Left organizations hold protest against anti-labor, farmer, employee, and anti-people policies of Modi government outside Himachal Secretariat

Hundreds of MNREGA, construction workers, and farmers demonstrated vigorously on the first day of the Mahapadav being held at the State Government Secretariat Chhota Shimla from 25 to 27 November. The demonstration was organized by CITU National Secretary Dr. Kashmir Thakur, Kisan Sabha National Vice President Inderjit Singh, Vijendra Mehra, Prem Gautam, Dr Kuldeep Tanwar, Hottam Saunkhala, Rakesh Singha, Pushpendra Tyagi, Jagat Ram, Joginder Kumar, Bhupinder Singh, Sohan Thakur, Sudesh Thakur and Falma Chauhan etc. addressed.

Speakers said that under the banner of CITU and Himachal Kisan Sabha, hundreds of MNREGA and construction workers and farmers of Himachal Pradesh have gathered outside the State Government Secretariat Chhota Shimla against the anti-labor, farmer, employee, and anti-people policies of the Modi government at the Centre. He said that relief from the sufferings of the people of the country is possible only by ousting the anti-laborer-farmer Modi government from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He said that this three-day Mahapadav will be held to declare the minimum wage of workers at Rs 26 thousand, cancel the four anti-labor labor codes, regularize Anganwadi, Asha, and Mid Day Meal Scheme workers, give minimum support price to farmers, and implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission. Implementation of MNREGA, expansion in urban areas as well as providing 200 working days in MNREGA at a wage of Rs 375 per day, registration of MNREGA, construction, and BRO workers in the Labor Welfare Board, and restoration of economic benefits, policy for outsourced workers. This is being done with the demands of construction, reinstatement of laid off Covid workers, stopping huge inflation, stopping privatization of public sector undertakings, debt relief of farmers etc.

He has said that due to the neo-liberal and pro-capitalist policies of the Modi government at the Centre, the crisis of unemployment, poverty, inequality, and livelihood is increasing. Poverty and hunger are increasing due to unemployment and inflation. Rising inflation due to the weakening of the public distribution system has broken the back of the people. There is a huge increase in the prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas and food items. He promised to ensure a minimum wage of Rs 26,000 per month and a pension to all workers; By repealing the four anti-labor labor codes and the Electricity Amendment Bill, banning contract, part-time, multi-purpose, multi-task, temporary, casual, fixed term, contractual system and outsourced system, all these workers should be regularized and thrown out of the job. Demanded reinstatement of hundreds of Covid workers, expansion in urban areas, providing 200 working days at a wage of Rs 375 per day in MNREGA, registration of MNREGA, construction, and BRO workers in the Labor Welfare Board, and restoration of economic benefits. He called for stopping privatization and disinvestment of public sector undertakings, ending the National Monetization Pipeline and Agneepath scheme, stopping inflation, strengthening the ration system in the depots and making it universal, regularizing all the scheme workers including Anganwadi, Mid Day Meal, Asha workers etc., implementing OPS for the employees of electricity board, municipal corporations, other boards and corporations, stopping the privatization of BRO and regularizing BRO workers, implementing the Street Vendors Act for street vendors, withdrawing the anti-worker, owner changes in the Motor Vehicle Act. And demanded to provide security to the workers of the tourism sector.