The Johar Jharkhand Sankalp Abhiyan has been launched to further strengthen and broaden the political mobilization against the communal fascist attack in the state. This campaign is highlighting the issues of unemployment, migration and corporate loot prevailing in Jharkhand. It is an initiative to strengthen mass resistance against the privatization of mineral wealth and the public sector in the state.
This campaign will conclude with the party state conference on 22-24 April. In the course of this campaign, we shall celebrate Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom day on 23 March, and Ambedkar Jayanti and the 25th anniversary of Comrade Gurudas Chatterjee’s martyrdom on 14 April. In the meantime, we shall also mobilize for the national conference of the All-India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) on 24-26 February.
Comrade Mahendra Singh’s martyrdom day, on 16 January 2025, marked the first stop of the Johar Jharkhand Sankalp Abhiyan. CPIML Politburo member and former MLA Vinod Singh, while addressing the martyrdom day meeting at Bagodar on January 16 said that the Modi government is neither concerned about the workers nor does it realize the pain and suffering of the migrant workers of Jharkhand. The corporate world has got “achhe din” whereas for the poor it’s been a time of trouble. Vinod Singh is leading several padayatras of the Johar Jharkhand Sankalp Abhiyan in the Giridih district.
Comrade Mahendra Singh Martyrdom Day
Addressing a huge public gathering on the 20th anniversary of Comrade Mahendra Singh’s martyrdom, Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, the CPI(ML) General Secretary, congratulated the people of Jharkhand for inflicting a crushing defeat on the BJP in the state elections, but warned the people that with the BJP in power at the central level, the threat to Jharkhand remains real.
“Johar to Jharkhand, Salute to the land of Comrade Mahendra Singh, but now the BJP is in power in the entire country and Baba Saheb Ambedkar had warned us that if power goes into the wrong hands, they can misuse the Constitution. Today power has gone into the wrong hands and they are misusing the Constitution. Therefore, we will have to fight the battle of justice and democracy with more strength and in a more comprehensive manner.” He spoke.
Commenting on the last assembly elections, he observed that in an effort to win the elections in Jharkhand, the BJP tried to divide Jharkhand along communal lines. The Chief Ministers of Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and many central ministers were used for propaganda, but all the conspiracies failed, he remarked.
He invoked Comrade Mahendra Singh’s legacy to elaborate on the anti-fascist strategies that the people of Jharkhand now require. “Comrade Mahendra Singh's relationship with the public was not just a relationship of taking and giving votes. It was a relationship of being together with them in their happiness and sorrow. It was a relationship of partnership in shared struggles. Your huge presence today is living proof of that relationship.”
“Comrades Vinod Mishra and Mahendra Singh used to say that the big problems of society are resolved by struggles on the streets. We struggle inside the Assembly as well, while our struggle continues on public issues outside the Assembly as well. It does not matter if we lose an election or two, like we lost the Bagodar seat this time. We have two MLAs in the Jharkhand Assembly – and these are comrades who brought the legacy of AK Roy into the party. With the merger with the Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC), our party has grown and our responsibility has also increased. We will move forward together waving the flag of CPIML by fighting for the people of Jharkhand.
Johar Jharkhand Sankalp Abhiyan
As part of this campaign, protests were organized across the state against the derogatory remarks made by Amit Shah against Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha. In the padyatras, the leaders of CPIML exposed the malafide intentions of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Meanwhile, on 24 December 2024, hundreds of girl students took out a protest march on GT Road under the banner of AISA against the rape of a minor girl in Bagodar. On 30 December, a big mobilization happened in the villages against corruption, and the people resolved to start a movement on public issues.
On the same day, a demonstration was held at Palamu district headquarters against harassment of Dalits and women. Such incidents are increasing continuously in Palamu. On 31 December – the Memorial Day of Comrade Fetal Singh – hundreds of tribals and CPIML workers gathered at the Ranka turn in Garhwa and resolved to intensify the struggle to protect the water, forest and land of Jharkhand.
In the first week of January, a public rally was held in Birni (Giridih), following which several padayatras were organized in the villages against increasing crime rates and protection of criminals by the police, and against false cases against CPIML workers. Huge mobilizations were organized against the police in the villages on 7 January, and in Birni on 10 January. Through padayatras in Ramgarh, Hazaribagh and Latehar districts, a call for unity was given to save water, forest and land from corporate loot. Politburo member and former MLA Comrade Anand Mahato called to intensify the struggle against capitalist forces through his continuous programmes.
In the Koylanchal, agitations were held in Dhanbad and Bokaro against the behaviour of the companies towards workers. In the Gopinathpur Colliery of Dhanbad, the outsourcing company tried to terrorize the workers and villagers with the help of BJP goons, but the agitation continued under the leadership of CPIML MLA Arup Chatterjee and finally the management had to bow down. On January 9, the workers started a work boycott in the switchyard of Bokaro Thermal against the abuse of workers by the contractors and the arbitrariness in determining the category of workers. Later, the workers, under the leadership of AICCTU state president Comrade Vikas Singh, forced the contractors to express regret and negotiate with the workers.
Recalling the experiences of working with Com Mahendra Singh as an MLA, CPIML MLA Arup Chatterjee said that Comrade Mahendra Singh was the most powerful voice in the House and on the streets for the working classes of the state. Even today, only CPIML raises its voice on the problems of Sahia, Jal Sahiya, Rasoiya, Para-Teachers and other contractual workers. CPIML stands with the struggles of the working class and will carry forward the legacy of Comrade AK Roy, Comrade Mahendra Singh and Comrade Gurudas Chatterjee. The Johar Jharkhand Sankalp Abhiyan entered the second phase from January 17.
Convention of Railway Employees
Congratulating the railway employees on their victory in the trade-union elections, on the plank of demanding recognition of the Indian Railway Employees’ Federation (IREF) at a convention of railway employees on January 17 in Dhanbad, Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya said, “The construction of the Ram Mandir has neither brought about freedom, nor will it solve the issue of livelihood. Mohan Bhagwat is not only maligning our freedom struggle but he is also deviating from the real issue of livelihood. The Modi government is privatizing the railways.”
“The railway employees can tell how privatization is taking away their livelihood. This is not just a question of railways. Through the privatization of all public sectors and resources, the Modi government has taken away employment from the youth. It has taken away the livelihood of the people. Therefore, the struggle against privatization is a struggle for livelihood for the people’s rights. For the youth, it is a struggle for employment and for the workers, it is a struggle for their jobs and pension. We can win this battle only by fighting with complete unity.” Com. Dipankar said.
