HIMACHAL PRADESH

 Youth, Students Stage Rally In Shimla

 IN the run-up to the 5th Himachal Pradesh state conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), a massive state level rally was held at the state capital Shimla on November 15. The rally, jointly organised by the Students Federation of India (SFI) and DYFI, saw thousands of youth and students thronging the capital town during the early hours of the day. While the chilling cold weather allowed hardly any local to move out, slogans of SFI-DYFI Zindabad reverberated through the air.

The rally was held on the slogans of “Alternative Polices of Education, Employment and Development.” The incumbent government led by the BJP is vociferously putting forth the idea there is no alternative but to accept the policies dictated by the IMF, World Bank and WTO, which means putting a larger burden on the common man. What could be the alternative path of development in Himachal Pradesh was the basic thrust of the rally.

Addressing the rally, DYFI general secretary Tapas Sinha highlighted in detail the Vajpayee government’s abject surrender to international finance. The hullabaloo made by the Vajpayee government of creating one crore jobs every year has fallen flat. On the contrary, more than 2 crore jobs have been cut under the Vajpayee regime. Sinha also said the BJP government has unleashed a most barbaric campaign, as was witnessed in Gujarat. He further said that because of the nature of class rule since independence, the condition of unemployment has grown alarming, leading to widespread unrest among the masses.

Rakesh Singha, former MLA from Shimla, castigated the state government for its failure on all fronts. He stressed the need of working for alternative policies of development. He further said that the incumbent government had promised of providing one lakh jobs actually; in reality the government has squeezed the scope of employment in the state. In the name of user charges in hospitals and other institutions, the government has imposed immense burdens on the common man.

Others to address the rally included state DYFI president Daleep Kaisth and secretary Tikender Singh Panwar, vice president Kushal Bhardwaj, state SFI secretary Manoj Chandel and local leaders of these organisations. (INN)