THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India jointly launched a week-long door-to-door campaign against the anti-people policies of the state and central governments across the state of Tamil Nadu.

At Chennai, the campaign was inaugurated by G Ramakrishnan, CPI(M) state secretary and D Pandian, CPI secretary. They met the people by going door-to-door in the locality of Thousand Lights Area in South Chennai district. G Ramakrishnan gave pamphlets to the people. Hundreds of CPI(M)-CPI cadres with red flags walked through the streets with the leaders. Addressing the campaign programme, Ramakrishnan said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the centre is pursuing the same policies for which the United Progressive Alliance government was voted out of power. They are privatising everything. Price rise has become a huge burden on the people, he said.

Strongly criticising the AIADMK government in the state, Ramakrishnan said that in Tamil Nadu, the law and order situation has worsened in the recent times. Attacks on Dalits, women and children are increasing, he said. Due to the failure of the monsoon, many districts in the state are reeling under drought. But despite this, the Jayalalithaa government is not ready to accept the fact and has not announced any relief measures, he said.

Nearly 89 lakhs of youth have no job opportunities in the state. This constituted 14 percent of the total youth population of the state, he pointed out. He also charged that the AIADMK government has no plan regarding this. It has not questioned the centre on its stand on various important issues including the fishermen issue. The state government has failed to stop sand smuggling and has been acting against those who question its policies and criticise its programmes. They were being ill-treated by the police and a few were even arrested, G Ramakrishnan added. He pointed out that even the government officials are attacked or murdered by the sand mafia.

With more than two lakh pamphlets, thousands of cadres of the Left parties launched the mass contact programme on August 25, which will end on August 31, across the state.

Concluding the campaign, the Left parties will hold a massive demonstration on September 1 across the state condemning the anti-people policies of the central and state governments.

PUDUCHERRY

In Puducherry also, the Left parties, the CPI (M) and the CPI, undertook a door-to-door campaign from August 25 to raise awareness amongst the people on the anti-people policies of the BJP-led government at the centre and the N R Congress government in the union territory. The Left parties will also undertake a one day-fast on September 1 in Puducherry and Karaikal regions as part of the agitation.

Earlier, CPI state secretary R Viswanathan and senior CPI(M) leader T Murugan said that the Modi government was following the same policies of the Congress-led regime, which has affected the people of the county and that the BJP government was trying to appease the corporates and MNCs by implementing policies favourable to them with greater speed.