People's Democracy

ACTIVISTS of the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Janata Dal (Secular), led by their local party leaders, organised a strong protest march and rally at Chandigarh, on March 20, to demand the resignation of the Vajpayee-led NDA government, rechristening the NDA as the Non-Democratic Alliance. They demanded that this undemocratic NDA government honourably quit for its failure to prosecute its politicians who were found guilty of scandalous corruption, misusing their high places of authority. Their shameful drama, exposed by Tehelka.com, clearly showed the ugly face of the leaders of the BJP-led NDA. The exposure has shaken the confidence of our people and lowered the prestige of Indian people abroad.

On the day, hundreds of party workers of the CPI, CPI(M) and JD(S) gathered near the Central Poultry Farm in Industrial Area-1 in the evening and marched down a distance of about two km, raising slogans against the anti-people BJP-led NDA government and demanding the prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s resignation on moral grounds.

The protest march culminated in a big rally at Tribune Chowk. The rally was addressed by Devi Dayal Sharma (CPI), Inderjit Singh Grewal (CPI-M), Rajendra Mohan Kashyap (JD-S) and other leaders of the three parties. The speakers warned that in case the prime minister adopts a callous attitude, their protest will continue more vigorously.

These speakers also appealed to all other democratic parties and patriotic forces to join this action so as to force the Vajpayee government to quit. They said even the Supreme Court of India did not oblige the government and refused to spare any of its sitting judges for a probe into these shady deals, as the government is striving and hopes to bury the whole murky affair by instituting a time-consuming inquiry. The apex court’s reaction was a big jolt to the honour of the Vajpayee government which is trying its level best to protect the culprits, whereas the military has already started a probe into the conduct of some armymen in these deals.

The march and rally were part of the action plan chalked out by the local constituents of the People’s Front (Lok Morcha) in its meeting on March 18. The Lok Morcha, that consists of the Janata Dal (Secular), Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist), has resolved to give shape to the issues concerning the mass of the people and direct the discontent of the people of this region against the corrupt and communal BJP-led NDA government.

The cadres of the three parties hailed the formation of the Lok Morcha at the national level. In a joint statement issued on March 18, they appealed to the like-minded secular and democratic parties to work for the interests of the mass of Indian people, that are under threat from the pro-imperialist WTO and the corrupt and communal agents of imperialism in India. (INN)