The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine today launched the united victory campaign (UVC) in Orissa from Bhubaneswar.
The rally to mark the launch of the campaign was attended by CPI (M) secretary general, Prakash Karat, CPI secretary general A.B. Bardhan, NCP leader D P Tripathy and BJD supremo and Orissa chief minister, Naveen Patnaik among others.
Maharastra strongman and the NCP chief, Sharad Pawar, however, backed out of the today’s meeting on the pre-text of his aircraft not taking off from Delhi due to technical snag. It may be noted the Congress, which is a ally of NCP in the UPA and Maharashtra, had opposed Pawar joining the rally.
The parties, which attended the rally, promised to work together for fighting communalism, corruption and work for the betterment of the common people in the state.
Lambasting the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for not doing enough for the betterment of the common man, these leaders alleged that the people have been subjected to a lot of hardship due to the pro-rich policies of the UPA government.
Stating that new equation has been created in the state following the snapping the 11 year old alliance between the BJD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the leaders expressed the hope that a third alternative consisting of the regional parties will come to the power at the Centre.
Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik will be the next chief minister of the state for third time in a row, they vowed.
Speaking on the occasion, Prakask Karat, secretary general, CPI (M) said, the new alliance in the state is a historic decision and has impacted the entire country. This initiative will boost the non-UPA and non-NDA secular forces.
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Criticising the high economic prosperity claim made by the UPA, Karat said, out of 10 top rich people in the world 4 are Indians. On the other hand, the poor people are becoming poorer. While the slow down in the economy has caused loss of 10 lakh jobs in the country, more people will lose their jobs in future.
The price of the essential commodities like dal, rice, sugar remains at high level and the UPA government has ended the public distribution system (PDS) of the country.
Stating that the combine demands a change in the power equation at the Centre, the CPM leader said, BJD and Left will fight together for more power to the states. For this, Congress needs to be defeated both at the Centre and the state.
Secretary General, CPI , A B Bardhan said, Naveen inherits the Biju legacy to promote industrialisation in Orissa. Though some differences are there between the BJD and the Left over the process of industrialisation like the land acquisition, this will be solved through discussion, he added.
The chief minister Naveen Patnaik said, BJD, CPI, CPM and NCP have come together for the development of Orissa and the betterment of the common people.
Alleging that Congress has never given attention to Orissa, Patnaik said, the state has never got its due share from the mining royalty. The Centre meted out discriminatory treatment to Orissa which was reflected in the flood relief, railway development among others.
The alliance with BJP was broken as it was trying to damage the social fabric of the state. In the changed political situation, both UPA and NDA are getting weaker and regional parties are getting stronger. In the post-poll scenario, these regional parties will play an important role in the formation of the government.
Patnaik requested the voters to vote for BJD and alliance partners for a transparent, progressive and corruption free government. NCP leader D P Tripathy, Forward Bloc leader Naren Dey and national secretary of CPI, D Raja spoke in the meeting which was attended by over 25,000 people.