Yogi Government wants to crush voice of the poor
THE CPI(ML) has condemned the imposition of the Goonda Act on State Committee member and Mirzapur District Secretary Comrade Nandlal Biyar, a Communist leader who has tirelessly fought for the rights of the poor.
In a Press statement issued on 1 May 2019 the CPI(ML) Uttar Pradesh unit said that those who raise their voice for dalits, adivasis, very backward sections and the poor are being oppressed by the Yogi government. Left leaders are being especially targeted. Just a few months ago in Mirzapur, popular adivasi leader associated with the CPM Himmat Kol was killed.
The Party said that the Goonda Act has been slapped on CPI(ML) leader Comrade Nandlal out of political malice at the behest of criminal-feudal forces. The cases registered against him are false and baseless. For more than a decade now, Comrade Nandlal has been leading struggles under the CPI(ML) banner for the right of ST status to kols, biyars and other tribes in Mirzapur, minimum wages for agricultural labourers, and implementation of the Forest Rights Act in the district. Slapping the Goonda Act on him is a confirmation that the Yogi administration stands in support of feudal forces and criminals and wants to repress and oppress those who speak for social justice and democracy.
The Party said that Left leaders are being branded as goondas by the Yogi government in the name of making Uttar Pradesh free of goondas. National Security Act (NSA) was slapped on young Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad at Saharanpur. Imposition of the Goonda Act on the ML leader at Mirzapur exposes the malicious intent of the Yogi government. The Modi government in Delhi declared young Left leaders in JNU anti-national; in Uttar Pradesh the Yogi government is branding a young Left leader in Mirzapur a goonda.
The Party further said that the CPI(ML) is fighting the Lok Sabha election in Mirzapur. Election campaigning will begin after 2 May, which is the last date for withdrawal of nominations. Slapping the Goonda Act on the Party District Secretary at this crucial juncture during the elections is an act intended to put obstacles in the election campaign of CPI(ML) Lok Sabha candidate Comrade Jeera Bharti.
The CPI(ML) demanded withdrawal of the Goonda Act on Comrade Nandlal with immediate effect, and cautioned that every kind of repression and oppression in the District will be answered with people’s movements.
