From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: Lending his support to the movement by indigenous people of Assam against infiltration and right over land and resources, veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare on Thursday said that this agitation will give a new direction to the farmers’ and landless people’s movement in the country.
‘This movement for right over land and water in Assam will give a new direction and shape to the movement at all-India level,’ Hazare said, addressing a crowd of over 15,000 people at the AEI Field.
Anti-corruption leader Anna Hazare Thursday appealed to the people of Assam to wake up to corruption and get ready for a second freedom struggle to secure their rights.
The veteran activist was in Guwahati to address a national conclave organised on the problems of foreigners’ infiltration, land rights for the indigenous people, floods and erosion, and the proposed mega dams in the northeastern region.
Hazare said it took 90 years for the freedom fighters of the country to chase away the British from India, but the subsequent governments of the country are again inviting foreign companies to India and selling land, water, forests and other resources.
“The government should have made policies to help the people of the country and their economic development. Instead of that, the government is making policies to help these foreign companies,” he said.
Noted Gandhian leader Anna Hazare on Thursday said that he would travel the length and the breadth of the country from January next year for 18 months to give a boost to the anti-corruption movement through mass involvement to put pressure on the government for the benefit of the people of the country.
He said that the government must deliver for the benefit of the people and do away with corruption and loot of national resources and for that to happen a massive mass movement was the need of the hour.
Anna Hazare was addressing a mass rally organised here by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), a frontline mass organization in Assam.
Stating that the resources of the country are property of the people, Anna called upon Central government to formulate a legislation giving power to Gram Sabhas at grass root level.
“Gram Sabhas should be much more powerful than Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha as these will send representatives to State Assemblies and Lok Sabha. Any citizen of the country attaining the age of 18 years will become a member of Gram Sabha,” he said.
“We the people elect MLAs, MPs to legislative assemblies and Lok Sabha to manage our (people’s) property (resources of the country.”
“Now see how they are managing it. They have rather looted our property. The servants (MLAs, MPs) have converted us the owner (people) to servant. They have virtually forgotten that the government is the people (janata) and MLAs/MPs/officers are the servants of the people,” he said.
Regarding the KMSS long-standing demand for providing land to landless farmers in Assam, Anna Hazare today called upon the farmers of Assam to make it clear to the government that – ‘Aage jamin, piche vote (first give us land then only we will vote). The KMSS demands allotment of 12 bighas of farm land to every landless farmer in the State.
The Gandhian leader was though expected to speak on the burning problem of unabated illegal migration from Bangladesh to Assam; he did not say anything about it. (With agency inputs)