THE 5^TH Jharkhand State Conference of CITU was organised in the colliery town of Ramgarh on September 14-15, 2016.  

Ramgarh inherits the legacy of struggle against oppressors since long. It was the venue of the historic Ramgarh session of Congress in1940 which witnessed the differences between left and right elements within the Congress, led by Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi, respectively. Prior to that, it was an important centre of the 1857 revolt. After independence, the town has been the site of uprisings against feudal elements. The city has also seen the historic movement of coal workers against private colliery owners.

The proceedings commenced with the hoisting of the crimson flag by CITU state president Sudhir Das and paying homage to the martyrs of mass movements. Thereafter, CITU secretary Prakash Viplav placed the condolence resolution. Basudeb Acharya addressing the inaugural session of the conference said the Modi regime came to power with the slogan of ‘sab ka sath, sab ka vikas’ but in the present situation, the slogan has become restructured as ‘corporates ke sath, corporates ka vikas’. In other words, the government is shamelessly serving the interests of corporate at the cost of the toiling masses of the country. The situation demands strong and united movements of the working class.

CITU general secretary Tapan Sen spoke about the anti-worker and pro-corporate amendments in labour laws advocated by the BJP-led government. He said that the government wants to erode the rights and protections enjoyed by the workers, through pro-corporate amendments in labour laws. At the same time, the government is playing communal cards to disrupt the unity of the working class. The sulk of the workers against the government can well be judged by the united and militant participation of 18 crore workers in the historic all-India general strike on September 2.

P K Ganguly of AITUC also addressed the inaugural session of the conference.

In the delegate session, D D Ramanandan placed the general secretary’s report which was unanimously passed by the conference. The report expressed grave concern at the poor state of Public Sector Undertakings in Jharkhand, which form the backbone of the state economy, due to policies of the central and state governments. At the same time, a nexus of corporates, mafia and bureaucrats are paving the way for big corporate to loot the immense mineral wealth of Jharkhand. The state government is trying to enforce pro-corporate amendments in land and labour laws, setting aside the interests of the peasants and workers of Jharkhand. Neo-liberal policies pursued by the state and central governments are intensifying the exploitation of the toiling masses. The country is going through a period of jobless growth, where growth in GDP is not being matched by growth in real wages or improvement of living standards of the working class. The wealth of a handful of corporate houses has increased immensely while the plight of the working class has become more miserable. At the same time, the government is trying to fan communal feelings with an aim to disrupt the unity of the working class.

In these conditions, the CITU should lead the working class and intensify its struggles against the nexus of neo-liberalism and communalism. Ramanandan laid emphasis on the need to build a strong organisation in order to carry on movements in the interests of the working class. 33 delegates participated in the discussion.

Workers from coal, steel, copper, iron ore mines, stone quarries, beedi industry, transport, construction, heavy engineering, pharmaceuticals and cinema industries and scheme workers participated in the conference. 194 delegates, including 34 women, from 34 unions affiliated to CITU attended the delegate session, presided by a five-member presidium of K K Tripathi, Sudhir Das, Md Iqbal, Mithilesh Singh and Manju Munda.

The conference elected 27 state office-bearers and a 56-member state committee with A K Roy as the chief patron, S K Baksi and T N Singh as patrons, Sudhir Das as state president, Prakash Viplav as general secretary and Anirban Bose as treasurer.

The conference ended with a pledge to intensify the movements of the working class against the neo-liberal, pro-capitalist and anti-worker policies of the central and state governments and to fight communal elements trying to disrupt the unity of the working class.