Left parties to start food security movement

BHUBANESWAR: The left parties - CPI (M), CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP will stage a five-day sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar from July 30 to August 3 against price rise and to demand the right to food through a universal public distribution system (PDS). To support the cause of the central committee, the State committees of the parties would stage dharna in front of the State Assembly here from July 30 and 31 for two days.

In their five-point charter of demands, the Left parties urged the Government for adopting the universal PDS by scrapping the present classification of BPL and APL system. Blaming the ‘highly dubious’ poverty estimates of Planning Commission, the Left parties said that the Government should reject such wrong estimates. The parties also demanded it should implement Swaminathan Committees’ recommendations to save the farmers of the country and to take steps on war footing to control the price rise.  

The left parties slammed the UPA Government which failed to control prices of most essential commodities. The prices of mustard oil increased by 32 per cent, sugar 15 per cent and gram 71 per cent. The price of potatoes is up by 91 per cent, the parties added.