Singh slams govt yet again; calls it a "property dealer"

New Delhi, Aug 13: Former Army chief General

seems to be a man on a mission to root out corruption from the system. After expressing solidarity with

in their campaign against corruption, Singh made an appearance in the protest staged by

against the menace of black money. Slamming the government in the public platform, Singh stated in his speech that the government was a "property dealer" which takes over farmers' land in the name of development.

VK Singh's earlier appearance was when he was one of the prominent persons who appealed to Anna and his team who were on a hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar. He also backed Team Anna's move towards a political alternative following a weak response from the government on the issue of the Lokpal Bill.

Singh's campaign in support of farmer's rights came to the fore in Baba Ramdev's protest venue and he made a scathing speech on the issue there. In his speech, he had claimed that over two lakh farmers had committed suicide since 1995 and accused the government of taking over their land in the name of development. He stated, "Problems of farmers will have to be taken to the forefront of this movement...The government is taking land from farmers in the name of development. The government is working as a property dealer."

He also slammed the government on the number of scams surfacing every day and said that the value of each scam was bigger than the previous reported one. He commented, "What we want is complete all round development. Money shouldn't be distributed among just 4-5 per cent of the people only."

Singh also criticised government policies and said, "After liberalisation, you can get a pizza within half-an-hour but you won't get an ambulance in more than two hours. You can get a bottle of water for Rs 15 but you won't get clean drinking water from the tap. Only 5-7 per cent of the population is benefited. Rest are left behind. Whatever money comes, it is held by 4-5 per cent"

Powering up the sentiments of the crowd, Singh said that democracy in today's times meant votebank politics and added that democratic institutions had become hollow. "It should be the nation first...," he said. He mentioned that people will have to rise above caste, creed and religion and fight against corruption.

OneIndia News