Date:01/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/01/stories/2008070153540300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Bhoo Poratam from July 15

Staff Reporter

CPI (M) to lay siege to the Assembly during monsoon session

VISAKHAPATNAM: The CPI (M) will launch the second phase of Bhoo Poratam (land struggle) on a grand scale from July 15. State president of the CPI (M) affiliated-Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Karmikala Sangham P. Somaiah told reporters on Monday that they would lay siege to the Assembly during the monsoon session.

Refuting the State’s claim that it had distributed 6.5 lakh acres free of cost among the poor , he said only 25,000 acres which was under occupation was regularised.

Mr. Somaiah said the government should have implemented the recommendations of the Koneru Ranga Rao committee and distributed 1.23 crore acres among 40,000 agriculture workers. He said during the first phase of Bhoo Poratam, the police had booked cases against 50,000 agitators after arresting them and killed three innocent persons during firing at Muddigonda in Khammam district.

Stating that there was no progress with regard to cases booked against the protestors, he said the government should regularise the lands occupied by them and distribute the cases registered against them for occupying vacant lands.

He said during second phase of Bhoo Poratam, they would undertake sowing operation in the agriculture land occupied by them in the earlier phase. Later they would erect red flags on assigned lands and distribute them among landless poor.

On failure to implement National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, he said the government was under pressure to suspend its implementation by the industrialist/landlords’ lobby.