People from the affected villages of Narmada valley are starting a 'long march' to Delhi from November 6 to pose an "ethical challenge" to the President of India, asking him to stand up for the rights of the thousands of people who will be uprooted from
their land following the Supreme Court verdict on the Sardar Sarovar Project.
The march crossing several states will reach Delhi on November 11 and stay put for an "indefinite period" in protest against the verdict.
This was announced by Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar in the Capital on Friday.
"In the past the President had generated the faith that his heart beats for the poor. We will march seeking that faith. The President must use his constitutional powers so that the people can still have faith in the system," she said in a seminar held here
to discuss the verdict.
"It is a fight for the territorial rights of dalits and adivasis. We have no option left but to intensify this non-violent struggle so that an ethical challenge is posed to the system," said the NBA leader.
Medha Patkar said that she is not against the people of Gujarat, which is a canard. She demanded that the BJP-led Gujarat government should put a notice board in every village and issue an official letter about how much water is actually going to reach the
people and how it is going to benefit them, instead of drum beating against the NBA.
She expressed surprise as to why the Congress-led governments in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, while refusing to join LK Advani and Keshubhai Patel's 'dam inauguration' in Gujarat, has adopted a stance of "absolute apolitical silence".
