People's Democracy

(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Vol. XXXII

No. 31

August 10 , 2008

 

 

AIKS Extends Support To August 20 General Strike



THE All India Kisan Sabha has extended full support to the general strike called by trade unions on August 20, 2008 against the neo-liberal and pro-MNC policies of the UPA government.

In a statement issued on August, 06, 2008 AIKS general secretary K Varadha Rajan announced that the AIKS will organise independent and  joint actions on the same day in support of following burning demands of peasantry, agricultural  workers, working class, employees and other sections of  toiling masses:

  1.  Amend Loan waiver scheme to cover the needy by raising the limit to 5 hectares, covering dry and rainfed lands in all the districts, fixing cut-off date at February 29, 2008; grant adequate credit to farmers at 4 per cent interest and take appropriate measures to  write-off  loans given by private money lenders.
  2.  Reduce prices of inputs like fertiliser, seeds, pesticides etc and make it available to farmers in time.
  3.  Strengthen procurement and pay remunerative prices as MSP for all the agricultural produces.
  4.  Strengthen PDS, make it universal and control prices of all consumer goods.
  5.  Enact & introduce Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme immediately to cover all types of spurious seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and natural calamities.
  6.  Proper implementation of NREGA and Forest (Tribal) Right Act.
  7.  Enact and introduce central legislation for agricultural workers and provide  house- sites to all the needy and landless.
  8.  Impose Quantitative-Restrictions on import of agricultural produces.
  9.  Increase public investment in agricultural sector so as to provide good infrastructure, cheap power, irrigation, inputs, cold storage, transportation etc.
  10.  Stop reckless approval of SEZ, corporate  and contract farming.

The AIKS state units would be adding their local and burning demands and organise actions like rasta roko and rail roko etc. synchronising with the general strike of working class and employees and make the August  20 general strike a complete success.