23 May 2018- Protest Action and mobilisation at State Capitals
Nationwide Campaign on 16-22 May 2018
The four years’ rule of Modi led NDA government which came to power with a promise of “Ache Din” (Good Days) and “Sab ka Vikas” (Development of all) has shown that the ‘Vikas’ was for only a chosen few corporate companies and monopoly houses. None of its promises to the toiling people had been fulfilled. The NDA Government is ruthlessly following the policies of neo-liberal imperialist globalisation, the same LPG policies started by the Congress. As of today, 1% of the population had amassed 53% of the assets of the country.
NDA which promised 2 crore employments in each year has terribly failed our youth with the employment not even reaching 2 lakhs per year. In our country where more than 10 lakh jobseekers enter the job market every month, unemployment is at its height now since independence where 77% households in the country had no regular wage / salaried person.According Labour Bureau, unemployment rate among the graduate youth (18 to 29 years) increased from 28% to 35% between 2014 and 2015. In addition, demonetization had resulted in the loss of 9 million (90 lakh) jobs between October 2016 and October 2017. GST regime has not only worsened the unemployment situation further, but has also taken away many essential commodities including medicine out of reach of common people.
NDA promised to control price rise but in fact, prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing and the PDS has collapsed with no funds. The mandatory linkage of Aadhar and the elimination of beneficiaries are resulting in starvation deaths. The deregulation of petroleum prices by the NDA has resulted in unprecedented price rise of petroleum despite the drastic fall in international price of crude oil.
The high profile promise of eliminating corruption and bringing back black money has become the joke of the day with results of demonetization and the scams coming out daily. Though received prior complaints, instead of preventing, the PMO extended patronage to corporate tycoon like Neerav Modi to loot Rs 11200 crore of public money from PNB and allowed to take shelter in foreign lands. Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya are other examples of corporate loot. The BJP which was so vocal on eliminating corruption before elections proved its dishonesty on the issue by not bringing Lokpal bill till date. Bad loans of wilful corporate defaulters amounting to more than Rs 1.91 lakh crores were written off during first three years of Modi regime with a record Rs.81, 683 crores in 2016-17 alone. Corruption is being institutionalised with the government allowing foreign and domestic corporate funding for political parties.
The NDA is in massive drive for privatisation of our national wealth through disinvestment, outright sale and strategic sale of the public sector. Despite all talk of nationalism, even strategic and key sectors like defence, railways, banks, insurance, BHEL and others are sought to be handed over to the foreign and domestic corporates. In the name of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’, corporates, both domestic and foreign, are being invited to exploit our country’s resources, including oil, gas and other natural resources as well as India’s workers. Laws to protect the environment are being diluted or openly violated. FRDI bill pending in the parliament is going to be a worst attack on the interests of the depositors, banks, insurance etc.
Labour laws are being amended brazenly favouring employers, snatching away the hard-earned rights of the workers including eight hours work, minimum wages, social security and the right to organise and collective bargaining. Contract system is allowed in everywhere and now the government has brought fixed term employment in all sectors.
Another glaring reneged promise to the peasantry is MSP at 50% above cost of production to all crops that could have benefit 65% of the families depending on agriculture. NDA betrayed farmers on the promise of comprehensive loan waiver too. The peasant suicide has been increased by 42% in the year 2014-15 under NDA rule and still continues to intensify. NDA is not ready to ensure minimum age and social security to agriculture workers and instead has curtailed allocation to MNREGA. The biggest betrayal is by the flagship scheme of NDA- PMFBY which has been made an instrument of loot, aiding private insurance companies. They had amassed Rs 15500 crore out of the 21500 crore collected as premium for the year 2015-16 as their profit. NDA has allowed 100% FDI in agriculture and announced contract farming that will facilitate large scale takeover of cultivation by Multi-National agro business companies, thus making farmers mere contract cultivators on their own land. 100% FDI in retail trade will endanger the existence of innumerable petty traders and petty producers across the country.
The government is on promoting privatization of education and health sectors and thus allows comercialisation of these sectors and put the public sector institutions at hazard by negating budget allocations.
In addition, the BJP and the fascistic RSS have been unleashing terror by spreading caste and communal hatred and violence. The democratic institutions and educational institutions are being taken over by RSS cadres and there was systemic assault on democratic space within such institutions and across the society. In BJP rule, mob lynching has become the order of the day. More than 40 innocent lives had been crushed to death by cow vigilantes. None of these criminals except one case in Jharkhand- were punished so far.
The murders of Kalburgi, Pansare and Gouri Lankesh are examples of crime to suppress the voice of dissent and rationality. Under BJP rule, the upper caste private armies are unleashing cruelty against dalits and adivasis and marginalized, imposing communal riots. The Kathuva incident is a glaring example of fascistic trait of using rape as a hate crime. Atrocities against women and children are on an all time high with the BJP leaders and ministers publicly protecting the culprits in most cases and the general impression among the public is that nobody is safe under Modi Rule. NDA has put the Women’s Reservation Bill in cold storage.
Judiciary is also being manipulated to suit the ruling class ideology and safeguard vested interests. The recent judgments on atrocities against SC Act, justice Loya case etc are glaring examples. Supreme Court judges are forced to come out in open to protest such manipulations.
The people of India who have the rich tradition of fighting iron shackle of British imperialism, feudalism and also the internal emergency cannot be silenced by this authoritarian fascistic RSS- BJP combine. The last four years witnessed innumerable and successful struggles by the basic classes and oppressed sections. Two general strikes in 2015 and 2016 in which 18 crore workers participated, workers mahapadav, many successful sectoral struggles and strikes including transport, electricity and scheme workers, united movement of the peasantry emerged the first time in the recent past which forced the NDA government to go back from its land acquisition ordinance and many successful peasant struggles including the Kisan Long March of Maharashtra are the results of consistent anti neoliberal movement including that under the national platform of mass organisations.
Unprecedented upsurge of the dalit and tribal movement against the century’s old oppression and the upsurge of the women, students and youth and movement against the loot of the nature by the corporates have been the highlights of India’s progressive movement. The united movement could successfully expose the corporate agenda behind the cattle trade ban and forcing the Government to withdraw and exposing the RSS on communalizing the issue. In this situation all the Left and Democratic mass, class and social organizations, groups and progressive individuals have come under the banner of Jan Ekta Jan Adhikar Andolan(JEJAA) to fight the neoliberal, anti people policies and the communal divisive agenda.
The fall of NDA government is imminent since it is accountable for the devastating impact of these policies. JEJAA which represents more than 100 organisations covering 20 crore members has decided to reach out to each citizen of the country to expose these communal and anti national agenda of the NDA government through the ‘Pol Khol- Halla Bol’ campaign with the slogan “change policies or the people shall change the government”. In more than 24 state capitals lakhs of people will assemble in rallies to ‘halla bol’ this government on 23 May 2018. This is not only the beginning of the end of NDA government but also launch of countrywide peoples movement to achieve the aim of building a democratic, secular, egalitarian and modern India free from all sorts of exploitation and oppression of human by human.
We request all the toiling people to support and join widespread campaigns and the rallies to expose the NDA Government and advance united struggles.
Unite to struggle for pro-people alternative policies, to defend democratic rights and secularism
Jan Ekta Jan Adhikar Andolan (JEJAA)
(National platform of mass, class, and social organizations, groups and progressive individuals)
Jan Ekta Jan Adhikar Jan Pratirodh
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