Be politically active, Aruna Roy tells students

Express News Service : 05 Jun 2010 03:08:45 AM IST

CHENNAI: "As students it is crucial that you participate in active politics and question the functioning of the government" well known social activist Aruna Roy told students from 15 states.

Addressing students at the inaugural of the 5th national convention of All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF) here on Friday, she said politics was different from political parties.

The fourday event was organised to enlighten student leaders to be instruments of change at the grassroots level and get involved in active politics.

Aruna also urged students to effectively use the Right to Information Act (RTI) to bring about the responsibility among politicians and bureaucrats.

"Politicians and bureaucrats are public servants. They are paid to work and the government spends public money. So, it is their duty to give accounts of how public money is spent," she said.

"Through RTI we can access all that a Member of Parliament or Member of Legislative Assembly can access," she added.

She said the government had to put Bt Brinjal on moratorium because people used RTI to know its negativity and spread that information to others. "Indian politics is a travesty as most of the elected members represent himself or herself and not people like us," Roy said. Talking about her 30 years of experience with her organisation, the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, she said that 60 per cent of the country's population living in rural areas were not treated as citizens, but as subjects.

Her speech seems to have made an impression upon the students. "I am inspired from Aruna Roy's talk, I would like to go back and help my people in uniting themselves to fight against corruption and spread awareness of importance of people in politics," said Anand Fidelish, a student from West Champaran, Bihar, who was present at the inaugural function.

Aruna criticised the government's policy of attracting foreign investments and setting up of large industries in the name of trickle down plan saying that all that goes from top to bottom was a hole and not development.