People's Democracy

  Jammu: Dharna Highlights Pressing Issues

 Shyam Kesar

ON September 20, the Jammu regional committee of the CPI(M) staged a day long dharna in front of the Raj Bhawan in Jammu. Led over by Om Parkash, this dharna was staged for the demands relating to food, land and employment, on which the CPI(M) Central Committee had called for launching a countrywide movement in August and September this year.

While addressing the dharna, CPI(M) regional committee secretary Shyam Prasad Kesar demanded the lifting of the ban on recruitment on central government and state government posts, promotion to industrialisation and provision of jobs in primary education and service sectors by reversing the policies of liberalisation. Kesar also demanded universalisation of the public distribution system and distribution of government wasteland and excess land among the landless instead of giving to big businesses and multinational companies.

CPI(M) state committee member Kishore Kumar demanded enhancement of allocations for employment generation for the educated unemployed and extension of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to urban areas. He also demanded inclusion of more commodities in the ration system and regularisation of Rehbar-e-Teleem teachers as well as Anganwadi workers and helpers.

Speakers also raised important demands like stop to the reversal of land reforms in various states and enactment of radical land reforms acts like those in West Bengal and Kerala, joint pattas for women, expansion of Antyodaya scheme, and issuance of BPL cards to all those who were denied cards. Immediate revision of food for work programme’s guidelines to ensure decentralisation, people’s participation and inclusion of other areas in this scheme, 33 per cent reservation for women, and homestead land for landless agricultural workers were the other major demands. The dharna also raised the issue that land and mineral resources of a region are national wealth, and should not be opened for imperialist exploitation. Adequate compensation to farmers who have suffered crop losses and permanent jobs to those ousted because of dam construction in Kathua, Doda and Udhampur districts were some immediate and pressing issues agitating the protestors.

Veteran leader Bishan Dass, K K Bakhshi, Om Parkash, Dharam Singh, V K Vaid, O P Sanyal, Rajinder Kumar, S Mahadev Singh, Sohan Lal, Master Prem Dass, Jembal Singh, Dara Singh and Mangat Ram also spoke on this occasion.