People's Democracy

THE rural poor must be provided with ample employment, land for cultivation and house-sites, sufficient wages and humane conditions of work immediately. Serious efforts to effectively implement the NREGA must be done. Disregarding the interests of the toiling masses if the government continues its neo-liberal policies of fattening the MNCs and pauperizing the toilers there will be more and more militant resistance from the working people.” Thus, Kumar Stralkar, CWC member of AIAWU, warned the government while speaking before the agitating mass of agricultural workers from Marathwada region, who had gathered for a Marathwada regional level march at Aurangabad commissioner at Toilers from Parbham, Beed, Hingoli and Jalana flocked for the demonstration from the remotest corners of Marathwada. Dalits and Nomadics marched in big numbers along with others landless and homeless rural poor. The busy citizens of Aurangabad were attracted by the red-flags and banners and the loud slogans like implement the NREGA in all Marathwada district, all homeless must get plots, down with atrocities on Dalits & Nomadics, Enact central legislation for agricultural workers, we demand red flag on the Red Fort, Long Live the unity of the rural poor and so on. 

After reaching the commissioner office a delegation of activists led by the Union Joint Secretaries Rajan Kshisagar and Babasaheb Sarvade met the commissioner and presented a memorandum of demands as well as local applications to press for immediate implementation pressing problems. The commissioner promised to call a meeting of the concerned officials to thrash out the administrative hurdles in the implementation of government schemes and our Union activists complied to provide lists of persons denied the rights to house-site plots Gairan land titles etc. 

The public meeting outside the office was addressed by Maharashtra AIAWU activists and fraternal organisations. Ishwar Patil and Linabi Kachare narrated their experiences in organizing the rural poor and the problems created by the corrupt administration CITU leader Uddav Bhavalkar greeted the agricultural workers for their militant march and warned the administration to implement the various programmes PB Charan, president of Maharashtra AIAWU, criticized the neo-liberal policies of opening up agriculture to the MNCS and jeered at them asking how the fattening of the foreign companies conserve the interest of India.

Vitthal More, state secretariat member of CPI(M), Anna Sawant (CITU), Madhuri Kshisagar (JMS), Bhagwan Bhojane (DYFI) expressed solidarity by joining the demonstration state council members of Maharashtra AIAWU Haribhai Wartha, Indira Charan, Natthubhau Salave, Lambaji Kachare, Rajjak Sayyad led the march along with Marathwada activists. Many comrades in Marathwada especially Raosaheb Giri, Rameshwar Pal, Ramesh Sathe, Marathi Khandare, Dudhalkar, worked tirelessly for the success of the demonstration. Resolving to obtain their reight to employment, land, house sites, all the people returned to their nature places.