Former CBI JD Lakshminarayana to enter politics

Tirupati: Former CBI Joint Director VV Lakshminarayana on Saturday announced his entry into politics and declared that he is ready to work with any likeminded organisation which endorses his policies for development with a thrust on rural and agriculture development. ``Entering into politics became imperative for me to play a larger role to bring a total change in the rural sector and in agriculture and to bring back the past glory to the villages,’’ he averred.

He also announced that a `People’s Policy’ is under preparation which he said will be the `mantra’ for him to achieve his aims including rural development, corruption-free society and welfare of all sections. The former CBI Joint Director said that the question of joining any party or alliance or going separately does not arise now and he will decide only after getting response from others on his `People’s Policy’ that will be finalised soon.

Speaking to media here on his study tour covering all the 13 districts in the state and reveal his future course, Lakshmimarayana said that he has embarked on a web campaign on `People’s Policy’. The policy will also be based on his findings and the representations, problems that were brought to him from different sections of people in his just completed 13 districts tour.

He said he will submit a report on his findings to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to take follow up action. Disclosing some salient features of `People’s Policy’ which will also be a web based peoples manifesto, he said it will include district agriculture policy instead of the present state level agriculture planning and also appointing of agriculture officer for every panchayat against the present one officer for every mandal.

Besides, there will be separate policies for weavers, fishermen, youth and differently abled. ‘The concept will be more on smart villages than smart cities to ensure rural development, boost up agriculture and also revive the traditional art and cultural forms to rejuvenate the villages,’’ he said. With the agriculture in crisis and farmer caught in various problems like debts and lack of remunerative prices, the villages lost their sheen and remaining lifeless, he said while vowing to bring back their past glory.

Another major plan in the policy is wiping out `belt shops’ and to introduce total prohibition in a phased manner. Modification of NREGS to link it up with agriculture for the benefit of farmers, setting up a separate tomato board to stabilize its price to avoid loses to farmers, strengthening market yards and expanding cold storage facilities for boosting agriculture are some of schemes proposed in the policy.

In this connection he affirmed that farmers are demanding only one thing that is implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations in toto to ensure remunerative price for their produces and make agriculture profitable. They are not expecting subsidies, loans or loan waiver or any other things.