Bhagwat remarks aim to vitiate young minds, says Raghavulu

Vijayawada: CPM politburo member B V Raghavulu criticised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remarks on secularism and religion, alleging that they could vitiate the minds of the youth. He said governance in the country should be based on the Constitution and the principle of civic duty rather than religious doctrines.

Addressing a press conference at Makineni Basavapunnaiah Vignana Bhavan (MBVK) here on Saturday, along with CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao, Raghavulu spoke on Bhagwat’s remarks, US policies, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and other issues.

Raghavulu alleged that Bhagwat’s advocacy of governance based on “dharma” amounted to questioning the constitutional principle of secularism. He sought clarity on what was meant by dharma and said the country’s administration should follow the constitutional duties of citizens.

The Constitution, he said, was framed by freedom fighters and should remain the basis for governance. The CPM opposed attempts to give religion a role in determining the principles of State administration, he added.

On US policies, Raghavulu urged the Centre to oppose what he termed unilateral and aggressive measures by the US. He said higher tariffs and a rise in crude oil prices could increase the economic burden on India and ultimately affect people. He called for a foreign policy that reduced dependence on any single country for energy requirements.

Referring to the SIR exercise, Raghavulu alleged that the process could adversely affect the democratic electoral system and claimed that large numbers of people had received notices. He also alleged that constitutional institutions were being misused for electoral gains. Srinivasa Rao alleged that the state government had remembered the poor only ahead of the local body elections and criticised the proposed distribution of house-site pattas. He claimed that lakhs of families were living on government land and alleged that genuine beneficiaries were not receiving adequate land.

He also raised issues relating to 22-A lands, pensions and reservations, alleging that the government’s policies were not adequately addressing the concerns of poor and weaker sections.

The CPM state secretary said the party’s objective was to oppose what it termed anti-people policies of the coalition government. He said the CPM would work with Left, democratic and secular forces and coordinate with parties willing to join hands. Discussions had already been held with the CPI, he added.

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The Hans India