agency be created to prevent terrorist atrocities and the legal framework strengthened to mete out swift and exemplary punishment to the guilty.
Expressing his deep condolences to the families of the New Delhi blast victims, Dr. JP said terrorists cannot undermine either the unity or integrity of India or harmony among Indians. Each terrorist assault will strengthen the resolve of every Indian to protect the nation and promote our economy. Terrorists are bound to fail because India’s capacity for resilience is tremendous.
Dr. JP said that the frequent terrorist attacks should make us realize two weaknesses from which India suffers. The first is the absence of inter-agency and inter-State cooperation and coordination in dealing with terrorist crimes and the second is the weak legal framework. “We should realize that terrorism will not disappear in a hurry and that we have to live with it for many, many years because of the geo-political situation.”
Making terrorist offences a federal crime, creating an umbrella agency to deal with terrorism, and strengthening the legal framework to facilitate swift and effective action are the need of the hour. The fact that 20 years after the assassination of the former Prime Minister of the country the guilty have not been punished, eloquently testifies to the tardy legal system, he added.
The Lok Satta Party today suggested that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) be extended to cover the crisis-ridden agriculture and allied sectors.
In a media statement, Lok Satta Party Working President D. V. V. S. Varma said that a 42 percent increase in wages in Andhra Pradesh (against 19 percent at the national level) following implementation of the MGNREGS has caused undue hardship to farmers. With agriculture becoming a losing proposition because of the escalation in the costs of cultivation and depressed market prices, a number of farmers in Andhra Pradesh have declared a crop holiday this khariff.
The Union Government, which is planning to tweak the scheme, could link it up with farming and take it up as a pilot project in Andhra Pradesh to provide some relief to farmers and tenants.
Mr. Varma said that the Government should also encourage mechanization of agriculture especially in small holdings.