People's Democracy

HARYANA

Left to Hold Vikalp Rally, Feb 23

IT is only the Left parties which have a genuine interest in fighting for the livelihood issues facing the toiling peasants and are striving hard for the right to social justice for the socially marginalised sections. So said Inderjit Singh, secretary of the CPI(M)’s Haryana state, while addressing a well attended meeting of party workers of the Ratia assembly segment in Fatehabad district of the state on January 25. He stated that the Congress party was fast losing ground due to the neo-liberal policies which have led to corruption, price rise and joblessness on the one hand and are depriving the unorganised sector workers even of the minimum social security on the other. He cautioned that the non-Left parties were seeking to exploit the mass discontent arising out of the Congress policies but without putting forward any alternative set of policies.

Singh claimed with humility and modesty that no other political entity could match the record of the CPI(M) and other Left parties as far as sacrifices and honesty were concerned. He asked the party activists to ponder over the ways and means of transforming the mass impact of struggles into organisational and electoral strength.

The meeting was organized to start a campaign for the February 23 Vikalp Rally, to be held at Hissar, where the Left will project its concrete policy alternative specific for Haryana. The rally will be addressed by Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) and Amarjit Kaur of the CPI.

A campaign committee for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election was formed to initiate the preparations for the elections, including collection of party funds from ordinary masses. Others who addressed the meeting included former MLA Harpal Singh, Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria, Chhatar Pal and Jagtar Singh .The speakers held the Hooda government responsible for compelling lakhs of employees to go on a strike by not reviewing the anti-people policies ruining employment and by privatising the public sector.

Earlier, on January 23, the CPI(M) demanded immediate dismissal of Ram Kishan Fauzi, a chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) following the direction of registration of an FIR by the Haryana Lokayukta, Justice Paritam Pall Singh, under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The party expressed surprise over his continuance as CPS despite being found prima facie involved in seeking gratification in lieu of getting a change of land use certificate.

The episode of a sting operation, CDs and other related issues was discussed by the CPI(M) leadership at party centre in Rohtak on the day. In a press release, Inderjit Singh, the party’s state secretary, reiterated the imperative of a credible impartial inquiry into all other CDs of the said sting operation, showing MLAs and other influential persons, in view of Fauzi’s involvement found by the Lokayukta.

The CPI(M) state secretary accused the Bhupender Singh Hooda government of being desperately vindictive against upright officers like Khemka although the government itself was deeply entrenched in several land deal scandals.