Senior leaders of the CPI(M) flayed the State and the Central government for extending a red carpet to the corporates with the taxpayers’ money while the burden of price rise was being borne by the poor.
The CPI(M) leader U. Basavaraj said that though the people of the country pay ₹50 lakh crore in taxes to the Centre and ₹3-₹4 lakh crore is received by the State government, the amount was being used to benefit the corporate companies.
He was speaking at the concluding programme of the political campaign organised by the CPI(M) Mysuru district committee at Gandhi Square here.
Mr. Basavaraju said India ranked 105th in the Global Hunger Index, and the unemployment rate was high; hence, the claim that it was the fourth-largest economy was questionable.
Though nearly 70 crore people were receiving rations through the public distribution system and nutritious food was being distributed through the Anganwadis, the scourge of hunger and malnutrition persisted and put a question mark on the claims of being the fourth largest economy, said Mr. Basavaraju.
The economic policies of the Central and State governments also received flak, and the CPI(M) wondered whether the two were working for the corporates or the economically impoverished section of the population.
District secretary Jagadeesh Surya said that no project has been introduced in the district for job creation. There is neither a government law college nor an engineering college in the district, and no government seems to be concerned about it, he added.
The district ranks second in the State in terms of farmer suicides, but the State and Central governments are not focusing on improving farmers’ lives here, he said.
Mr. Jagadish Surya urged the government to establish ward-level clinics and strengthen primary health centres in the district. He also demanded that farmers cultivating gomala (common) and forest lands be issued cultivation rights.
Homage was also paid to the former Chief Minister of Kerala V.S. Achuthanandan who died recently.
