BANGALORE, February 8: The Lok Shakti, headed by Ramakrishna Hegde, today unveiled its manifesto, with a pledge to developing India as a great economic power through selective open market policy.The manifesto, released by Lok Shakti's state unit president Dr Jeevaraj Alva at a press conference, expressed its commitment to self-reliance, and globalisation which will provide appropriate technology and investment without hurting indigenous skills and compromising India's self-respect.
The party, it said, would˙accord complete autonomy to public sector enterprises to make them self reliant and producers of quality goods and services subject to public accountability, and design and introduce a social policy for Indian and corporate bodies to enable them to invest in the enrichment of human capital.
Lok Shakti is in favour of creating free trade zones with preferential treatment to export oriented units, and rationalising the system of taxation, and would accord priority to the development of theinfrastructure, especially in the areas of communication, transport, power, railways, roads, canals, irrigation and tourism.
The manifesto said the party would introduce a time-bound programme for providing compulsory primary education with particular emphasis on the girl child, eradicating existing illiteracy and formulating a new educational policy that was in tune with the country's needs today.
The party, the manifesto said, was committed to the establishment of a truly federal state with decentralisation of power right down to the grassroots level.
Domestically, the party's emphasis will be on cooperation, collaboration, accountability and constructive dialogue even with those who it chooses to oppose, and externally, building strategic alliances with nations whom it values and who values it in return.
Appealing to the people to confer a resounding mandate in favour of Lok Shakti, the party said it will initiate a radical restructuring of the bureaucracy through administrative reforms to make theexecutive accountable and introduce a system of providing multipurpose identity cards to all the citizens. According to the manifesto, Lok Shakti recommends introduction of military training to all citizens completing 12 years of schooling and having attained the age of 18 to further the cause of national integration.
It resolved to supply drinking water in every village˙along with the provision of sanitation facilities in a time-bound manner, encourage capital formation and expansion of credit facilities in the agriculture sector, introduce far reaching electoral reforms and appoint a high power committee to work on a credible anti-defection law.
Lok Shakti proposes to introduce measures that would secure the country's senior citizens in reasonable comfort including old-age pensions and travel concessions and other amenities.
The party was committed to introducing a series of effective schemes to˙ provide housing and basic amenities for the rural and urban poor, and provide relief for the unemployedand for the working class whose real income was falling over the years.
Lok Shakti would increase farm input subsidies, including fertilizer, to enable farmers to increase agricultural output, it said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
