Karat calls for ouster of Jaya govt in polls

Madurai, Apr 15 (UNI) Calling for the ouster of the 'anti-democratic' Jayalalithaa Government in the May eight Assembly poll, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat urged the electorate to 'complete the process they began two years ago during the Lok Sabha elections.' Judging by the record of the last five years, continuation of the AIADMK in power would spell doom for the state, he said, addressing an election meeting in the city last night.

No State Government in the country was as autocratic and anti- democratic as the Jayalalithaa administration, which was intolerant of opposition and trampled on rights and liberties, he charged.

Stating that parliamentary democracy with an effective opposition was the bedrock of the Constitution, the Marxist stalwart asked if Dr Ambedkars Constitution was in operation in Tamil Nadu. If this was the case in the legislature, why had any movement or protest by the people been met with repression, he further queried.

Neglect of the rural poor and failure to address the problems concerning their livelihood had resulted in large scale migration, he said, and cited instances of people from Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu engaged in construction work in far off Himachal Pradesh. According to him farmers had even resorted to suicide and suffered a lot since a common feature in the villages was lack of work.

If there was unity among political parties which had fought the Lok Sabha election together, there was no way for Jayalalithaa to retain power. Then, it would be a clean sweep for Secular-Democratic parties and the Left, he claimed.

This would lead to major political change at the Centre besides leading to increasing isolation of the 'communal' BJP. Further, at the initiative of the Left, there was a paradigm shift in policies with issues and problems of the working classes gaining ascendance on the national agenda, the CPI(M) leader added.

Stressing the need for unity among secular forces, he said the DMK-led DPA should learn a lesson from Bihar, where a display of disunity had proved costly.

More UNI CR MIR SP1002