Replying to queries on the sidelines of a meeting organised in connection with the centenary celebrations of veteran Marxist leader E.M.S. Namboodiripad here on Tuesday, he said that while most other political parties have changed their stand on Telangana, the CPI (M) wouldn’t do so for the sake of gaining seats or power.
He, however, condemned the police lathicharge on students of Osmania University.
Mr. Raghavulu said that the Congress has no clarity on the Telangana issue and held the party responsible for the present crisis.
He blamed Chief Minister K. Rosaiah for first putting the onus on the Congress high command, and later calling for an all-party meeting on the issue but failing to hold any fruitful discussions.
He said that the State government should own moral responsibility for the deteriorating health condition of TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao.
EMS was a man of the masses
E.M.S. Namboodiripad, who can be ranked among the top 10 communist leaders in the country, was not a born communist. He had learnt the Vedas early in life and was later influenced by the Freedom Struggle and Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha, said CPI(M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu.
He recalled the pioneering efforts made by EMS seeking equal rights to women. He realised that women had specific problems associated with childbirth, dowry and disparity in wages. He had strived to eradicate caste system.
Mr. Raghavulu said that EMS had passed orders against police interference in workers strikes and protests by farm labour and tenant farmers, after becoming the Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957.
His objective of protecting the interests of workers and small farmers came in the way of their exploitation by managements and landlords. The NehruGovernment, acting under pressure from landlords and managements, invoked Article 356 of the Constitution and dismissed the democratically elected Kerala Government.
Referring to the present situation, Mr. Raghavulu said that the UPA Government was ready to dance to the tunes of the Obama Government while jeopardising the defence and economy of the nation. He said that UPA was ready to do away with welfare schemes and had failed to take any measures to control the spiralling prices.
He said that the CPI(M) had supported the UPA Government during its last tenure only with the objective of preventing the ‘communal’ BJP from coming to power. The presence of the CPI(M) in the UPA Government had prevented the Centre from acting according to its whims and fancies.
He said that AP had got the maximum revenue during the tenure of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy as Chief Minister. It was not because of YSR’ s greatness but as the world economy was booming at that time.
The excise revenue which was Rs.1,200 crores when YSR took over as Chief Minister for the first time, went up to Rs.6,000 crores when he was elected for the second term. The global economic meltdown has hit the State’s economy badly and it was a tough time for Chief Minister Rosaiah, he felt.
CPI(M) District Committee secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao recalled the contribution of EMS as CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and as Chief Minister of Kerala.
He had written several articles which give an insight into his concern for the common man.
CPI(M) city unit secretary Lokanadham was present.
(courtesy : The Hindu)
