SCS, captive mines for VSP, Amaravati figure in CPI manifesto

CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna and other party leaders releasing copies of the election manifesto in Vijayawada on Wednesday.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) released its manifesto on Wednesday and urged people to vote for the secular INDIA bloc.

In the manifesto, the CPI promised to strive for removal of the clause ‘Special Package’ in the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014, and fight for Special Category  Status (SCS) as promised at the time of the bifurcation.

The CPI said it would strive for continuation of Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh and setting up High Court benches in Kurnool and Visakhapatnam.

Addressing the media here, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna said his party would initiate action plans to operate the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) with captive mines and stop its privatisation.

The CPI would also fight for securing the special economic package for the backward areas of Rayalaseema and Uttarandhra, he said. More importantly, the CPI would fight against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register for Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), he said.

Referring to the 95 promises made in the manifesto, Mr. Ramakrishna said the CPI would focus its energies on the implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and ensure that remunerative prices were paid to the farmers.

The farmers would be paid ₹15,000 per acre as financial support, he said. The CPI would strive for withdrawal of the Andhra Pradesh Land Ownership Act (Titling Act). It would stop  oil imports and encourage oil seed cultivation. The party would also fight for withdrawal of smart meters, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was destroying all government agencies and institutions in the country, Mr. Ramakrishna alleged. People would have to teach a fitting lesson to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for lending support to the BJP.