People's Democracy

AIKS All India Conference To Be Held In January 2010

All India Kisan Sabha has issued the following statement on  June 23, 2009

THE central kisan council (CKC) of the All India Kisan Sabha met on June 22, 2009 in New Delhi under the presidentship of S Ramachandran Pillai, president of the All India Kisan Sabha. The meeting was attended by 36 members from across the country. The meeting began by condoling the deaths of veteran leaders of the Left and democratic movement Comrade Ahilya Rangnekar and Comrade Prabhakar Sanzgiri. The meeting condemned the killings of innocent people as well as leading members of the Left movement in Lalgarh in West Medinipur district as well as other parts of West Bengal in course of the terror regime let loose by Trinamool Congress with the help of Maoist extremists. It also paid homage to the victims of the Aila cyclone in Bengal and expressed appreciation of the relief activities of the AIKS and other democratic organisations. The CKC demands that the central government declare Aila as a national calamity and rush immediate help and assistance to the lakhs of people who have been affected.

The general secretary in his report to the CKC spoke about the agrarian crisis which has resulted in farmers� suicides in acute distress in the rural areas of different parts of the country. He exposed the hollowness of the presidential address which remained totally silent of the agrarian crisis and made tall promises. He expressed apprehension regarding the continuation of the neo-liberal policies in the sphere of agriculture and the capitulation to the WTO-World Bank-IMF diktats which are seriously harming the interests of the farmers of the developing countries. The undue haste with which the Commerce minister of the newly elected UPA government traveled to the USA to�re-negotiate� terms of trade agreements is a cause for concern. The All India Kisan Sabha has already written to the prime minister against this move and urged him to ensure transparency in trade negotiations by discussing all details in the parliament and with representatives of farmers� organisations. The general secretary emphasised on the need for identifying local issues and building consistent organised struggles around them.

The CKC decided to hold the next all India conference of the AIKS at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh between January 7-10, 2010. The preparations for the conference should begin by completing local, district and state conferences by November 2009 and organising series of programmes in the run up to the conference. The CKC decided to commemorate the EMS centenary year with the holding of seminars, conventions and meetings revolving around the broad topic of EMS and the Peasantry under the AIKS banner in the coming year. The CKC also decided to observe solidarity campaign in support of the comrades of Bengal who are facing terror attacks in Lalgarh and other parts of West Bengal across the country in the month of July 2009.