THE joint platform of central trade unions and independent industrial federations called for countrywide protests on September 23, 2020. This was on the immediate lockdown related demands of workers and toiling people, opposing the labour codes that curtail the existing rights and benefits of the workers and also the privatisation drive of the BJP led government.Workers across the country responded in a big way to this call.  Their participation in the demonstrations was even larger than that on the all India Protest Day on August 9, 2020, which was observed with the slogan ‘Save India’.

CPI(M) Polit-Bureau member Brinda Karat reported to the police about disturbing incidents wherein groups of young men have taken to roaming around after dark shouting slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and so on, not related to any religious function, in Shiv Vihar of North Delhi.She expressed concern that these incidents could have harmful consequences as this was the area where minority communities were attacked, homes burnt and families were forced to take shelter in relief camps.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) has given a call for observing September 25 as All India Protest Day against the three farm sector Bills. The Bills – the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill – were passed by parliament in utter disregard for established parliamentary procedures, federal principles, and rights of states and farmers.

THE recently published National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report brought into notice the issue of suicides by daily wage workers. The NCRB has started categorising daily wage workers in the ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides’ data since 2014. Though the number of suicides by daily wage workers has been continuously increasing since then, this was widely covered only this year.

Below we publish reports on the protests held across the country against the false charges made by the Delhi police on Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, renowned economist Jayati Ghosh, Delhi University professor Apoorvanand, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav and documentary filmmaker Rahul Roy, among other prominent personalities.