People's Democracy

MORE than 3 lakh CPI(M) volunteers would court arrest in a movement against the anti-people policies of the Antony government The CPI(M) Kerala state committee met at AKG Centre, Thiruvananthapuram on August 9-10 and called upon the people to rally in large numbers to make the proposed agitation a great success.

The CPI(M) has decided to launch a mass agitation on the basis of a charter of demands, which are as follows:

• Stop mortgaging Kerala to the Asian Development Bank.
• Protect PSUs and traditional industries.
• Take measures to prevent the fall in the price of agricultural products.
• Stop the commercialisation of education.
• Stop persecution of women and take effective measures to prevent assault on their person and modesty.
• Stop criminalisation in governance.
• Withdraw the ban order on appointments.
• Stop withdrawal of welfare measures.
• Prevent corruption.

The state committee opined that the UDF government of Kerala is following in the footsteps of the central government in implementing anti-people, globalisation-liberalisation measures. The government could be compelled to correct the anti-people measures only through a concerted and sustained agitation. The central and state governments policies were making the life of the people miserable and tragic. Both are handing over PSUs at very cheap rates to the private sector under the dictates of the imperialist globalization forces. Modern Food Industries in Kochi and ITDC Hotel, Kovalam have already been sold out to private agencies. FACT, Cochin Shipyard, Cochin Port, Palakkad Instrumentation Factory and other PSUs are all earmarked for sale in the coming days. That the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala was acting as the drummer boy of the central government policy of disinvestment and privatisation was very clear when a resolution brought by the opposition in the Kerala legislature against the privatisation of FACT was defeated by the UDF legislators.

The crisis created by the import liberalisation policies of the central government in the sphere of agriculture is persisting and continuing. The support price announced by the central government for copra is much less than that of previous year. But the government of Kerala did not even protest. The price of rubber had increased slightly in the recent past, but it has again fallen to lower levels. When the rubber prices had increased, it had not gone up to the international level. The peasants cultivating paddy, areca nut, coffee, pepper etc are in the tentacles of a severe crisis. This results in the unemployment of the peasant labour and agricultural labour. The much-publicised Kumarakom package of the prime minister Vajpayee remains on paper. The state government however exhibits an attitude of utter insensibility to this situation. It has no plans whatsoever to solve the crisis. The central government has declared Karnataka and Tamilnadu as drought-affected states. The ruling party leaders cry that rain has betrayed Kerala, while they do not take any measure to earn the concessions and corresponding mandatory privileges to the state in this regard. They have no guts to pressurise the central government to grant the necessary allotment to the state for drought relief.

The Karnataka government, led by Congress has declared the Indian Union Muslim League as a religious terrorist organisation even as the Congress of Kerala is sharing power with that organisation. This shows how the UDF government would join hands with any communal force to protect its vested interests.

It is using mysterious ways to keep company with the caste forces. Granting unaided Plus Two courses and institutions pacified the Bishops’ Council, which had proclaimed agitations against the sanctioning of new bars and the new liquor policy. The SNDP, which was at loggerheads with the UDF government over the sanctioning of Plus Two courses in the unaided sector, was pacified by the new toddy policy. The NSS, which agitated over the granting of reservation for Plus Two courses was pacified when the state education minister declared that there would be no reservation in the unaided sector.

The new bill permitting the police to interfere in labour problems is not going to preserve and protect peace in the society. Instead, it will aggravate the situation and the workers will have to wage a bitter fight for their legitimate demands. The new Head Load Workers Act treats the workers as terrorists and even pro-government organisations are against the enactment of this law. But the UDF is not concerned of its support from the people and it goes on to implement all the dictates of the ADB without any hesitation.

It is against such policies of a discredited government that the CPI(M) state committee has decided to launch a sustained movement in the month of September.