Naveen govt acting as agent of Industrial houses: CPM

Bhubaneswar, Dec 19 (UNI) CPM Orissa state secretary Janardan Pati today alleged that the BJD-BJP government headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been acting as an 'agent' for the industrial houses at the cost of the farmers.

Addressing mediapersons here, Mr Pati said the party's three-day state conference, that concluded at Cuttack on December 17, had taken strong exception to the handing over of vast mineral resources to the business houses and demanded that the minerals be sold to them at the prevailing market price.

The CPM state secretary said a nexus of the vested business houses, politicians and bureaucrats had become the major beneficiary in the so called industrialisation process while the farmers, teachers and labourers were the worst sufferers.

The conference, he said, adopted resolutions supporting the teachers movement in the state and demanded that at least 30 per cent of the budget be allocated on education including five per cent on higher education.

The conference demanded that all the 35 lakh people enrolled under the Rural Employment Guarantee Act (REGA) be provided job and expressed grave concern over large scale unemployment in the state.

Mr Pati said though nearly two lakh posts were lying vacant the government was not initiating any step to fill up them.

He said the party would like to carry the political parties other than the Congress and the BJD-BJP combine with them to organise a massive rally in the state capital in March next against the anti- people policy of the government.

UNI