ALL sections of people are suffering due to the pro-corporate, authoritarian policies of the BJP led central government. This government is getting exposed due to its own wrong policies. The demonetisation had disastrous impact on the life of common people. The GDP which was 7.9 per cent in 2016 April-June quarter has declined to 5.7 per cent in the same period in 2017 resulting in a loss of Rs 3.3 lakh crore to the people. The skyrocketing prices of petrol and diesel is leading to unbearable price rise of essential commodities, thus further appropriating the hard earned surplus of all the labouring classes. Imposing of GST has wrecked petty production and resulted in further stagnation in the economy.

The central government is opening flood gates of privatisation emboldened by 100 per cent FDI to aid corporate profiteering in all sectors, from agriculture to railways and even defense. Workers and farmers are at the receiving end and unrest is growing among them as expressed in the Mandsaur incident of police firing and murder of six farmers and the massive strike action as witnessed in Maharashtra and Rajasthan recently. All sections of the society are experiencing the terrible impact of privatisation of health and commercialisation of education.

The right wing authoritarian forces led by RSS-BJP combine are hell bent on hate campaign and mob violence to impose communal polarisation to divert the wrath of the people against the neo-liberal economic policies. The murder of Gauri Lankesh is the latest incident that exposes the severe threat to the democratic polity, freedom of expression, right to life of citizens. The judicial assertion on many recent verdicts such as on fundamental rights of citizen for privacy,  cattle trade ban, conviction of Dera Sacha Souda chief Ram Rahim Gurmeet etc are positive signs that expose the authoritarian and divisive outlook of Modi government.

The right wing opposition parties including Congress (I), JD(U) etc are not willing to give up their allegiance to the neo-liberal policies and resist the attack on livelihood and fundamental rights of the people.

MASSIVE STRUGGLES CENTERED ON ISSUE- BASED UNITY IS THE SOLUTION

In this situation, building widest unity of all democratic secular and progressive forces at the all India level by mobilising the people on issue based struggles is the need of the hour. In this context, the Left and democratic mass, class and social organisations across the country are joining hands to launch a united platform ‘Jan Ekta Jan Adhikar Andolan’ to intensify the issue-based united struggle. It will strive to build widest unity of the people. An all India convention on September 18 is being held at Mavlankar Hall in New Delhi to resist the intensified onslaught on people’s rights and the democratic fabric of the country.

In a statement issued on September 13, the members of the organising committee of this convention, said that the convention will facilitate the coming together of more than a hundred all India and regional based organisations. JANEJAA will work towards common cause and will try to bring all possible Left, democratic, secular and progressive movements, organisations and individuals willing to fight neo-liberal policies and forces of authoritarianism and communalism.

JANEJAA stands for people’s unity, people’s rights, people’s resistance – Jan Ekta, Jan Adhikar, Jan Pratirodh. The convention will adopt a resolution on the current socio-political and economic situation, a charter of demands and future plan of action.

The convention will express its support and solidarity to the ongoing struggles by the joint platform of central trade unions – the three day’s continuous mass dharna from November 9-11 before parliament and the struggles by the joint platform of peasant organizations – the march to parliament on November 20.

Activists of mass, class and social organisations representing workers, peasants, agricultural workers, students, youth, women, employees, tribals, dalits, minorities, other socially oppressed sections, writers, cultural groups, intellectuals, secular progressive individuals etc from all the states will assemble in this convention.

The decision of the convention was taken after a series of consultations and meetings of various trade unions, peasant, agricultural workers, women, youth, students’ organisations and social movements.