Left parties organised a state convention at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, Hyderabad, on September 10 demanding the Indian government to protect the democratic rights of the people. State secretariat member of CPI(M), D G Narasimha Rao, presided over the meeting.   K Srinivas, editor of Telugu daily Andhra Jyothi attended the meet as the chief guest and said that people all over the country are talking about Kashmir but the situation there is not as most people imagine. 

Srinivas said that Kashmir is under full siege and the people were not allowed to observe Muharram rituals. Leaders who voiced dissent have been jailed and lies like Ambedkar had opposed Article 370 are being spread, he said. He noted that because of Article 370 and reservations, the downtrodden have benefitted in Kashmir. He said that the BJP leaders are spreading false claims that the Article 370 has destroyed Kashmir.

Srinivas said that the BJP has now taken up the work of deciding on who is Indian citizen and who is not. To corporatise without leaving an inch of the country, is the only aim of BJP and so it has abolished Article 370 and 35(A) to handover the resources to corporates. The danger of any state being broken and made a union territory is upon the country, he said. Srinivas added that the Modi government has to be challenged for taking the drastic step without consulting the Kashmiris.

CPI(M) state secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram, said that abolition of Article 370 and 35(A) could lead to a threat to the country’s internal security. He said that not just Kashmir, but also the people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes also have special provisions and reservations are being implemented in the country. Veerabhadram said that in the scheduled areas, 1\70 Act is in operation and lands cannot be purchased in Bhadrachalam and  Act 371-D is in operation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Given the current situation, the rights of Bhadrachalam are endangered now, he said. No solution will come to Kashmir with the gun and political solution is the only way, he stressed.    

CPI state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy said that abolition of Article 370, 35(A) and division of Kashmir are against the constitution. Other Left leaders also spoke in this connection. Conventions and study circles were organised earlier by our party in almost all district centres.

CITU HOLDS CONVENTION ON ECONOMIC CRISIS

Earlier, a convention  was held at the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad on September 10 to discuss, “Economic slowdown and its impact on industrial workers”. It was presided over by Chukka Ramulu, state CITU president. Professor K Nageswar, the keynote speaker, said that even in the economic slowdown, free exploitation of workforce is rampant and it is still bringing profits to the big companies. Instead of raising the purchasing power of the people, the government is giving loans to corporates and is writing off debts. The lowering of interest rates and granting subsidies to the corporates is unsettling, he said. 

Nageswar said that the central government has written off loans worth Rs 5.5 lakh crores to the corporates and at the same time, only Rs 72,000 crores worth of loans have been written off for the farmers.  

He also pointed out that the state income has reduced by Rs 36 crores in the vote on budget compared to the present budget. He said that the chief minister of Telangana, K Chandrasekhara Rao is trying to escape from his responsibility by stating that the economic slowdown is centre’s responsibility. 

Nageswar questioned the CM’s integrity for saying that central policies are the only cause for the present slow down when he supported every anti-people decision of the central government including demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST).  “The CM is saying that state resources have been reduced because of economic slowdown and he cannot initiate any new schemes.  If the condition of state government itself is so pathetic, should he not worry about falling incomes of the common people,” he questioned.

The sales of consumer goods used by ordinary people have reduced but the articles used by the elite have not reduced. This shows economic inequality.

CITU, vice president Sudha Bhaskar said that in the coming days, the economic slowdown would become intense. He added that the production coming down, declaring  production holidays and retrenchment of workers is immoral. Saibabu, CITU state secretary, said that the employees were not paid more when there were profits and now, when the firms go into losses, they want the employees to take the hit. He asked how is it fair to remove workers. The charter of demands of workers is being ignored by all industries, he said. Paladugu Bhaskar and J Venkatesh also participated.