The three-day 'Mazdoor-Kisan Mahapadav' (workers and farmers' grand assembly) witnessed the spirited participation of tens of thousands of activists across the country. On the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the historic farmers' movement of 2020, the workers and farmers' unions had jointly given a call for a three-day sit-in protest, i.e., between November 26th and 28th, 2023, to be held before all the Raj Bhavan at state capitals.
The joint action call of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Central Trade Unions (CTUs) condemning the Modi-BJP government-led state repression against NewsClick and other journalists, called for renewed resistance against the RSS/BJP–corporate plan to deprive the people of India of food security, pauperising the farmers, and dismantling of labour laws and working class rights. The Mahapadav also remembered the valiant sacrifice of hundreds of martyrs of farmers movement who laid down their lives resisting the brutal repression by a fascist government serving interests of Imperialist exploiters. The Mahapadav gave a clarion call to ‘Oust the Corporate-Communal Nexus in Governance from Power to Save the People and Save the Nation’.
In Bihar, the Mahapadav call was observed across the state with hundreds gathering in Patna to pay their homage to the martyrs of the farmers movement and calling upon the Modi regime to stop its anti-people policies. Alongside AICCTU, AIKM and AIARLA, other farmers and workers organisations gathered at GAIT Public Library.
Addressing the gathering, AIKM National General Secretary Comrade Rajaram Singh said that this Mahapdav is a warning to the Modi government – that the time of its rule of corporate loot and oppression of toiling masses is over and that the next general elections will be fought on the agenda of farmers and workers. “Our call is clear – those who stand with farmers-workers will only be allowed to rule in the country. We are gearing up to intensify the united action of the workers and farmers,” added Comrade Rajaram.
Comrade Shashi Yadav, National Secretary of AICCTU, congratulated the workers and farmers for their massive participation and making the three-day Mahapadav a grand success. She said that all the promises made by the Modi government in the past nine years have not been implemented. Instead, in these 9 years, we see that all the rights and livelihood of workers and farmers are being sacrificed at the altar of corporate loot. “When people of this country question and resist these anti-people policies of the BJP regime, ED-CBI-IT and police agencies are unleashed against them to supress their voices. We have seen this recently when NewsClick journalists who covered the historic farmers movement were raided and charged with draconian anti-terror law and other fabricated charges. The workers and farmers of this country have resolved to throw such an anti-people government into the dustbin of history,” added Shashi Yadav.
In Delhi, the initial two days of Mahapadav was organised at Delhi Civil Lines with the final day culminating as a massive gathering at Jantar Mantar. Comrade Rajiv Dimri, General Secretary of AICCTU, who addressed the protest at Jantar Mantar, said that the BJP-led Union Government has failed on all counts making people’s lives miserable, working mainly against the interest of nation to the advantage of corporates of Indian and foreign brands. He said that on the other hand, an all-out oppressive measure is being adopted by misusing government institutions and various laws to suppress any voice of opposition to the government policies, which has been the hallmark of this rule. “The forces of communal divide and hatred are given tacit support from the ruling circles which vitiates the peace and harmony in the society,” he said
In Kolkata, on the third day of the Mahapadav, a march was organised towards the Raj Bhavan in which thousands participated. Condemning the corporate loot and state repression against activists and journalists in the country, Comrade Basudev Basu, AICCTU State Secretary, demanded that the Central government implement a law that guarantees minimum support price for crops, to start 100 days’ work, pay arrears, withdraw Electricity Bill, 2022 and smart meters, to stop privatization, end destruction of labour laws, end the privatization of public sector and give official recognition to sharecroppers.
In Chennai, AICCTU and AIKM members joined in large numbers. The program was addressed by AICCTU President Comrade Shankar and AIKM National Secretary Comrade Chandramohan. The leaders, addressing the program noted that in last nine years of Modi-BJP government, only the rich and super rich have been benefitted. “All the country’s public resources have been or are being sold to private corporates. Meanwhile, the toiling masses and common people are struggling for wages, which are stagnating, social security slashed, workers’ rights and laws destroyed, farmers are forced into viscous cycle of farm debt,” said Comrade Shankar. He reiterated that as we approach the 2024 General Elections, the movement against state repression and corporate loot needs to be intensified.
At the conclusion of the Mahapadav, the SKM and CTUs in a statement noted that the programme was organised in every nook and corner of the country, including Port Blair in Andaman Nicobar. The workers and farmers demanded that the national economy be protected from the malice of the systemic crisis of neoliberal policies by putting more money in the hands of the common people who create national wealth and keep the national economy running. They demanded an increase in the statutory minimum wages and expanding and universalising social security measures with government funding and other such measures. They added that subsidy be provided to farmers, including for agricultural inputs, state-owned mandies, appropriate MSP, etc., which are the measures necessary to address the distress among the farming community.
