Press Releases Archive

Lok Satta primary in Patancheru

For the first time in India’s parliamentary history, the Lok Satta Party is conducting an open primary election between two candidates who are in the race for the Lok Satta Party ticket to contest from the Patancheru Assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh. The party’s constitution stipulates that the party shall choose the candidate by conducting a primary if the number of qualified and eligible applicants exceeds one.

According to Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, both the candidates – Mr. K. Sankara Rao and Mr. D. Satyanarayana (Satish) Gowd -- are committed and dedicated to the Lok Satta. Mr. Sankara Rao, a Master of Arts in Politics from Osmania University, had as a student fought for employment opportunities to youth and as a journalist for better transportation system in Patancheru area. Mr. Satish Gowd, an IIT graduate, has been striving to enlighten the youth on health and environment issues and training them in martial arts. Both are keen on utilizing their leadership qualities to cleanse politics of corruption.

Dr. JP told the media today that both the candidates would campaign for their candidacy in the next few days and seek the voters’ mandate on Sunday, May 15. All the registered voters in the constituency are eligible to exercise their franchise by secret ballot. The candidate who wins the highest number of votes would be declared the party’s candidate. Both the candidates have pledged to work for the party’s success, whoever be the winner in the primary.

Dr. JP added the conduct of the primary exemplifies the democratic culture in the Lok Satta Party, in contrast to traditional parties, which have become the pocket boroughs of a few families or individuals.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 17:43

Chiranjeevi's 'social justice' Nothing but a sham: Dr. JP

The barely six-month-old Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) founded by movie star Chiranjeevi has conclusively demonstrated it is not a wee bit different from the Telugu Desam Party and the Congress, which had ruled the State for a quarter of a century and miserably failed to address people’s burning problems, charged Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan here today.

“The PRP is as guilty as the TDP and the Congress in treating the party as a private limited company and politics as a family enterprise”, Dr. JP told a media meet. It conducted a huge jamboree at Rajahmundry like the TDP and the Congress at places like Guntur, Anantapur and Secunderabad at enormous cost, to ferry people by offering inducements. Like its counterparts, the PRP is planning to offer party ticket to only those who could spend Rs.3 crore to Rs.5 crore in an Assembly constituency. The PRP has borrowed most of phrases and expressions popularized by the Lok Satta for over 12 years but they remain empty words because it too subscribed to crass political culture practiced by the other two political parties.

Dr, JP bemoaned that the politics is so vitiated now that dignified middle class citizens and honest entrepreneurs, who deem politics as a noble endeavor, cannot dream of entering politics. The three parties in Andhra Pradesh will deny a party ticket even to a Barack Obama simply because he cannot spend Rs.5 crore of personal money to get elected to the Assembly. Even the concept of social justice stands totally perverted when a party chooses only those candidates who can spend enormous amounts of black money. “It does not matter to which caste a candidate belongs if he is chosen for his ability to swing votes with money and liquor in his/her favor. Despite repeated appeals, none of the three parties had chosen to commit themselves against use of money and liquor in elections, let alone honoring their commitment.

In contrast, Dr. JP recalled, leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao and Muqdum Mohiuddin did not invest crores of rupees to enter politics. They entered and enriched politics with their education, intellect, passion, commitment, ideas and leadership.

Dr. JP said that notwithstanding the fact there are decent people known for their courage of conviction and perseverance in all parties, political parties by and large have lost their faith in people. “They have come to believe that without buying votes and distributing liquor or exploiting caste, religion and region or offering short-term sops, they cannot come to power.”

The Lok Satta President said that the three central challenges staring the nation in the face are elimination of poverty in five years, empowering and productively employing all young men and women and ameliorating the conditions of millions who are migrating to uraban areas and eking out a precarious livelihood. The three parties – Congress, TDP and PRP – have not understood the grave problems, leave alone addressing them. That nearly 11 lakh young people applied for 840 odd Group IV posts in Andhra Pradesh and that millions of people continue to migrate to urban areas in search of work and livelihood testify to the colossal failure of the Congress and the TDP. “On top of it, in their unbridled lust for power, they have brought down the level of political discourse by indulging in personal mudslinging.”

Dr. JP appealed to all sections of the public to recognize that the future of millions of young people would be ruined and the unity and integrity of the country e at stake if we don’t change the crass, corrupt and self-serving political culture.

Dr. JP described Election 2009 as a fight between parties pursuing crass political culture on the one side and the hapless people on the other. The Lok Satta stands by the people, who are the real sovereigns in a democracy, but stand reduced to mendicants.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 17:42

Lok Satta refutes Babu's charges

The Lok Satta Party today charged TDP President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with indulging in lies against Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan in his bid to defend cash transfer and color TV distribution proposals.

Mr. Chandrababu Naidu had rhetorically asked in a private TV channel interview whether the poor did not deserve a monthly payment when Dr. JP drew Rs.25000 as monthly pension.

Party spokesmen Katari Srinivasa Rao and P. Ravi Maruth told the media that Dr. JP did not draw any pension. Although he was fully aware that he would be eligible to draw pension if he completed 20 years in service, he chose to forgo pension, quit service and founded the Lok Satta movement. In fact, Dr. JP had spurned a Government a site for house construction as a matter of principle.

The Lok Satta leaders said the proposal to distribute color TVs amounted to a corrupt election practice while the cash transfer scheme would be detrimental to the State’s progress. Poverty could be eradicated only when every child was provided access to quality education and health care and job-oriented skills and employment.

Instead of helping people stand on their own feet, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu’s proposals in his party’s draft manifesto would perpetuate poverty and make people depend on the Government indefinitely.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 - 16:57

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