MAHARASHTRA

Intensify Struggle Against Nuke Deal  And Anti-People Policies: Yechury

THE Mumbai committee of CPI(M) conducted widespread campaign against Indo-US nuclear deal, inflation and anti-people policies of UPA government in Mumbai city, in suburbs and Mira-Road-Virar belt, from July 17 -21, 2008. Programmes of various forms including more than a hundred street corner meetings and demonstrations, one open ground public meeting, one hall meeting, distribution of about eighty thousands leaflets, were conducted and twenty big display boards with main slogans of campaign were put up.

The committee began the campaign on July 27 with public meeting under the banner of Left Front which was addressed by Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau member of CPI(M). Despite heavy rains since last three days and on  July 27, the meeting received very good response. Adarsh Vidyalaya hall in distant eastern suburb of Chembur overflowed with people from various walks of life.

After Mahendra Singh, Mumbai secretary of CPI(M), made introductory remarks explaining the purpose of the meeting, Dr Ashok Dhawale, state secretary dealt in brief current situation, political campaign conducted by Party in the state since July 14, 2008 against nuclear deal, inflation and anti-people policies of UPA government and the plan chalked out by Party state committee on the ensuing statewide campaign.

In his speech, Sitaram Yechury dealt with various aspects of the current situation and the role of the Left. At the outset he severely condemned serial bomb blasts at Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Dealing with the CPI(M) and Left stand on Indo-US nuclear deal since it was first spelt out in Manmohan Singh-Bush Declaration in 2005, Yechury came down heavily on the vested interests carrying disinformation against CPI(M) and Left. He said CPI(M) and Left were not against people of USA, they were against US imperialism, they were with 72 per cent population  of US which has disapproved policies of Bush administration. He pointed out that Manmohan Singh's minority government was entering into a deal with a lameduck Bush administration. He flayed Manmohan Singh government and accused it of betraying Left parties repeatedly on Indo-US nuclear deal and said CPI(M) and Left cannot be party to mortgaging sovereignty of India and entering into strategic alliance with US imperialism. Yechury lashed out at Samajwadi party also for its betrayal on the issue of nuclear deal and said it had betrayed Left earlier also on two occasions and will have to pay heavy price for the present betrayal. Repudiating motivated charge against CPI(M) and Left that it has joined hands with communal BJP, Sitaram said that communalism cannot be combated by aligning with imperialism and pursuing anti-people neo-liberal economic policies. Exposing the UPA policies, Sitaram pointed out that 77 per cent of Indian's daily expenditure was Rs 20 and said neo-liberal economic policies cannot eliminate poverty. Debunking the UPA government's claim that the deal was essential for augmenting electricity energy availability, he gave details of other better options available to the country. Dealing with the despicable means used by UPA to win trust vote, Sitaram said that Congress may have won the trust vote but has lost the trust of the people of India. Refuting the claim that Left was isolated, Sitaram said that though Samajwadi party had betrayed Left, more secular parties had joined with CPI(M) and Left in opposing the deal. He said that ten parties, BSP, TDP, CPI(M), CPI, FB, RSP, JD(S), RLD, INLB and JVM had formed a campaign committee and decided to launch joint national level campaign on five pressing issues. He explained that the consistent campaign on people's issues would lead to emergence of non-Congress-non-BJP third alternative. He concluded by exhorting audience to intensify struggle against nuclear deal and anti-people policies. The audience responded by thunderous applause and the hall reverberated with thunderous slogans of 'scrap nuclear deal', 'resist imperialism and communalism', 'fight anti-people neo-liberal policies' and  'inquilab zindabad'.