Workers, farmers, agriculture workers to jointly march to Delhi on Apr 5 against Modi govt

Workers, farmers and agricultural workers will jointly march to Delhi on April 5 in protest against the Narendra Modi government for ensuring “Amrit Kaal for cronies like Adani and Ambani” while price rise and unemployment breaks the backs of common people.

The 'Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally', organised by the CITU, All India Kisan Sabha, and All India Agricultural Workers Union, is likely to see the participation of tens of thousands of people and would be a repeat of a similar exercise held on September 5, 2018.

The protest programme is designed as a chargesheet against the Modi government and will raise a 13-point list of demands, which includes ensuring minimum wages at Rs 26,000 per month and a pension of Rs 10,000 to all workers, the scrapping of Agnipath scheme, no contractual labour, ensuring minimum support price for crops as suggested by the Swaminathan Commission, and a one-time loan waiver for all poor and middle-income peasants and agricultural workers.

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They also demand scrapping of four Labour Codes and the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2022, expanding MGNREGA workdays to 200 with minimum wages at Rs 600 per day, enact an urban job guarantee scheme, stopping privatisation of Public Sector Units and public services, tackle price rise and reduce central excise tax on fuel, tax the super rich, introduce wealth tax and enhance corporate tax.

According to General Secretaries Tapan Sen (CITU), Vijoo Krishnan (Kisan Sabha) and B Venkat (AIAWU), the Modi government is "going all out to ensure ‘Amrit Kaal’ for cronies like Adani and Ambani by exploiting and looting workers and peasants" while the pro-corporate policies have brought the daily life of producing classes under heavy inflationary pressure.

They accused the Modi government of being "utterly insensitive" to the "burning problem" of unemployment while doing everything to do away with existing legal rights of workers, including on minimum wages. They said the written agreement to farmers' organisations, including that of guaranteed remunerative price, during the historic agitation against the "three black farm laws" have "totally been ignored".

"Legal entitlements of the people for food, health and education are being curtailed. At the same time, all democratic institutions are being dismantled and democratic rights are being curtailed. All voices of dissent against the ruling dispensation are met with draconian acts like the UAPA. Communal venom is spread by the ruling RSS-BJP dispensation to divide the unity of the people on real issues," they said.

"This is in continuation of our ongoing struggles in different joint platforms of workers and peasants – Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Samyukta Kisan Morcha. This joint campaign and mobilisation will further consolidate and advance the joint struggles of the workers, farmers and agricultural workers," they added.

The decision to hold a joint rally was taken at a convention in September last year.