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Workers, peasants, women and youth
march militantly to parliament and resolve to fight for the people's agenda
Hundreds of workers, peasants, women, youth and children marched
from the Mandi House circle to Parliament on July 6, 2004 to unveil the People's
Agenda for struggle. There were workers from the Modern Food Industries, Fruit
Juice Bottling Plant Rasika, the Okhla and Wazirpur Industrial Areas as well
as other industrial areas of Delhi. Their were peasant activists as well as
teachers and youth activists from Rajasthan and Haryana. There were large number
of youth and school children from the slums and resettlement colonies of Delhi
like Sanjay Colony, Madanpur Khadar Vistaar, Indira Camp and Giri Nagar. There
were women activists and college students as well as trade union leaders and
rights activists from Kanpur, Manipur and other regions. Dozens of banners and
hundreds of placards gave the demonstration an extremely colourful picture.
Over 24 organisations had come together to put forth the People's Agenda for
immediate action in front of parliament and the Indian people during the budget
session. They had decided to organise a Massive Demonstration on July 6, 2004.
The organisers of the demonstration included the Lok Raj Sangathan, All India
People's Resistance Forum, Jan Pratirodh Manch, All India Federation of Trade
Unions, General Kamgaar Union, Pragatisheel Mazdoor Trade Union, Nepali Jan
Adhikaar Suraksha Sangathan (India), Indian Council of Trade Unions, Bhartiya
Kisaan Union (Haryana), Sandhaan, Samajwadi Jan Parishad, National Alliance
of Peoples Movements (Delhi), Yuva Bharat, People's Union for Democratic Rights,
Ankur, Jagori, Purogami Mahila Sangathana, Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, Mazdoor
Ekta Committee, Bhagat Singh Disha Manch, Chelmsford Club Employees Union, Fruit
Juice Plant (Rasika) Employees Union and the Modern Food Industries Employees
Union and the Bigul Mazdoor Dasta.
Right from 9.30 am, people began gathering at the Mandi House Chowk with banners
and placards. At the head of the march, activists held aloft the banner "Janata
ka Saanjha karyakram lekar 6 July ko Sansad par vishaal pradarshan". Behind
this were banners declaring "Mazdoor Kisaan ne lalkara Hai, Hindostaan
Hamara Hai! Jal, jangal aur jameen, saara hamara hai!", "Roji roti,
ghar, pani, bijli, shiksha aur swasth, hamara janamsidha adhikaar hai!",
"We will punish the murderers of 1984 and Gujarat! Unite against state
terrorism and all the black laws!", "Step up the struggle to defeat
the liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation program of the bourgeoisie!",
"Fight to reverse the privatisation of Modern Foods, BALCO and other enterprises!",
and "We reject the alliance with US and Israel"!
As the march passed through the busy areas of Connaught Place, the working
people and office goers in the area eagerly took copies of the resolution being
distributed by the youth participating in the march. At Parliament Street Police
Station, where the government had put up barricades to prevent the protestors
from marching to the gate of parliament, the march turned into a public meeting.
The Convenor of the Lok Raj Sangathan, Prakash Rao, conducted the public meeting.
Cultural workers sung songs of struggle and sacrifice. Prakash Rao then briefly
addressed the gathering. He pointed out that the UPA government was continuing
on the same anti-social course of globalisation through liberalisation and privatisation
that was initiated by the Narasimha Rao regime in 1991 and then continued by
successive governments including the NDA government of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The economics reforms program was intrinsically anti-worker, anti-peasant, anti-youth,
anti-women and anti-national. No amount of window-dressing or giving it a "human
touch" can hide this fact. The people of India have not fought to replace
one government of exploiters by another. They are fighting for fundamental,
and not cosmetic, changes in the orientation of the economy.
The urgent need of the moment is to step up the struggle to assert the people's
agenda, declared Prakash Rao. The Convenor of the Lok Raj Sangathan highlighted
the significance of so many organisations coming together to fight unitedly
for the advancement of the peoples independent agenda at this crucial moment.
He congratulated the workers, peasants, youth and students, and the women as
well as all the organisations for making the demonstration a resounding success.
We have not come here to beg of the government this or that concession, he declared!
We have come here to declare our intention to fight for our rights! Giving a
preview of the "peoples agenda", Shri Rao declared "We will fight
to make the right to livelihood as a justiciable right, as also the right to
education, health, housing, water and electricity. We demand and fight for guaranteed
procurement at remunerative prices to all tillers and an end to displacement
and dispossession of millions in the name of economic development. We will carry
forward the struggle for a complete halt and reversal of the privatisation liberalisation
program including the privatisation of MFIL and BALCO. We will step up the struggle
to repeal all black laws including the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the
release of all detainees under any of these fascist laws like POTA, TADA, and
other such laws. We demand and fight for exemplary punishment for all those
guilty of communal massacres, including the massacres of 1984 and Gujarat. The
dismantling of the apparatus of state terrorism is high on the people's agenda.
Today, we workers, peasants, women, youth and working people and intellectuals
will put forth clearly our own program distinct and in opposition to the program
of the corporate houses and the multinationals."
Prakash Rao then called upon Bijju Nayak, the Prime Minister of the Hind Naujawan
Ekta Sabha to read out the "Declaration of the People in front of Parliament".
This was received with great enthusiasm by the people.
Sucharita of the Lok Raj Sangathan addressed the rally. Speaking on different
aspects of the people's agenda, she highlighted the importance of stepping up
the struggle to defeat the liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation program
of the bourgeoisie. She hailed the struggle of the workers of Modern Food Industries
as an epic struggle and declared that all the fighting people of India were
one with the workers of Modern Food Industries in their glorious struggle.
Others who spoke at the rally included Jagdish of the Jan Pratirodh Manch,
Jagdish of AIFTU, Guruji Hanuman Prasad on behalf of the fighting peasants of
Rajasthan, Arun Kumar from Indian Council of trade Unions, Suraj Bhavishwar
from Nepali Jan Adhikaar Suraksha Sangathan (India), Naresh Sharma on behalf
of the Samaajwadi Jan Parishad and National Alliance of People's Movements,
Vishwa Vijay Singh from Fruit Juice Bottling Plant, Govind Singh Yadav from
Modern Food Industries Employees Union and Arvind Sinha from Bigul Mazdoor Dasta.
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