People's Democracy

GUJARAT

Campaign Against Price Rise Evokes Good Response

THE Gujarat state committee of CPI(M)  has organised a state wide campaign against price rise and for food security. In Bhavnagar, a huge rally of about ten thousand people was held on the above demands.  The collector promised the delegation led by Arun Mehta, Central Committee member and Gujarat state secretary of CPI(M) to look into the issue of price rise and in fact, declared that for Diwali festival, rice and wheat (25 kilos) would be supplied at reduced rates.

The enthusiastic participants of the rally, first attended a huge mass meting at Moti Bagh which was addressed by Naliniben Jadeja, Bhavnagar district secretary of CPI(M), Subodh Mehta, senior leader and Arun Mehta, state secretary. Later the rally moved through the main city roads, especially blocking the road from Bhagat Singh Statue to old High Court building. The traffic all along came to a stand still. It may be noted that this successful meeting was preceded by general body meetings held by the Party and mass organisations in five wards, as well as small conferences, as planned and guided in detail by the state secretariat. The specially encouraging factor has been the participation of innumerable new people with the attendance of women surpassing all previous numbers.

In Rajkot, the police resorted to severe lathi-charge on the participants. In order to create a pretext to lathicharge, since the rally was very peaceful, the police themselves broke the glasses of the police van which the press captured in camera and printed the same the very next day. The police also manhandled the women participants. The campaign against price rise and food security was organised together with the issue of BPL and ration cards as well as water security in Gujarat. The response of the people has been quite encouraging.

In Ahmedabad, police arrested eighty one leading participants of the demonstration against price rise. In Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha, a well attended rally of peasants took place. The participants from villages reached on foot the place of demonstration. In Dahod Panchmahal, adivisis participated in the anti price rise movement, especially at Fatehpura, which was the main centre of mobilisation. This is the district where the CPI(M) doubled its vote in comparison to previous poll. The villages here are scarcely populated at quite a distance from each other. In Amreli, very recently a new unit of the Party was formed and they held a mass rally against price rise, successfully before the collectorate. In Junagadh, the campaign for food security was clubbed with a very big movement for �Girnag rope way�. In Baroda, a dharna was held against price rise before the collectorate. In Surat, led by district secretary of the Party, Mansukh Khorasia, a dharna was held before the collectorate and the participants were detained. The participation of women was encouraging.

In November, a bigger movement and campaign has been planned against price rise and for food security.