No introspection or direction in Governor’s address: Dr. JP

Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan’s address to the joint session of the State Legislature is deeply disappointing in that it reflected neither introspection nor direction, commented Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Lok Satta Party President and MLA from Kukatpally.

The Governor went through the Constitutional ritual and indulged in sheer escapism by not touching upon many grave issues confronting the State, added Dr. JP.

The Lok Satta leader pointed out that although Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the epicenter of corruption going by the number of CBI and ACB raids in the recent past, the Governor does not even acknowledge it as a problem, leave alone indicate what his Government plans to do about it. There is not even a cursory acknowledgment of the liquor mafia bribing Ministers, legislators, bureaucrats and media as revealed by ACB raids. The Governor is silent on the Telangana problem which has been agitating all the regions of the State. Although passions might have subsided, concerns remain very much. Yet, the Governor does not talk of empowering people and engendering confidence among them.

Dr. JP faulted the Governor for maintaining eloquent silence on the recent Supreme Court judgment on allocation of 2G spectrum and all other natural resources in a petition filed by the Lok Satta and others. The Lok Satta Party, he recalled, had exposed the State Government’s capricious allotment of vast tracts of coastal areas to private parties to such an extent that it could not provide a suitable site for a shipbuilding proposed by the Union Government.

Dr. JP said the Governor does not acknowledge the crisis in the agriculture sector. The State Government has not been able to ensure the minimum support price for a number of crops and does not bother even to announce the State advised price (SAP) for sugarcane. The Federation of Independent Farmers’ Associations (FIF) is organizing a Dandi-like march from Andhra Pradesh to Karnatka to defy the law which prevents farmers from marketing paddy/rice outside the State.

Referring to the parlous state of the healthcare sector, Dr. JP said that even teaching hospitals are going without intravenous fluids like dextrose and saline and material for carrying out urine sugar tests. Educational standards in schools have plummeted going by annual surveys. Many parts of the State capital are reeling under severe water shortage even as the entire countryside is going without power. Yet, the Governor would not say what the Government proposes to do.

Dr. JP said the State’s claim of being fiscally responsible is hollow going by the Principal Accountant General’s report. The Union Government withdrew the Rs.703 crore it falsely claimed as incentive under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act in 2008-09. During 2009-10, the State once again claimed to have conformed to Central fiscal guidelines by halting all deposit transactions.

The Governor’s address comes as a deep disappointment, said Dr. JP.