PUT money in the pockets of the people! This was the clarion demand of the Left Parties who organised massive campaign in the country as part of the all India call given against the ruinous economic policies of Modi government. Generate employment and increase the demand is the focal issue raised during the campaign.

Below we publish reports of actions and protest demonstrations held in different parts of the country organised by the five Left Parties-CPI, CPI(ML), FB, RSP and CPI(M).

Chattisgarh

AT Noorani Chowk Raipur, a protest demonstration was held by three Left Parties-CPI(M), CPI(ML) and CPI in which hundreds of activists from Raipur, Durg, Dhamtri, Korba and Bilaspur participated.

Addressing the dharna Sanjay Parate, state secretary of the CPI(M) said that demonetisation and GST has severely hit the common people. The savings of the workers, peasants and other sections of the people has fallen steeply and majority of them are in debt. They do not have money in their pocket and this is the main reason for the economic slump. He said in the last quarter there was a fall of Rs 1 lakh crore on the social sector works. This expenditure could have created 570 crore work days and 5.7 crore rural people would have got 100 days work in the country.

Brijender Tiwari, secretary of the CPI(ML) said that the BJP government in the last five years has blatantly privatised the public sector units. This has created massive unemployment. In the last three years more than 5 crore people lost their jobs. He said there is a pertinent demand that the minimum wage should be Rs 450  per month in the state however the government is giving just Rs 178. This is the main reason for malnourishment and has led to a situation where the country has fallen in hunger index from 55th position to 102nd.

The proceedings of the protest meeting was conducted by Dharmraj from CPI(M) and presided over by B Sanyal from the CPI(ML).

(Sanjay Parate)

Jharkhand

IN the capital city of Ranchi a protest march was taken out on October 16 by the Left Parties. Later a demand charter addressed to the prime minister was submitted to the deputy commissioner. The eight point demand charter includes demands of the people: generate employment by increasing public investment; a minimum wage of Rs 18,000; a subsistence allowance to those workers who were forced to leave; stop the privatisation of public sector; increase the allocation on MNREGA; provide remunerative price to the farmers and ensure one time loan waiver; minimum pension –widow/old age should be enhanced to Rs 3,000; ensure implementation of forest rights act.

A public meeting was held at Jakir Hussain Park Ranchi. Sukhnath Lohra, district secretary of the CPI(M) spoke in the beginning and placed the eight points before the people. Gopikant Baksi, state secretary of the CPI(M) while addressing the meeting said that because of the ruinous policies of Modi government there is an economic slump in the country. He said these policies are giving massive dividends to the big corporates and robbing the poor. Bhuvneshwar Prasad Mehta, former MP and state secretary of CPI also addressed the meeting. He brought the attention of the audience to the drought in the state and said that the government is not addressing the issue of the peasantry.

Janardan Prasad, state secretary of the CPI(ML) said that the BJP government is deliberately trying to divert the attention of the people from the issue of food and shelter to divisive issues of communalism etc.

The meeting was presided over by Laldev Singh, state secretary of the CPI.

Rajasthan

SHAHEED Smarak, Rajasthan was the venue of the protest meeting in Jaipur on October 16. After the meeting a procession was taken out in the bazaar that culminated at Ramleela Maidan.

Amra Ram-CPI(M), Manjula-CPI(ML) and other prominent leaders of both the parties addressed the meeting. The leaders criticised the Modi government for its pro-corporate policies, which have brought disaster to the country and its people. The speakers said the severest attack has come in the employment sector and lakhs of jobs have been lost in the last five years. The kisans do not get adequate remuneration for their crops and hence the farmers suicides have increased in number.

Amra Ram, while addressing the gathering said that it is a corporate communal alliance, which is now ruling the country and its repercussions are before all of us. The major demands of the meeting, he highlighted, and said that a minimum wage of Rs 18,000 should be announced and kisans loans should be waived off; instead the loans of the corporates are written off.

(Sumitra Chopra)

Bihar

IN various districts of the Bihar state, protest demonstrations were held jointly by five Left Parties. Members of the state secretariat of the CPI(M) also participated in some of the districts.

In Patna, a procession was taken out jointly from GPO Golambar at 12 noon. The procession marched through the streets of Patna and culminated at Budh Smriti Park. The public meeting was presided over by three member committee. The stage was conducted by Manoj Tiwari, district secretary of the CPI(M).

Sarvodaya Sharma, state secretariat member of the CPI(M), Ram Lalla, district secretary of CPI and Ranvijay, state committee member of the CPI(ML) addressed the public meeting. The meeting also resolved to ensure the success of January 8, 2020 strike.

Arun Kumar Mishra, Central Committee member of the CPI(M) and other leaders were also present.

(Awdesh Kumar)