SEPTEMBER 29 COUNTRYWIDE STRIKE

On To A Successful Strike Action

Jyoti Basu addressing the convention in Kolkata

KOLKATA MASS CONVENTION

A VERY well attended united mass convention was held at the packed Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata (capacity 15,000 plus) in support of the general strike to be held all over the country on September 29. The area around the stadium, too, was filled with people from every section of the society who came out in large numbers to make a notable success of the convention.

The principle speaker at the mass convention was veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu. The organisers of the convention were: central TUs, centre and state government employees, employees’ organisations in defence, telecom, bank, airlines, oil, gas, insurance, industry-based federations, and Left organisations of kisans, students, youth, and women.

Jyoti Basu started by calling upon the united mass convention to go out and propagate that there was real need to make the strike action on September 29 an exemplary mass action.  Rallies and marches would be held all along till the day of the strike to enhance the level of consciousness of the masses about the need for the protest action.  The Congress-run union government must be made to realise that there was no way it would get away with anti-people policies without facing a severe protest.

Chastising the Congress, and the Congress-led UPA government, for the wrong and anti-people moves it would continually make, Jyoti Basu said that the Congress must come away from holding onto the shop-soiled and counter-progressive legacy left behind by the BJP-led NDA governance.  The Left, Basu iterated, did not talk merely of opposition; it spoke powerfully about alternatives to, for example, the anti-people outlook of the present union government’s decision to hike the price of petro products and to disinvest even in the navratna companies.

All this, said Jyoti Basu, should be communicated to the masses and there was no room for holding onto one’s silence while seeking to expose the policies of the Congress-led government that ran counter to the people’s interests.

Jyoti Basu also spoke strongly about waging waves of struggles against the communal menace.  He pointed out that the TUs who held on to the political line of the BJP did not support the strike action.  For that matter, Basu said, the INTUC itself had chosen to veer away from the strike action as well.  Congress, declared Basu, might not be a communal force itself, but it made compromises with the communal line.

Basu lauded the mass actions taking place around the country and he was full of admiration for the brave fight put up by the kisans of Rajasthan against the anti-peasant and anti-people BJP state government, forcing that government to retract some of its policy decisions.

Jyoti Basu concluded by issuing a rousing call for the Left to approach every man and woman on the issue of the strike, in the process moving around the rural stretches and the urban mohallahs, ensuring that the democratically conscious masses of Bengal remained in the forefront of the struggle against all anti-people policies of the union government.

Others who addressed the mass convention were: Kali Ghosh (CITU) who raised the resolution in support of the strike, Samar Baora (Kisan Sabha), Rekha Goswami (AIDWA), Shibshankar Roy (12th July Committee), Ranjit Guha (AITUC), Basudev Basu (AICCTU), Gita Sengupta (Mahila Samity), Apurba Chatterjee (SFI), Saral Deb (TUCC), Shankar Saha (TUCC-LS), Prabodh Panda (Krishak Sabha), Ashok Ghosh (TUCC), Rabindra Pal (DSO), and Shyamal Banerjee (banking federation).

(B Prasant)

CONVENTIONS IN PUNJAB

A STATE-level convention of National Platform of Mass Organisation (NPMO) was held in Ludhiana on September 12, at Nehru Sidhant Kendra, which was attended by various leaders of central and state employees federations and unions. The convention was chaired by a presidium consisting of Professor Balwant Singh, state president of CITU, Rachhpal Singh, president of Kisan Sabha, Bant Barar, general secretary of AITUC, and Maha Singh Rory, president of PSSF.

Addressing the convention, M K Pandhe, all India president of CITU and Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) said that the UPA government assumed office at the centre in May 2004 in the background of the utter failure of the BJP-led NDA government to tackle the basic problems of common people, to promote employment, to ensure poverty alleviation, to provide food security to the hungry millions etc. The people who had much expectations from the UPA government in bringing about a pro-people shift in economic policies were left disappointed by the government. The National Common Minimum Programme, which despite its manifest pro-reform stance, contained commitments to implement certain pro-people measures is being ignored by and large. He demanded that the government must immediately enact a comprehensive legislation on service conditions and social security for unorganised sector and agricultural workers with adequate government funding and monitoring.

Addressing the convention, Balwant Singh, who is also the convenor of the NPMO, said the present government has virtually redefined the very concept of public sector from “wholly owned” to “51 per cent holding of equity” by the government. The attempt by the finance minister to justify disinvestment as necessary for mobilising resources for social sector expenditure and for rehabilitation of sick PSUs is reprehensible, he said. Balwant Singh also blasted the government for imposing burdens on the common people by increasing the prices of petroleum products on five occasions, ever since assuming office. He  appealed to all mass organisations to make September 29 strike a historic success.

