THE people of Kerala wrote a new history in the struggle against pro-rich and pro-communal policies of the state and central governments on August 11 by making a 1,000-kilometre long human chain from Manjeshwaram to Thiruvananthapuram. Thousands of people from all walks of life lined up along national and state highways across the state to protest against the policies that are making the lives of people, particularly the poor and the downtrodden, miserable.

It is estimated that around 25 lakh people participated in the struggle organised on the call of CPI(M) Central Committee. The hour-long protest started at 4 PM from Manjeswaram, the northernmost village of Kerala, to Raj Bhavan in Thriruvananthapuram in the south. While CPI(M) Polit Bureau member S Ramachandran Pillai participated in the demonstration in Manjeshwaram, Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury led the campaign in Thriruvananthapuram. Besides Yechury, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan addressed the gathering in front of Raj Bhavan.

Participants raised slogans against the policies which cause price rise and miseries in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. Apart from CPI (M) workers, freedom fighters, writers, actors, cultural activists, film activists and leaders from other political parties also participated in the struggle. 500 public meetings were also held simultaneously. At the end of the programme, the participants took a pledge to continue the struggle against the anti-people policies.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M A Baby and Central Committee member M C Josephine participated in demonstrations in Vaitila and Ankamali of Eranakulam district, respectively. Central Committee members Thomas Isaac, P K Gurudasan, E P Jayarajan participated in Alappuzha, Kollam and Kannur respectively.

Addressing the gathering in Thiruvananthapuram, Yechury said the promises of a new life that the Modi government gave the people when it came to power are increasingly appearing hollow with every passing day. “Within this one year, nothing has been accomplished in the direction of what they promised. On the other hand, there is a relentless pursuit of the hardcore communal agenda with the purpose of transforming this secular democratic republic into the RSS version of a rabid intolerant Hindu Rashtra,” he said.

Highlighting the agrarian distress, he said that the crisis in agriculture in the past one year is worst since Independence. “In the past one year, the number of farmer suicides has increased by 26 per cent. This government is manipulating statistics to show that India is the fastest growing country in the world,” Yechury said. He said that the people of the country are looking towards Kerala to show the way this struggle has to be taken forward. “If you want to fight corruption, it cannot only be a moral question. It also has to be a question of fighting the policies that breed corruption. The CPI(M) is talking about alternative pro-people policies and mobilising people over these issues to force the Centre and State to change these policies,” he said. (END)