Dear Friends,
I honestly wish I did not have to write this letter!
Once again, a totally unnecessary protest has been forced onto us. Some of you will frown and perhaps disagree. To you, I ask, what choice are we left with?? To keep quiet one more year and then lobby at the time of Budget 2010, to be let down once again and then wait one more year!! That’s exactly what we have been doing for precisely 63 years.
Learning from our past experiences, this year, we made preparations in advance. A nation-wide cross-disability consultation was facilitated and based on that our recommendations had been worked out. We had sent it to both the Ministers much in advance. And we lobbied hard. Okay, we didn’t expect all our suggestions to go through but that the entire Union Budget will literally not have a word on disability issues and that except the usual stuff, Mamta Banerjee’s Rail Budget also will have no development platform for India’s 70 million disabled, at least I for one had not expected in the worst of my nightmares.
We retain full faith in UPA Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and we continue to have the highest expectations from Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. We are not fully angry with the Finance Minister or the Railway Minister but are deeply deeply disappointed. Hurt actually is the correct word.To not react and to just sit quietly goes against the spirit of our Movement. Therefore, protest we must and protest we will.
I request each one of you to please come and join us and to spread the word and motivate all others to come and lend strength. We will hold a Candle Light Vigil on Friday, 24th July, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., outside 13, Talkatora Road, the residence of Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee after that we will begin our March towards the Prime Minister’s Residence. We will be totally peaceful. Even slogans will not be raised. We will March quietly and totally silently. You can bring placards and banners and lots and lots of candles.
There is no time. We need your maximum and unqualified support. Please call 26265647 or 26265648 or 9971110992 (Shilpa) or 9811862407 (Dorodi) to confirm your participation and give us an idea of how many people you will be able to mobilize.
With best regards, as ever,
(Javed Abidi)
Convenor
Disabled Rights Group |
