December 01, 2024
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Tripura: Worker-Peasant Rally in Tripura

Haripada Das

ON November 26, 2024, in response to the all-India call by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions, the kisan masses and working people of Tripura staged widespread protest demonstrations across the state, including in its capital, Agartala. The protests marked the fourth anniversary of the historic kisan movement that began on November 26, 2020. The programme was jointly organised by the AIKS, CITU, Agricultural Workers Union, and Ganamukti Parishad, based on a 12-point charter of demands. These included ensuring remunerative prices for agricultural produce with a 50 per cent profit margin over production costs, repealing the four labour codes, abolishing contractual recruitment in government departments, setting a minimum monthly wage at Rs 26,000 and a minimum pension at Rs10,000, increasing MGNREGA wages to Rs 600 per day, and guaranteeing 100 workdays per year under the scheme. Leaders of other left mass organisations, including those of RSP, Forward Bloc, and CPI, also participated in the protest.

In Agartala, a central rally mobilised kisans and workers from three nearby subdivisions: Mohanpur, Jirania, and Dukli. Protesters, carrying flags and placards with various demands, marched from Orient Chowmohani through the town's main roads and gathered at Paradise Chowmohani, where leaders of peasant and trade union movements addressed the rally.

Pabitra Kar, state convener of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, highlighted that the Modi government had been forced to roll back the pro-corporate farm laws in 2021 due to the united kisan movement. However, he criticised the government for its continued refusal to address key demands, including remunerative prices for crops. He warned that the nationwide protest was a precursor to a larger, intensified kisan-worker struggle if the demands were not met.

CITU state president Manik Dey described the current government as a despotic regime serving corporate interests at the expense of millions of suffering citizens. He urged the masses to recognise the power of united struggles, emphasizing the necessity of preparing for bigger confrontations in the future. CITU state general secretary Sankar Datta, Agricultural Workers Union state secretary Shyamal Dey, UTUC leader Joy Gobinda Debroy, and AIKS (Ajoy Bhavan) leader Rash Bihari Ghosh also addressed the rally, reinforcing the call for unity and continued struggle.

Similar rallies of kisans and workers were held at the headquarters or designated locations in the state’s 20 other subdivisions, demonstrating widespread participation and solidarity in the fight for justice for toiling people.