‘Haq Do, Vada Nibhao’ Campaign in Bihar
‘Ensure People’s Rights, Fulfil Your Promises’, CPIML’s Haq Do, Vada Nibhao campaign mobilised lakhs of Bihar poor towards the block headquarters to remind Nitish government to fulfil its own promises and guarantee the constitutional rights of the people in the state. More than 250 block offices were gheraoed on 22-24 August in all districts of the state.
After the publication of the Socio-Economic Survey in Bihar, Nitish Kumar had declared to provide Rs. two lakh help to the extremely poor households having an annual income less than Rs. 72,000. This promise has not been fulfilled by the state government despite repeated reminders, on the contrary, the state administration is now refusing to issue income certificates to such families on flimsy pretexts. CPIML has demanded to issue such certificates without delay to all deserving poor, besides other major demands including distribution of 5 decimal homestead land and pucca house under this Haq Do, Vada Nibhao campaign. The party activists campaigned for over a month at village level to apprise people of the government's promises and their legal rights. They led people in hundreds to the concerned Block offices and deposited their filled up application forms for income certificates and other needs.
On 22 August more than 100 Block headquarters witnessed mobilisation of thousands of villagers asking for their certificates and fulfilment of government promises. They demanded income certificates describing their actual income, not the ones which the government officials are trying to issue with a flat one lakh rupees annual income. It seems that the officials are tacitly instructed by the Nitish government to not issue income certificates with less than one lakh, this way the government will be saved from fulfilling its own promise of helping the poorest families in the state!
This campaign was undertaken to press the government to issue the required income certificate by genuinely noting the actual incomes of such families.
On 23 and 24 August similar mobilisations were witnessed on another 200 block headquarters where forms were also submitted in hundreds at every block.
Fulfil Your Promise
CPIML Bihar Secretary Kunal said that the government must fulfil its own promise of providing governmental support to these extremely poor families. This is unfortunate that in spite of the fact that the Nitish Kumar government is in possession of income data acquired through the Socio-Economic Survey by his government, such families are already identified, but he is not giving the promised monetary help. The same government has also promised to distribute 5 decimal land for homestead lands to poor families, but again Nitish forgot his promise. The Modi government has promised pukka house to everyone, but Bihar is nowhere in realising this target so far. We won’t let Bihar government’s promise of Rs. two lakhs to every poor family go the Modi’s way of throwing jumlas, the people are ready to fight to get what is their due.
Protests continued for three days where people thronged in huge numbers to press for their demands. They also raised various locally relevant issues. This was demanded from the government to immediately start an online Portal for the disbursement of Rs. lakhs and remove the unnecessary pre-condition of submitting an income certificate below Rs. 72,000 pa (which the government is not providing) since the government already has that data.
A separate Portal for allotment/distribution of pucca houses should also be opened by the central government, was also demanded through these protests.
The All India Agricultural and Rural Labour Association (AIARLA) also took part in these mobilisations along with the CPIML.
This campaign was also conducted among urban poor where homelessness and bulldozer raj was opposed by thousands of urban poor. Huge mobilisations took place against large numbers of demolitions of poor hutments in various parts of Bihar in name of development under Nitish regime. In Patna Sadar thousands of people gathered, including a very large number of women protesters, demanding a Housing Policy for the urban poor and an immediate stop to bulldozers. The state government has been recalcitrant in declaring such a policy while not a single new colony has been constructed for urban working class during the NDA government’s very long tenure. The poor in the city face various problems which are never heard by the state. They reiterated their demand for housing as well as disbursement of Rs. two lakhs immediately.
These protests also raised various other demands like the issue of mutation and loot in PDS. CPIML state leaders, MLAs and MPs led such protests in their respective areas.
