On November 5, the 7th Bihar State Conference of All India Agricultural & Rural Labour Association (AIARLA) was organised in Bettiah, Champaran with a massive anti-war rally calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal War against Palestinians. The rally marched from the Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar statue to conference auditorium and witnessed participation of thousands of rural workers and locals called for an immediate ceasefire.
Conference started with flag hoisting by AIARLA vice president and leader of CPIML Legislative Group in Bihar comrade Mahboob Alam and paying tribute to martyrs. The Conference began after garlanding the statue of Dr. BR Ambedkar and taking a pledge to strengthen the fight against fascism to protect democracy and the constitution. Md Afsar Imam, president of West Champaran Mukhiya Sangh welcomed the delegates and guests.
Inaugurating the conference in Bettiah’s Bapu auditorium full of delegates from every corner of Bihar, CPIML General Secretary General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya called for the organization to establish its strong presence in every village among rural and farm workers of the country.
Speaking about the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank, Com. Diapankar said the Israel’s attack is not a war but a massacre. This should be stopped in all circumstances. While inaugurating the conference, Com. Dipankar added that today policies of Modi-BJP regime is posing a big threat to democracy, diversity and Ganga-Jamuni legacy of unity in the country. He said that the country has gone into huge economic crisis under Modi regime. In the latest Global Hunger Index, it is ranked 111th out of 125 countries. Most of the children are malnourished and women suffer from anaemia. But Modi government and its ministers are denying this and instead provide jumla of ‘India as World Leader’ to the people.
He said that it was Vajpayee government in 2004 when agrarian crisis deepened and farmers’ suicides escalated that people refused the Shining India slogan and that government was. Now its Modi government’s turn to go, which has curtailed all welfare schemes and pro-people legislations ranging from MNREGA to forest rights, food security and right to education. We should not forget Ambedkar’s teaching of educate, organise and struggle in our struggle for our rights and protecting the Constitution. The Modi government tried to defame Farmers’ movement and CAA-NRC movement by calling it foreign funded, also conspiring and persecuting journalists and independent media. We must remain vigilant against BJP’s conspiracies and attempts to spread riots and communal tension before the next general elections. Just like farmers of Nuh in Haryana demolished BJP’s conspiracy of perpetrating riots, Bihar’s poor having history of victorious anti-feudal struggles also have to smash the feudal fascist forces led by Sangh-BJP raising heads in Bihar.
While addressing the inaugural session, economist and professor Vidyarthi Vikas gave a detailed description of the deteriorating economic, social and educational condition of the country and emphasised on the need for complete land reforms. Dhirendra Jha General Secretary of AIARLA, Rajaram Singh, General Secretary of AIKM, AIPWA General Secretary Meena Tiwari among several other leaders of CPI(ML) were present in the anti-war rally and the opening session of the conference which was conducted by AIARLA Bihar President Virendra Prasad Gupta.
Shatrughna Sahni presented the report in the delegate session which was unanimously passed. Shriram Chaudhary was the central observer for the conference. The conference elected Manoj Manzil as President, Virendra Gupta as Honorary President and Shatrughna Sahni as Secretary along with a 151 member State Council and other office bearers.
The conference resolved to struggle for five guarantees which includes housing as constitutional right, land entitlement to homesteads for poor, increase in PM Awas Yojana money to rupees five lakhs, stop bulldozing poor homes, distribute 6 decimal land to all landless, 200 unit free electricity to all, to increase old age and widow pensions to rupees 5000 pm, and minimum 200 days work and 600 rupees daily wage in MNREGA.
