CPIML Legislative Party Meets for Forthcoming Assembly Session
The CPIML legislative party held a meeting on 10 July to prepare for the coming Assembly session. It was decided at the meeting that issues that will be raised prominently in the Assembly would include the insulting treatment of Opposition MLAs during the previous Assembly session, probe into Covid period deaths and compensation for families of each of the dead, Bihar's ramshackle health system, inflation, employment, floods, and the renewed targeting of the minority community in Bihar including the Samastipur mob lynching.
For An United Opposition Strategy
Efforts will also be made to forge a common strategy among the Mahagathbandhan parties to put the Bihar government in the dock for its failure on all fronts and its inept handling of the Covid crisis. The CPIML legislative party will soon be contacting Mahagathbandhan parties in this regard.
CPIML State Secretary Kunal was present at the meeting along with all the 12 party MLAs. CPIML legislative party leader Mahboob Alam, deputy leader Satyadev Ram, Whip Arun Singh, Library Committee Chairperson Sudama Prasad, Virendra Prasad Gupta, Gopal Ravidas, Manoj Manzil, Mahanand Singh, Sandeep Saurav, Ajit Kushwaha, Amarjeet Kushwaha and Rambali Singh Yadav participated in the meeting. The MLAs discussed effective ways of raising issues of their respective constituencies as well as state level issues.
Attack on Opposition MLAs in the last Assembly session
Speaking about the meeting, legislative party leader Mahboob Alam said that the whole of Bihar was shamed by the way in which Opposition MLAs were attacked in the last Assembly session at the behest of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Speaker Vijay Sinha. No action has yet been taken against any of those guilty of that act which shamed democracy. We shall once again demand from the leader of the House and Speaker that action should be taken against the guilty officials so that democratic values and dignity of MLAs can be protected.
Count Every Death
Today it is an open secret that the Bihar government is hiding Covid deaths. Our party is collecting data of deaths in the entire state. This statistical data will be submitted to the government. Our demand will be that the government should stop hiding statistics, count every death, and pay compensation to the families of each of the dead. If the government continues to hide death statistics, a true assessment of the tragedy due to Covid will not be possible. In addition, it will also adversely affect preparations to cope with a possible 3rd wave.
Dire Condition of Bihar's Health System
Covid has exposed the dire condition of Bihar's health system. If our health system had been better, people's lives could have been saved on a large scale. The Bihar government took under its control Rs 2 crores from the MLA funds without our consent. In view of the Covid pandemic we recommended the remaining Rs 1 crore to be spent on health services. But we are not aware, what is happening and what the government is doing with this amount? The government will have to answer this question in the coming Assembly session.
Vaccination for all
Vaccination for all within a time period of 3 months is also one of our main demands.
Inflation and Price Rise
The BJP is wholly responsible for the current back-breaking inflation and price rise. Today the price of petrol has crossed Rs 100 per litre in Patna. Mustard oil costs Rs 200 per kilo. People are being hit with Covid on the one hand and spiralling prices on the other. People's purchasing power shows no increase. We will hold the government answerable on the issue of inflation and price rise.
Filling of Vacant Teachers’ Posts
The issues of immediate filling of all vacant teachers' posts and appointment of Urdu translators will also be raised. Teacher candidates' anger at the government’s non-transparent and misleading statements on STET 2019 is natural. When lakhs of teachers' posts in Bihar are vacant, why is the government not making the appointments without delay? Our demand will be that the government should appoint all qualified candidates immediately. Similarly, the appointment of Urdu translators is long pending. It should be remembered that BJP-JDU had promised 19 lakh jobs during the Assembly election, but they are backing down from that promise now. We will not allow the government to run away from the promise they made to the people of Bihar.
Mob Lynching and Attacks on Minorities
The issue of the recent organized mob lynching at Samastipur against the Muslim community will also be raised. We also demand the arrest of the killer of Shrawan Yadav. But we will also demand action against the criminals from the Hindu Putra who perpetrated the brutal killing of Mohd Hasnain's wife, beating and molestation of his daughters, setting fire to their homes, all in the presence of the police.
