EDITORIAL

Forward To September 29

BY all accounts of the preparations, the September 29 industrial strike called by the convention of central trade unions is going to be a resounding success. The 16-point charter of demands (published in these columns earlier) enumerated by the trade unions has received widespread support. Many employees organisations like the bank employees, the insurance sector unions, as well as teachers both college and school and various sections of the state and central government employees have decided to join the strike. The unions of the airport authority and those from the telecommunications sector along with the medical representatives have also announced their decisions to participate in the strike. Given this widespread support, industrial and commercial activity in the country is likely to come to a standstill.

Additionally, organisations of working people ranging from the kisan sabhas, agricultural workers unions’, youth, student and women have taken independent programmes of mass mobilisation synchronizing with the action of the industrial workers on September 29. This will surely lead the protest movement on this day to higher dimensions.

The bourgeois media and sections of the ruling classes are aghast at the fact that the Left parties are supporting this action even while supporting the UPA government from the outside. They consider this to be a contradiction.

The Left parties decision is not only not a contradiction, but it in fact strengthens the popular pressure on the UPA government to implement much of the promises that it itself made when it adopted the Common Minimum Programme as a governmental policy. Much of the demands raised in the charter find mention in the Common Minimum Programme and therefore need to be implemented in right earnest urgently. Certain others which do not find mention in the Common Minimum Programme like the demand to take stringent measures to recover the over one lakh crores of rupees of non-performing assets owed to the nationalized banks by the corporate sector and to recover the over one lakh crores of rupees of unpaid tax arrears are measures that will only strengthen the country’s economy and the UPA government.

Over these months of the existence of the UPA government there have been intense debates both within the government and within the coalition on the pace of implementation of the CMP provisions. It is no secret that there are forces who seek to try and scuttle the implementation of many pro-people provisions within the CMP The CMP however is the declared policy objective of the government and popular pressure will have to be intensified  in order to implement these provisions.

The September 29 action is aimed precisely to strengthen the popular pressure on the UPA government to implement its promises in right earnest and to prevent the government from embarking on a fresh course of anti-people policies.

All Indian patriots who cherish the future prosperity of the country and the welfare of the people must come forward to support this action for building a better India tomorrow.