People's Democracy

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CPI(M) To Fight Virbhadra Govt’s  “Undeclared Emergency”

THE Himachal Pradesh state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has stated that the Virbhadra-led Congress government has promulgated an "undeclared emergency" in the state. The state government is not digesting democratic dissent and is attempting to curb the voice of the people by the frequent use of section 144 Cr. P.C, and the use of lathi and bullets in different parts of the state. 

Addressing a press conference in Shimla on December 30, 2006, Party state secretary Rakesh Singha announced the Party decision to launch a massive grassroots-level political campaign from mid-January against the violation of human rights, violation of various civil, criminal, and labour laws in the state. The actual programme details would be finalised shortly, he said. The Party will print 1 lakh booklets explaining the situation to the people. It will aim to reach to every house in the 17,495 villages and all the 57 small and major townships in the state. The campaign will demand justice to the murdered family members of Babu Ram, Dhan Singh and Vijay Tomar, justice to the 600 illegal retrenched workers of Chamera Hydel project stage III, justice to the struggling kisans of Wangtoo Karcham Hydel project. It shall raise the Thind episode, the conspiracy of the Virbhadra government to murder democracy in the university, the CPMT scam etc. Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau member, would launch the campaign.

The CPI(M), stated Singha, would not be cowed down by the fascist methods being adopted by the Virbhadra government and he called upon the people to end the jungle raj of the Congress government in the state.

Section 144 Cr P C was promulgated around the Karcham Wangtoo Hydel Project area for the last 15 days, outside the Deputy Commissioner offices in Chamba and in Tapowan (Dharamshalla) where the recent legislative assembly session was held. It is shocking how the organs of the State, especially the civil and police administration, have been politicised to serve the narrow, vested interests of the Congress Party. The state government is extending unethical and undue assistance to private construction companies like J P Industries, Hindustan Construction Company etc in order to help them garner super profits. The private companies are being permitted to garner profits at the cost of the violation of labour laws to the extent of not even implementing the statutory minimum wages.

He pointed out how the SDM Chamba has remanded Vijinder Mehra, a state committee member of the Party, to illegal judical custody. He was earlier taken into illegal police custody on December 28, 2006 at 10:15 a.m. along with 48 Chamera project workers. As per the law of the land, they were to be produced within 24 hours before a judicial magistrate but were done only after 32 hours of police confinement. As per the guidelines of the Supreme Court, neither was information of the arrest given to their closest relative, nor was immediate medical examination conducted, nor did the police inform them of the offence under which they were taken into custody. The Party has taken serious note of this violation and will take judicial recourse against this, informed Singha.