People's Democracy

THE two-day mass dharna against the anti-poor policies of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP government at the centre concluded at Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, on February 27 night. The dharna was organised by the Sangharsh Samiti which was formed by 25 mass organisations including the CPI(M), CPI, CITU, AITUC, some kisan organisations, the Janata Dal (Secular) and others. Thousands of people participated in the dharna that took place outside the Madhya Pradesh state assembly building.

The rally organised here was addressed, among others, by former prime minister V P Singh, CPI general secretary A B Bardhan, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat, and others.

The Sangharsh Samiti was formed and the dharna organised with the following main demands ---

1) Initiation of Food for Work programme for the unemployed. The food granaries of the country are overflowing but the poor are not able to get even one proper meal a day.

2) Distribution of rice and wheat among the poor at, respectively, Rs 3 and Rs 2 per kilogram.

3) Stop to privatisation of the power sector.

4) Scrapping of the Special Security Act.

Speaking at the rally, Prakash Karat, CPI(M), said the sufferings of the poor are increasing and their plight will further worsen with the proposed policies of the BJP-led central government. He said while four crores tonness of foodgrain are rottening in the poorly managed godowns of the Food Corporation of India, the poor are going hungry. The only way out is to reduce the stocks; otherwise additional stocks will be in the market in another two months and there will be further difficulty in storing it. Food for Work is a good way to alleviate the sufferings of the hungry and to reduce the stocks of foodgrain which are going waste. (INN)