Left Parties Call for All India Protest

Against growing agonies of the people due to Withdrawal of Rs 1000 & Rs 500 notes

The leaders of the Left parties, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)- Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Bloc and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) met on November 22 and issued the following statement.

THE Left parties have decided that an all India protest action will be organised against the continuing mounting of agonies of the common people particularly the marginalised sections of our society. Already over 70 people have reportedly died as a result of this decision by the government to withdraw Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes from circulation.

All sections of the working people, fishermen, agricultural labour, daily wage labourers, MNREGA workers, farmers and bulk of rural India that relies on cash transactions as their only medium of exchange have been put to untold suffering and misery.

The central government has embarked on this move without proper homework and preparations. The banks even after two weeks are reporting that only 10 percent of the value of the withdrawn currency has reached them through the new notes. Crores of people in India are those being deprived to use any money for elementary exchanges required for their day-to- day life.

Under these circumstances, the Left parties demand that the central government permit the use of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes for all legal and legitimate transactions till the declared date of December 30, 2016 or until alternative arrangements are put in place and the required quantity of new currency notes are available. The cooperative banks, the life line of rural financial activity, must be allowed to transact all banking activity.

As the central government is criminally overlooking the misery of the common people, the Left parties have decided to launch a week long All India mass mobilisation programme from November 24 to 30.

The Left parties demand that the government immediately waive all loans to farmers, immediately recover over 11 lakh crore NPAs by confiscating their properties, investigate the Sahara-Birla papers revelations and initiate criminal proceedings, apart from annulling double taxation agreements with tax havens and publishing the names of foreign account holders and proceeding against them. The government’s much publicised tirade against black money is hollow without such measures.  The government must adequately compensate those who have lost their lives as well as those whose livelihood has been ruined.

The Left parties appeal to all those who are opposed to this decision of the government to join these actions. The Left parties have decided to work towards a wider mobilisation with other opposition parties for an all India protest day. The date of this protest will be synchronised with the day that will be arrived at for mutual agreement with other opposition parties in the country.