People's Democracy

BIG RALLY OF BENGAL NPMO AT SHAHID MINAR

Statewide Mass Movements Needed

THE Bengal unit of the National Platform of Mass Organisations (NPMO) have led movements across Bengal over the past four months based on the legitimate demands of the state from the Congress-led union government. District headquarters have seen massive rallies and big processions in support of the demands from the centre. The demands are:

• The union government must initiate efforts towards changing the anti-people clauses of the WTO agreement on industry, agriculture, education, medicines, and services

• A legislation must be passed which would ensure that at least one person belonging to a poverty-ridden family must be provided with employment for at least one hundred days per year with 40 per cent reserved for women

• The right to work must be recognised in the Constitution as a fundamental right

• To prevent commercialisation of education and health, a budgetary provision of 6 per cent of the GDP for education and 3 per cent GDP for health must be ensured

• The Supreme Court verdict calling for the taking away of the right to strike must be abrogated and a legislation must be put in place safeguarding the right to strike

• The rate of interest on small savings must be rationally enhanced; the rates of interest in GPF and EPF must be made to become 12 per cent

• A comprehensive legislation must be enacted for the workers in the unorganised sector and those engaged in household sector, and a minimum wage must be fixed and implemented

• A legislation must be set up to ensure the equal rights of women against social and economic discrimination and against torture

• The bank, insurance, telecom, airport and other state-run units must not be privatised and must not be opened out to the wanton forays of foreign capital; sick industries must be revived

• The prices of petroleum products and other essential commodities of daily use must be reduced; the public distribution system must be strengthened.

At the end of the four-month long campaign-movement, a central rally, massive in proportions, was held at the Shahid Minar maidan in Kolkata on April 17. Veteran communist leader, and Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), Jyoti Basu was the principal speaker at the rally that saw the entire stretch of grounds adjoining and abutting on the venue itself packed with people who came from all walks of life, braving the unseasonal heat.

In his address, Jyoti Basu said that the movement should be continued rigorously with and at the same time, the union government must be made to enter into a dialogue with the NPMO so that the demands were met, and early. The prioritised list of the demands must be placed in the discussion. More and more people must be made to become deeply involved in the movements going on for wresting the demands from the union government.

The union government, said the former Bengal chief minister, must be reminded of the accountability they should possess to the people based on the Common Minimum Programme. However, Basu believed that unless and until pressure was mounted on the union government through burgeoning mass movements, it might not be possible to make it see reason and abide by the 10-point charter of demands of the NPMO.

Presiding over the rally, state president of the CITU, Shyamal Chakraborty said that the smaller tracks of movements going on must be brought together into a powerful stream of struggle involving more and more people. The NPMO has been engaged precisely in this task for some time now. State general secretary of the CITU, Kali Ghosh who placed the resolution of the rally before the gathering said that there was no point in labouring under the illusion that the union government would prove amenable to the demands raised by the NPMO. Thus, mass movements must be continued with and the base of the movement spread ever wider.

Other speakers at the rally were: Shankar Saha (UTUC-LS), Rekha Goswami (AIDWA), Gita Sengupta (Nikhil Banga Mahila Sangha), Ranjit Guha (AITUC), Sudip Sengupta (SFI), Abdul Hai (DYFI), Ashok Ghosh (UTUC), Tapan Ganguly (AIYF), and Anjanava Chakraborty (AIDSO).