UPON the culmination of the 16th All India Conference of CITU, a mammoth rally was taken out from Saidapet Metro to Singaravelar Thidal (YMCA, Nandanam) along the Anna Salai. This worker's orderly rally itself is significant considering this is the first time in 20 years a rally was allowed to be taken on this busy thoroughfare due to a ban by the Madras High Court.

Following a cultural programme, the public meeting was presided over by A Soundararajan, vice-president, CITU. President of CITU, K Hemalata in her address pointed out that the rights won over by the working class after many  heroic struggles is being watered down by the corporate-loving BJP government. The conference discussed in detail about this machination and CITU will face this challenge. She also said that the conference has decided to conduct struggles on the basis of 13 points charter of demands in the near future and will be taken up by building unity among other central trade unions except BMS of BJP. The CITU will also strive to build unity with peasants, agricultural workers, students and unemployed youth based upon this charter.

Tapan Sen, general secretary, CITU in his address said that the working class will not forsake its duty of questioning the discriminatory decisions of the government. Only through the language of unity the working class can teach a lesson to the rulers. The present BJP government is also dividing the toiling masses on the basis of religion. The vicious communal campaign at the behest of the BJP must be combated. He also said the decision of the BJP government to implement CAA, NPR and NRC is to divide the working class on religious lines. The toiling masses should be careful about such divisive measures of the government.

A K Padmanabhan , vice-president, CITU in his speech recalled the role of the working class leaders such as Singaravelar in organising India's first trade union and first May Day rally in this part of the country and reminded the workers about the decision of the conference to stop the movement of vehicles across the country for two minutes at 5 pm on January 30th, the day of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and observe silence during that period.

WFTU president-Michael Makwayiba in his powerful speech implored the assembled workers to keep in mind that irrespective of colour, irrespective of religion, the workers are getting exploited and they cannot escape from such capitalist exploitation either in the name of religion or colour or race. It is our bounden duty to achieve the rights of the working people and make them politically conscious. The toiling masses are real owners of all the resources in the earth and it is the duty of the communist parties to make the working class realise this. In this respect WFTU will walk hand in hand with the Indian working class.

A Soundararajan in his speech pointed out that despite the economic slowdown, unmindful of numerous suicides of peasants due to unbearable debts, the BJP government has showered its love to corporates by giving relief to the tune of Rs 1.25 lakh crores, the sum of which was robbed away from RBI kitty. During the six years of Modi rule, the workers are being downsized from permanent into contract workers. Hence, to change this situation, there is no other way out except by conducting militant struggles along with developing unity of trade unions and building up its strength. In that respect we shall always cherish the slogan of CITU: “unite and struggle".