Bharat Bandh : All India Strike on September 10 Reflects People’s Anger Against Modi Government
THE all India strike called by Left parties on September 10 met a huge response from the masses reflecting their resentment against Modi government’s policies, cronyism and economic burdens being mounted on the people. The all India strike call coincided with the bandh call by the Congress party and other opposition parties. People all over the country came to the streets and voiced a big no to policies of escalating prices of petro-products, rising unemployment, land acquisitions, corporate plunder of banks, and demonetisation, and the RSS-BJP attempts of spreading venom of hatred to communalise and divide Indian society. The strike gave a message that days of Modi regime are numbered.
Left parties have said that the escalating prices are contributing to a further economic slowdown and reducing existing employments opportunities. The peasantry all over the country has been demanding the promised remunerative price and loan waiver, the Modi government callously refuses. On the other hand, it shows largesse of waiving off loans taken by the corporates during the last four years to the tune of lakhs of crores. The corporates are bleeding our banking system through NPAs and scams. Crony capitalism is evident in various deals, including the Rafale fighter aircraft purchase scam.
In most of the states all economic activities came to a virtual halt due to the strike and people came out in protests like rail roko, rasta roko, demonstrations, dharnas etc. People demanded to reverse the policies imposing such unprecedented burdens, and in no uncertain terms they gave a message that the days of this government are numbered. The Left parties exempted all essential services from the bandh which was one of the most peaceful, disciplined and organised expression of people’s resistance irrespective of BJP leaders’ frustrated false claims of violence. Cabinet minister Ravishankar Prasad’s statement that petroleum prices are beyond government control is widely being condemned. In Delhi, the Left parties held a dharna and took out a procession which was detained by the police for a couple of hours. This was addressed by comrades Sitaram Yechury, Sudhakar Reddy, Purushottam Sharma, Santosh Roy, Pran, and many other leaders. The Left parties have called upon the people to further intensify popular struggles against this government.
CPI(ML) General Secretary comrade Dipankar led the activists in Koderma of Jharkhand during the bandh.
In Bihar the bandh was a total success. The CPI(ML) took out propaganda rallies, street corner meetings, torch-light processions etc on the eve of the bandh on 9 September in various parts of the state. People including traders, workers, transporters, intellectuals, students and youth and women came out against BJP government’s betrayals wholeheartedly and made the strike call a huge success. CPI(ML) Bihar secretary com. Kunal addressed the protesters in Patna. Railways and highways remain blocked in many places in Bihar. In Patna JP round-about was jammed while a joint procession by left parties was took out from Gandhi Maidan.
In Darbhanga activists gathered at places since 5 AM in morning and sat on rail tracks for hours affecting train movement. Trains tracks were also blocked in Ara, Nalanda and other places. Ara bus stand was also blocked and no buses could ply on that day. Highways in Darbhanga, Katihar, Obra, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Bihar Sharief, Hilsa, Islampur, Rajgir, Vaishali, Buxar, Khagaria, Banka, Jahanabad, West Champaran were blockaded too. Markets in most of the towns remain shut during the bandh. All India Kisan Mahasabha, AICCTU, AIPWA, AISA and other organisations actively took part in this bandh. People came in good numbers in small towns too braving police lathicharge and administrative highhandedness. In Nawada, police even did not spare school children from lathi charge. Most of the places saw joint processions and effigy burning by the left parties. At many places left leaders and activists were arrested.
In Assam people came out in all the towns where railroad was blockaded by CPI(ML) activists in Jorhat while procession and effigy burning took place in many places including Dibrugarh. In Karbi Anglong, markets and all economic activities came to a standstill as was the case in many other districts. The bandh was total in West Bengal and Tripura. In Kolkata left leaders and cadres took out a huge procession from Maulali to Mallikbazar.
In Rajasthan the impact was big as people witnessed red flags waving in many major centres. A joint left procession was held in Jaipur, while Udaipur and nearby districts saw a bit turnout and complete closure of markets amidst processions and sloganeering. In Karnataka, left parties jointly enforced bandh call in Bengaluru and other parts of the state including Mysore, Gangavati, etc. In Andhra Pradesh CPI(ML) cadres led the strike call at many places including Tenali, Kakinada, Mangalageri and Venukonda of Guntur.
At many places police detained and arrested activists but this could not work for them in face of enthusiasm of the masses. In Garhwa of Jharkhand many CPI(ML) leaders were arrested, as was the case in many other states.
CPI(ML) took out marches, processions, rallies in many places in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, MP, Chhattisgarh also. A protest march was held in Bindukhatta while joint processions were taken out in Joshimath, Gopeshwar, Shrinagar and other towns in Uttarakhand. Left parties held marches in Karnal and Asandh in Haryana; Narela, Bawana, Wazirpur and other industrial areas of Delhi; Mumbai; Gwalior of MP; all the towns in West Bengal and Tripura; Lucknow, Allahabad, Pilibhit and Mirzapur of UP; and in all other states too.
The huge success of this all India strike call reflects people’s mood and anger against Modi Rule and is going to be the beginning of the countdown for the end of an atrocious, corrupt and fascist regime.
