NewsClick

NewsClick
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Covid-19
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • International
  • Sports
  • Articles
  • Videos
search
menu

INTERACTIVE ELECTION MAPS

image/svg+xml
  • All Articles
  • Newsclick Articles
  • All Videos
  • Newsclick Videos
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • Sports
  • International
  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Palestine
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Sri Lanka
  • US
  • West Asia
About us
Subscribe
Follow us Facebook - Newsclick Twitter - Newsclick RSS - Newsclick
close menu
×
For latest updates on nCOVID-19 around the world visit our INTERACTIVE COVID MAP
Labour
Protests & Movements
Politics
India

District, Block-Level Worker-Peasant Protests Against Modi Govt’s Policies

The action day, called by CITU, AIKS, AIAWU coincided with the second anniversary of the joint “Sangharsh Rally” in Delhi.
Ronak Chhabra
05 Sep 2020
District, Block-Level Worker-Peasant Protests

File Photo.

New Delhi: A countrywide joint action day was observed by workers and peasants organisations on Saturday to reiterate their demands for social security benefits, against privatisation, fair price for crops, universal healthcare amid the raging pandemic, among others.

People organised protests in their villages, blocks and districts while adhering to social distancing norms, in a bid to “decentralise” protests in view of the ongoing pandemic.

andhra pradesh

The campaign, called by Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU), also coincided with the second anniversary of the “Sangharsh Rally” in 2018.

Almost two lakh workers and peasants had come together for the first time in a joint campaign and had marched to Parliament Street in the national capital.

This year, however, such a massive mobilisation seemed largely impossible due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Instead of assembling at one or two places, the mobilisation was “decentralised to hundreds of protest sites”, Tapan Sen, general secretary, CITU, told NewsClick.

karnataka

Sen said “decentralisation” of protests ensured greater public participation. “The mobilisation has been consistently increasing over the past months, reflecting the growing anger among the people against the (Narendra) Modi government,” he added.

On Saturday, rallies and public meetings of not more than between 40 and 50 people were organised in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, among others. A major participation of peasants, along with agricultural workers and rural employment scheme (MGNREGA) workers was witnessed in the demonstrations, said the organisers.

In Haryana, scheme workers, including ASHAs, held a protest at the block level. Unions representing tea workers in West Bengal also carried out a rally in districts, including Siliguri.

Odisha

In addition to the local demands, workers and peasants asked for universal healthcare, especially free tests and treatment for COVID-19. In addition, they also demanded an income support of Rs 7,,500 per month for the next six months, along with free ration – all, vouched for earlier by experts and activists as essential steps to help the poor tide over the lockdown-linked economic distress.

The recently released Gross Domestic Product figures for the April-June quarter showed all sectors of the economy, barring agriculture, in bad shape. A dwindling economy also affected the income and savings of the population at large – as multiple reports showed.

However, “even in these dark times for the working population, the government is going ahead with the privatisation of all public companies,” said Vikram Singh of AIAWU, adding that the Centre has also brought in “‘anti-people’ laws and regulations.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, announced a new Public Sector Enterprises Policy in May this year, under which all but a maximum of four public sector companies in strategic sectors were set to get privatised.

While reforms attracting private sector to agriculture marketing have already been effected through ordinances; three codes, out of the total of four which will subsume – and allegedly dilute – the labour laws, are set to be introduced in the Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session.

kerala

The Modi government is also bringing in structural changes through amendments to laws relating to mining, environment, and health data – regarding which a short window for public consultation, above all, has already the drawn ire of activists.

Singh added that the consequences of all this is that an “insecurity” has seeped into the lives of everyone, including the government employees, informal workers and farmers among others. “A united struggle of the working population will only present an alternative to the destructive politics of the Modi regime,” he said.

Hannan Mollah, general secretary, AIKS, said agriculture under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has undergone a shift from being “farmer-oriented to corporate-oriented.” This, he added, has largely been the story of every other sector, where private players, for whom “profit is the ultimate goal”, are being invited.

In an attempt to register its protest, CITU, AIKS, and AIAWU had launched a countrywide joint campaign in the June this year. In August, a jail bharo agitation was staged, which also saw participation from central trade unions.

Sen said the protests would continue in a “much more assertive manner”.

Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
Centre of Indian Trade Unions
All India Kisan Sabha
All India Agricultural Workers Union
Workers-Peasant Action Day
COVID-19
Lockdown
Modi government
Related Stories
covid 19 vaccine J&K

COVID-19: Amid Apprehensions, over 3,700 Vaccinated in J&K in Two Days

Locking Down the Poor: The Pandemic and India’s Moral Centre

Locking Down the Poor: The Pandemic and India’s Moral Centre

100 Former Civil Servants Raise Questions on Transparency in PM-CARES Fund

100 Former Civil Servants Raise Questions on Transparency in PM-CARES Fund

TN This week.

TN This Week: ‘Unwanted’ Farm Laws Set on Fire; Crop Damage Dampens Harvest Festival

2 Months On, 60 Lives Lost, 9 Rounds of Talks: Protesting Farmers are a Picture of Hope

2 Months On, 60 Lives Lost, 9 Rounds of Talks: Protesting Farmers are a Picture of Hope

The contractual loading staff, accompanied by union members, standing outside CWC’s ICD at Patparganj in East Delhi.

Central Warehousing Corporation Workers Left in Lurch After Contractor Changed, Trade Union to the Rescue

60 Israeli teens reject military service over Israeli apartheid, neoliberalism, and denial of the Nakba

60 Israeli Teens Reject Military Service Over Israeli Apartheid, Neoliberalism, and Denial of the Nakba

Haryana: In Solidarity With Farmers, Workers Gherao DC Offices in All Districts

Haryana: In Solidarity With Farmers, Workers Gherao DC Offices in All Districts

farmers protest

Enough is Enough’, Akola Farmers’ Message to PM Modi

Tractor Rally at Alappuzha in solidarity with farmers protest

Kerala Farmers Leave for Delhi to be Part of Protest Against Farm Laws

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share

Related Stories

Sruti MD

Women Storm Raj Bhawan in Chennai on Mahila Kisan Diwas

19 January 2021
On Mahila Kisan Diwas - January 18 - Chennai witnessed a fiery protest demonstration solely by women.
Associated Press

South Africa's Trailblazing Black Food Writer Dies of COVID-19

19 January 2021
Johannesburg: South Africa's trailblazin
Tarique Anwar

Farmers Observe ‘Mahila Kisan Diwas’, Women Protesters Say Real Nari Shakti at Display

19 January 2021
New Delhi: Aiming to acknowledge and honour the incredible contribution of women in agricultural activities and the household, and active participa

Pagination

  • Next page ››

More

  • Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

    Gujarat Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against Senior Journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

  • journalist UAPA Manipur.

    Digital Media Organisations Condemn Manipur Journalists Being Detained, Slapped with UAPA

  • NIMZ

    Ahead of Public Hearing, Farmers and Scientists Oppose Telangana’s NIMZ project

  • Climate Change: Tropical Rain Belt of Earth May Alter Position, Says New Research

    Climate Change: Tropical Rain Belt of Earth May Alter Position, Says New Research

  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with
about