Campaign against Divisive Policies of BJP Government
A countrywide ‘people’s awareness campaign’ against the conspiracy to divide the people, spread hate and fear and divert attention from people’s issues to hand over the country’s resources to capitalists and industrialists is being conducted at the call of the CPIML. Ground level mass contact programmes are being taken up under this campaign.
In Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand activists are going to villages holding meetings and distributing pamphlets from November 11-17. A cadre convention was also held on 10 November in Lalkuan town. Addressing the convention, CPIML Uttarakhand State Secretary Raja Bahuguna said that ‘divide the people and ruin the economy’ campaign of the Modi government can be challenged only on the strength of class unity and social equity. The common people want schools, hospitals, jobs and dignity, not Mandir-Masjid. He further said that the Modi government is openly selling out the country by selling national assets, privatizing public sector companies, and handing over education and health to private companies. Those who oppose this are deemed anti-national. People asking for employment, farmers struggling against agrarian distress, women asking for equality are being brutally repressed and dalits and minorities have no right even to speak, but those who spread communal venom in society have full license to do so. Speaking for the rights of the poor and social equity is considered a crime these days. To expose this government’s policies and intentions is the need of the hour. The BJP wants to destroy our Constitution based on the principles of justice, freedom and secularism, and wants to pander to corporations and feudal forces by turning India into a majoritarian state based on inequality of women, dalits and minorities as laid down in the Manusmriti. We, the people of India, will never allow this to happen.
Modi government’s attack of citizenship rights and the Constitution in the form NRC, Citizenship Amendment Bill, Article 370 and attacks on rights of workers by amending labour laws, on tribals and forest dwellers by amending Forest Rights Act etc were also raised during this campaign. So far many villages in Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts were covered during this campaign including many forest villages deep inside forests where mass contact and meeting were held.
Raja Bahuguna said that today the government is conspiring to deprive Indian citizens their citizenship status and also the rights of common citizens. This campaign is meant to reassert rights and dignity of common people by defending basic tenet of Freedom and Social Harmony through defending our democratic institutions. He also said that the Ayodhya verdict has been given but no action has been taken on those who demolished the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 which was a criminal act, as declared by the Supreme Court in its verdict.
During the campaign issue of forest dwelling communities was also raised where forest officials and administration are being given unconstitutional powers to oppress and evict poor villagers, who can now face more attacks on livelihoods as well as more evictions and repression. The activists criticized FRA amendments and said that now this law has become more colonial and forest dwellers have to present the non-existent ‘documents’ for lands where they born and are living. They cannot fearlessly live on their own lands. This attitude of the government actually reminds us of old oppressive colonial days, but those were also the days when organisations like RSS and Hindu Mahasabha had supported the British rule betraying India’s Freedom Movement. This is not difficult for anybody to understand why the current regime is so adamant to deprive country’s citizens of democracy and democratic institutions.
Kisan Mahasabha State President Anand Singh Negi said that the Modi government is bent on driving out adivasis and forest dwellers from the forests and hand over forest lands and water resources to corporations. The threat of eviction looms large over Bindukhatta and all other khatta (forest villages) dwellers. CPIML Nainital District Secretary Dr Kailash Pandey said that the shamelessness with which this government is looting the country and imposing anti-people and pro-corporate decisions is unprecedented. The crucial need of the hour is to unite and fight against such politics of hate, violence, communalism and casteism. The campaign was led by Bahadur Singh Jangi, Advocate Durga Singh Mehta, Vimla Rauthan, Lalit Matiyali, Nain Singh Koranga, Basanti Bisht, Dr Achinto Mandal, Kartik Sarkar, Mohd Yamin Binni, Swarup Singh Danu, Chandan Ram, Pushkar Dubadiya, Rajendra Shah, Gopal Gadiya, Kamal Joshi, Harish Chandra Singh Bhandari, Vinod Kumar, Vij Ram, Trilok Singh Danu, Bhaskar Kapadi, Jagdish Ram, Harish Ram, Narayan Sarkar and others.
The following demands will be raised in the people’s awareness campaign in the 2 Districts:
- Expose the Modi government’s conspiracy to divide the people and destroy the economy and democracy of the country.
- End NRC and Citizenship Amendment Bill.
- Shut down the ‘detention camps’ built in Assam and other States.
- Bring back democracy in Kashmir, reinstate Article 370 and 35A, and release all arrested leaders and common people.
- The persons responsible for the criminal act of destruction of Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 should be tried and given timely punishment.
- Stop privatization of public sector companies.
- Give relief to the people from the distress of economic recession.
- Cancel the proposed new Forest Act.
