By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Though, at the conclusion of the third INDIA alliance meet in Mumbai on September 1, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has promised ‘a clear set of ideas’ to involve ‘the farmers, and the workers’ in the progress of this country, what actually needed is to devise an appropriate campaign programme keeping workers and farmers at its core.
Farmers and workers of the country have already been at loggerheads with the Centre led by PM Narendra Modi since 2020, resorted to even all India strike actions, and as recent as August 24, at the first ever historic joint national convention at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi, they have decided to take their joint protest movement to logical end with ‘Oust Modi, Oust BJP’ campaign to save the country.
The bitterness in their decision to further intensify their struggle to make it more aggressive is reflected in their call to observe October 3 as Black Day, Day and Night Mahapadav Struggle in front of Raj Bhawans across the States and the UTs from November 26 to 28, and ‘decisive’ protest actions in the months of December 2023 and January 2024.
The entire 2023 is thus going to be a year of protests of workers and farmers that began with a National Convention of Workers held in New Delhi on 30th January. It is a joint and coordinated struggle of 10 Central Trade Unions (CTUs) – AITUC, INTUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, and UTUC – and other independent federations and associations including of Banks, Insurance, public transports, electricity, and government sectors. Farmers’ unions under the joint banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) are also participating. On Quit India anniversary on August 9 they demonstrated at headquarters of every district, state, and UT across the country.
“PM Modi – Quit India”, “BJP – Quit India”, “BJP Hatao, Desh Bachao” and “Save the nation, Save the People” have been their slogan. As INDIA alliance is also committed to “Oust Modi, Oust BJP” it is but natural that the alliance would be able to derive political benefit by devising their campaign programmes taking into account the concerns of workers and farmers of the country.
The promised ‘clear set of ideas’ in relation to farmers and worker must be spelled in the INDIA alliance manifesto which is now being deliberated upon. The chief concern of farmers at this point of time is that Modi government has been trying to bring the corporate to farms that the farmers believe would reduce them to labourers on their own land and would put them on the mercy of the corporate or big business players. It was precisely due to this reason the farmers under the banner of SKM launched a historical protest and PM Modi had to withdraw the laws. The agitation was called off by promises given by the centre are still unmet. Farmers are feeling cheated and have renewed their struggle, since the government is still pushing its agenda on to the farms through numerous stratagems.
Workers have similar grievance over the four controversial labour codes, which Modi government wants to implement as soon as possible, that have been deferred so far due to stiff opposition from the CTUs. The believe that introduction of the codes would bring economic slavery to workers while PM Modi has said that the codes are much desired, long overdue, and the biggest labour reform since independent India, which would bring prosperity to the nation and benefits to the workers. Workers fear that the return of Modi to power in 2024 would be the end of workers’ gains of the centuries that they have earned through great struggles.
The issues confronting workers and farmers do not end here. The joint declaration made on August 24 convention has said that the entire set of policy of the Modi government are anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people, and anti-national. They have proved to be disastrous for our national economy and for the unity of the people and integrity of the nation.
There seem to be no end to the farmers’ woes. Many of them are being driven to suicides due to unending problems from cultivation to marketing. Government policies has increased their indebtedness, but were given empty promise of doubling their income. There are lacks of adequate irrigation facilities and even non-functioning crop insurance scheme.
Working class is faced with unprecedented level of unemployment, job losses, and spiralling prices of all essentials, especially food and medicine. Labour rights are being legally neutralized one after another in the name of “ease of doing business” while no one cares about the cost of living crisis making the very living an insurmountable hurdle. Permanent jobs are made to decline through provisions of outsourcing, contract works, fixed term employment, gig works etc. Drastic decline of real wages is making their lives even more difficult.
There are little social security provisions for them. There is no central employment guarantee scheme for the poor urban working class people. The MGNREGA scheme for the rural workers is not even properly implemented and the Centre has been cutting its budget year after year. Policies prevent full benefit of this scheme to the rural workers.
Large scale indiscriminate privatization of the PSUs has been jeopardizing not only the workers’ interest but the interest of the nation for benefit of the few chosen. Privatisation of strategic arms sector, banking, and LIC sectors is set to make the country and its people almost insecure.
The opposition INDIA alliance must devise its campaign programmes and declare its promises taking into account the present pathetic situation of workers and farmers of the country who are presently at war path against the Modi government policies and intend to take their struggle to logical conclusion.
Right to have medical treatment a fundamental right, complete social security coverage for all including pension, employment guarantee to urban workers, strengthening MGNREGA for rural areas, basic minimum income guarantee, work for all or else unemployment benefit etc may be some of the measures that INDIA alliance may consider to include in their manifesto.
The ongoing untied struggle of farmers and workers may supplement and complement the INDIA alliances’ programmes if wisely planned and implemented across on the eve of 2024 Lok Sabha election, if at all they want to form a pro-people government in place of pro-corporate and business, a secular inclusive government in place of majoritarian supremacist one, a democratic in place of authoritarian, and a federal government in place of overcentralized Centre of power. (IPA Service)
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