THE Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) held its 6th national conference in Varanasi on 15-16 December 2018. Prior to the conference, a huge Hunkar rally attended by thousands of young people was organized at Prime Minister’s Parliamentary constituency. The young people pledged to throw out the Modi government in 2019, as this government has proved a miserable failure on the issues of education and employment. The rally was organized from Cantt Station to Shastri Ghat, resounding with slogans demanding answers from the government on education, employment, and other broken promises. The rally was led by the architect of ‘Sadak pe Shiksha’ movement Manoj Manzil, RYA UP Secretary Rakesh Singh, JNUSU President N Sai Balaji, Om Prasad, AISA National President Sucheta De and Niraj. The rally culminated in a meeting at Shastri Ghat which was addressed by CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya.
Dipankar Bhattacharya said that the Modi government drove Rohith Vemula to suicide, incarcerated Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and RYA President Amarjeet Kushwaha, and tried in many other ways to suppress the voice of youth, but they could not succeed in doing so. The recent results of 5 State elections are a manifestation of the roar of youth and the anger of farmers. The Modi government has betrayed the youth of the country in the worst possible way. Instead of the promised jobs, this government has given them unemployment, rumours, insecurity, and a conspiracy to turn them into a bonded labour force. The Modi government has also tried to crush the dignity and rights of dalits. He said that the youth of the country have arisen and awakened, and will not allow the politics of communal and casteist hatred spread by the BJP-RSS-Shiv Sena to succeed. The youth, farmers, workers, women, will together take their revenge on this government in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
JNUSU President N Sai Balaji said that Modi has snatched away the livelihoods of lakhs through demonetization and GST and has helped his crony capitalist friends to amass huge wealth. AISA President Sucheta De said that the people of the country are well aware of the broken promises and betrayals of the Modi government and will show them the door in 2019. Rasoiya movement leader Sohila Gupta, JASAM General Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, also addressed the meeting, which was conducted by Rakesh Singh. CC member Ramji Rai, Ishwari Kushwaha, Shriram Chaudhary, Manish Sharma, UP State Secretary Sudhakar Yadav and others were present on the occasion.
On 16 Dec, 450 delegates from 17 states deliberated on the forthcoming plan of action and elected a 77-member National Council and 24-member Executive which in turn elected Manoj Manzil as President and Niraj Kumar as General Secretary. Comrade Amarjeet Kushwaha, who is incarcerated in jail on false charges for three years, was elected in absentia as Honorary President. Comrade Niraj addressed the delegates and called for the intensification of the struggle against Modi government’s betrayal of the promise of providing 2 crore jobs each year.