Release Students and Youth Arrested in Sasaram Who Protested Privatization of Railways
18 students and youth have been arrested in Sasaram during the struggle against privatization of the Railways. A team comprising CPIML CC member and RYA President Manoj Manzil, AISA State Secretary Sabir Kumar, Bhojpur RYA Convener Shiv Prakash Ranjan, Sasaram District Secretary Bablu Kumar, Shiv Shankar Singh Kushwaha, Shiv Shankar Ram, and Rashtriya Ambedkar Kalyan Chhatrawas leader Jyoti Kumar visited Sasaram and met the protesters in the Central Jail in Gaya on 30 October. The students said that the Nitish-Modi administration committed excesses against them in the same way that the British used to. They were picked up from the lodge at 12.30 in the night when some of them were sleeping and some were studying. They were thrown into jail and were not given anything to eat and even denied water. Many students showed injuries from beatings they were given in the Thana. Chandan Kumar and Rakesh Kumar said that they were due to join the CRPF; Mahabir Kumar has cleared the Loco Pilot exam; Chandan Pathak, Rahul Kumar and Sushil Kumar’s STET exam is on 7 November.
The Modi government wants to suppress the voice of the country’s students and youth, sell education and government resources to corporate houses and make the youth sell tea, pan and pakodas!
The students said that they would never let this happen and would fight united against this. The CPIML organized protests at the railway premises for the release of the arrested students and against privatization of the railways on 31 October in various places in Bihar.
Earlier, on 29 October 2019 CPIML State Secretary Kunal welcomed the struggle by students and youth against privatization of the railways and strongly condemned the repression unleashed on the protesters by the government. He said that the Railway Police in Sasaram in cahoots with the local police has slapped many false cases against the protesters. The administration was preparing for more arrests. The CPIML demanded immediate cessation of such repressive action.
Manoj Manzil said that the administration has created a terror situation in Sasaram. Lodges are being raided relentlessly as if students are not students but terrorists. Almost all coaching centers have police presence. Lacking other space, thousands of students are sitting and studying at the Sasaram railway station. Many students have been forced by fear of the administration to flee and return to their homes. He said that the job situation has gone from bad to worse in the Modi-2 government. On the one hand there is grave recession across the country and on the other hand the government is ending even the few available jobs by privatizing the railways, airports etc. Privatization of railways will result in students not being able to fill railway exam forms and thus will be deprived of railway recruitment exams. Repression and atrocities on youth asking for jobs is the true face of the BJP.
