People's Democracy

MANIK SARKAR AT AIKS RALLY

‘Emerging Vacuum Must be Filled

by Left and Democratic Forces’

N S Arjun

WITH both the Congress and the BJP-led alliances losing ground among the people of the country, there is an urgent need for the Left and democratic forces to fill the emerging vacuum. This vacuum can be filled not by leaders but by massive and ceaseless struggles across the country for an alternative policy regime. And in these struggles, farmers and peasantry of the country must play an important role, like they did during the freedom struggle.

This was the call given by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and chief minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar, while addressing a massive gathering of peasants in Cuddalore on July 27, 2013 marking the successful conclusion of the 33rd all India conference of AIKS.

Earlier, the peasants marched from S N Chavdi on Puducherry Road to the venue of the meeting near Town Hall, which has been rechristened as B Sreenivasa Rao Nagar, after the legendary leader of farmer struggles in this region.

Sarkar made a blistering attack on Congress party for pursuing pro-rich and anti-people economic policies. He said the BJP also has shown during its governance that it pursues similar anti-people policies. Therefore, there is a need to mobilise non-Congress, non-BJP, Left and democratic parties around an alternative policy platform. If such parties do not show interest in such a platfrorm, efforts must be made to reach out to the masses rallied behind such parties and canvass for alternative policies.

The fact that there are just two major parties in the UPA alliance remaining – NCP and National Conference – shows how much the Congress is alienated because of its anti-poor policies, said Sarkar. Even sections of urban people and youth that had supported the Congress in 2009 have moved away from it now. One of the reasons for this has been the unprecedented levels of corruption indulged by Congress rulers. “They are looting public resources like dacoits. They have sullied the image of India across the world”, he said and called for working vigorously to further isolate Congress from the masses.

Sarkar pointed out that the BJP-led NDA is also not in a good shape with only Akali Dal and Shiv Sena left in the alliance as major parties. The BJP during its governance has shown how corrupt it can be and they paid a price for that in Karnataka during the last assembly elections. Given its communal nature, the Left and democratic forces must work to expose the BJP.

Newly-elected general secretary of AIKS, Hannan Mollah charged the UPA government of systematically destroying agriculture, which is a backbone of our society and economy and in which over 50 per cent of population are directly or indirectly connected with. Reversal of land reforms by concentrating land in the hands of corporates, criminal neglect of providing irrigation facilities, quality inputs and credit at cheaper rates etc were cited by him. He said the AIKS will chalk out a nationwide struggle programme on issues facing the farmers of the country.

Newly-elected president of AIKS, Amra Ram, speaking in Hindi, lauded the efforts of Tamilnadu comrades in successful holding of the historic 33rd conference of AIKS. AIKS vice president K Varadharajan, CPI(M) central committee member and MP, T K Rengarajan, president of Tamilnadu unit of AIKS, K Balakrishna, and its secretary, P Shanmugam and CPI(M) Cuddalore district secretary T Armugam also addressed the gathering.

AIKS vice president S Ramachandran Pillai,  CPI(M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan and other office bearers of AIKS were present on the dais.