People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist)
|
Vol. XXXIII
No.
41
October
11, 2009
|
RLDF
MEETINGS IN THANE DISTRICT
Pouring
Rains Do Not
Prevent Thousands
From
Hearing Their
Leaders
N
S Arjun
from
Dahanu (Maharashtra)
IT
has been raining
incessantly in this part of Maharashtra
since October
4, morning. All the four major bourgeois parties in the state cancelled
their
rallies and meetings scheduled on the day due to this reason. But the
campaign
meetings of the RLDF in favour of the CPI(M) candidates in Thane
district were
not cancelled. And the people of Dahanu showed why. Thousands,
predominantly
tribals, began their march into this town from their villages around 10
to 20
km from 10 a.m. itself.
The public meeting in which former prime
minister H D Deve Gowda and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury
were to
participate was scheduled to be held at 11 a.m. but could only begin at
around
1 p.m., again due to disruption in the travel plans of the leaders due
to the
rain. They had to come by road from Mumbai, instead of by helicopter as
originally planned due to the heavy rain. Yet the gathering stood in
the ground
braving heavy rains, some under umbrellas, some under the trees and
most just
drenching in the rain. They waited patiently for the arrival of the
leaders.
Deve
Gowda in his speech
said it was remarkable that in such rains also there was such a big turnout and more remarkable was the
fact that the people stayed put despite the delay in the start of the
meeting.
He expressed confidence that the CPI(M) candidate would get re-elected
from
here. Yehcury too praised the people of Dahanu for proving right the
confidence
of the Party in going ahead with the meeting in this inclement weather.
CALL
TO ELECT
RLDF
CANDIDATES
H
D Deve Gowda and
Sitaram Yechury both appealed to the people of Maharashtra
to give a push to the recently formed Republican Left Democratic Front
(RLDF)
in the assembly polls. thus paving way for emergence of a durable
nationwide
alternative to the Congress and BJP-led alliances.
They
were addressing a
huge election rally in Dahanu on the day in favour of the CPI(M)
candidate
Rajaram Nathu Ojare, who is seeking re-election from Dahanu (ST)
consituency.
Thousands of people, predominantly tribals, attended this meeting
braving
incessant rains.
Deve
Gowda in his speech
asserted that both Congress and BJP pursue similar economic policies
which have
resulted in wealth getting concentrated in the hands of a few, leaving
out vast
sections of rural population from the growth process. �They are two
sides of
the same coin. Reject both and elect the secular alternative of RLDF in
the
coming polls�, he appealed. He attacked the BJP as �a menace to the
nation�
with its communal politics. He also termed the Congress as a party
which opts
for soft Hindutva. Gowda recalled how, during his brief tenure as prime
minister, he initiated many measures for the welfare of farmers and the
poor
under the guidance of the late CPI(M) leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet.
Yechury
in his speech
said there are two Indias
and two Maharashtras at present. One is a shining India
in which the number of billionaires has jumped sharply while another is
suffering India
in which 80 per cent of people live on less than Rs 20 per day. He
cited how
one industrialist in Mumbai is constructing his home at the cost of Rs
400
crore while millions are starving. Price rise, which is ruining the
lives of
ordinary people, is due to rampant speculation in commodities. This is
not
being curbed by the Congress-NCP UPA government because they are in
favour of
such speculators. He said there is a need for an alternative which will
implement alternative economic policies. And in this quest, the people
of Maharashtra can help by giving a
push to the RLDF.
Yechury expressed happiness at the blue flags (RPI) and red flags
coming
together after decades. �The forces fighting against caste-based
oppression and
the forces fighting against economic exploitation have consolidated
their
ranks. This has a significant direction for the future of Maharashtra
and indeed of the country,� he said.
Later,
Yechury also addressed a rally in Vikramgarh in Thane district from
where
CPI(M) candidate Ratanraoji Budhar is contesting. Here also, people
turned out
in good numbers despite rain. Deve Gowda also addressed another meeting
in
Boisar constituency where the JD(S) is fighting.
CPI(M)
state secretary Ashok Dhawle, CPI(M) former MP and state secretariat
member
Lahanu
Sirvah Kom, and leaders of RPI, JD(S) and Samajwadi Party were among
those who
addressed the meetings.
