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Unionist at heart

Every political party should go back to its originality

"To have a stable Congress Government at the Centre and in the States, we must re-visit Gandhism. It is the only way to strengthen the party and take the country towards holistic development."

This was the view of the APCC member and former INTUC leader, S. Gopal.

Born and brought up in Visakhapatnam, his association with the Congress goes beyond four decades. He joined the student Congress movement (now Youth Congress) during his graduation days in Mrs.A.V.N. College. From 1974 to 1977 he was the president of City Youth Congress. In 1978 he was elected as the executive member of APCC and he continues to be its member till date.

Trade union link

Though he started his political career with the Youth Congress, he was drawn towards the trade union movement very early. "Visakhapatnam is the hub of public sector undertakings in AP. It was and continues to be the workers city. I was deeply moved by the plight of the working class. I started supporting the trade union movement in Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Naval Dockyard (ND) and Naval Arms Depot (NAD). From 1982 to 1994 I was the member of All-India Congress Committee (labour cell) and held the post of chairman in AP Labour Cell). During my union days we worked for the regularisation of over 2,000 employees in ENC, ND and NAD and for the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations."

Though he feels that the relevance of trade unions has come down, of late, with the floating of workers committee by every PSU, they have a major role to play in the coming years over the privatisation issue. He feels that India is a country with a population of over 100 crores, and so labour-intensive units should be the priority of the government.

"I am totally not against privatisation. But certain units in the core sector should continue to exist as PSUs, while education and pharmacy could be privatised."

Value based politics

On the political front, Mr. Gopal advocates value based politics. "I strongly believe that the Congress should go back to Gandhism. It was its forte, and in the coming years it would continue to be so.

There was an erosion in the party, but the Dandi March proves that the party leadership is going back to its originality. One should not deviate from its originality.

In 1998, the Congress could win only 116 seats out of 540 in the Lok Sabha elections while the Bharatiya Janata Party scored over us based only on its main agenda of Hindutva. The BJP distanced itself from Hindutva and it crashed.

On the city

The city is poised for a big leap once the Visakhapatnam- Kakinada industrial corridor becomes a reality. But before that the Governments both at the Centre and the State should seriously think of a revival package for sick industries like Hindustan Shipyard Limited and Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels Limited.

S.B.

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