The convention was also addressed by Raghunath Singh, general secretary of the Punjab CITU and co-convenor of NPMO, Vijay Misra, working president of Punjab CITU and Bant Barar, general secretary of Punjab AITUC unit. Rachhpal Singh and Lehmbar Singh Taggar of Punjab Kisan Sabba in their speeches declared full support of the peasantry to the September 29 strike call.

Earlier, on September 9, a convention of National Platform of Mass Organisations (NPMO) was held at Cheema Bhavan, Chandigarh which was attended by more than 500 representatives of various organisations.

IN DELHI

THE CITU Delhi state committee is making hectic preparations to make the all-India general strike of September 29 a success. More than one lakh leaflets have already been distributed by CITU committees and unions in different areas. A series of public meetings and mike propaganda has also been organised. A big joint demonstration, in which more than 3000 people participated, was organised at ITO in Delhi on September 15 on the occasion of the all-India Demands Day. Dharnas were also organised on the same day at Labour Offices in Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad. Over 300 leaders from different unions affiliated to CITU participated in the dharna in Ghaziabad. The CITU's campaign is evoking enthusiastic response from the workers. Party members and activists of the AIDWA, DYFI and other mass organisations are participating in the campaign to ensure the success of the strike.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the Party central committee’s call for campaign and struggle on the issues of land, food and employment in August and September is also going on in full swing in Delhi and the adjoining areas. Besides these issues, other important issues of the campaign in Delhi include privatisation and hike in tariffs of civic amenities, crimes against women, certain demands of the working class and condition of dalits. Similar local issues have been added in Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad.

Over two lakh leaflets and 10,000 folders have been distributed to popularise the demands. Hundreds of street corner meetings and several public meetings have also been organised. These include a big public meeting in Ghaziabad on September 8, which was addressed by Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat.

Activities organised by different committees of the Party as part of this campaign  include demonstrations/dharnas at Delhi Jal Board offices in areas of West and South Delhi as well as demonstrations at ration offices in East Delhi. A huge demonstration was held on September 12 at the secretariat of the Delhi state government by the people of Sonia Vihar, East Delhi as part of this campaign. Other activities include dharnas, demonstrations and mass deputations in Central Delhi, North Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad. A central demonstration is being organised in Delhi on September 22 and similar demonstrations will take place in Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad on that day.

IN TAMILNADU

ENTHUSIASTIC preparations are on in full swing all over Tamilnadu and Pondi-cherry to ensure complete success of the September 29 general strike. CITU, AITUC, HMS, AICCTU and UTUC-LS along with various national federations like AIIEA, AIBEA, BEFI, Confederation of CG employees, AISGEF, STFI, AIFUCTO and unions in various public sector units including oil, transport and electricity have come together to make the strike a great success.

Four successful regional conventions were held in Tanjore, Coimbatore, Madurai and Thirunelveli while a state level convention was held in Chennai on September 6. The enthusiasm among the ground-level workers for the strike was amply reflected in these conventions, many of which were held in jam-packed halls.

The Chennai convention was addressed by A Soundararajan (CITU), S S Theagarajan (AITUC), A S Kumar (AICCTU), N Kumaresh (UTUC-LS) and N Dorai Raj (Working People Council) and others.

A resolution, explaining the demands for the strike, which included the various issues connected with the state government was also moved by S S Theagarajan and was seconded by all the speakers before it was unanimously adopted by the convention.

The convention called upon all the workers and the employees in the state to conduct campaigns and organise successful strike on September 29. The convention decided to serve strike notice on September 15 and organise massive rallies in all the district centres on September 17. In Chennai, the rally will be held on September 22.

In the meanwhile, various sectoral-level preparations are also going ahead. State-level conventions were organised by employees and teachers, central and state government employees in Chennai on September 10 by confederation of central government employees, AISGEF, STFI and AIFUCTO. The well-attended convention was addressed by K K Theckedath, M Durai Pandian, N L Sridharan, Rajendran, James Williams and others who exhorted the participants to make the strike successful. District level conventions are also being organised all over the state.

Sectoral-joint campaigns have also been planned in banks, telecom and
insurance sectors in the state. A meeting of district secretaries of CITU was held on September 6 to review the preparations. It has been decided to bring out lakhs of handbills, thousands of posters and conduct extensive campaigns all over the state. A special number of Theekathir daily on the general strike is being brought out on September 22. The CITU has decided to sell around 50,000 copies of it on that day. This special number will carry articles on various issues of the strike.

The Left peasants and agricultural workers unions in the state met and issued a joint statement calling for organising rasta roko and road roko all over the state on September 29.

Women, student and youth organisations are also planning for struggles on their issues, so that a powerful protest action is organised in the state on the day of the national general strike.

(A K Padmanabhan)