BJP-led governments ruined economy, say Left parties at Haryana rally

Sitaram Yechury and Amarjeet Kaur criticize BJP-led governments for economic ruin, democracy threat, and social fabric destruction at rally.

The CPI(M) and the CPI on Saturday accused the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Haryana of ruining the economy, undermining democracy and threatening the age-old socio-cultural fabric of the country.

Addressing a gathering at the ‘Badlav Sandesh Rally’ in Jind, which was jointly organised by the Left parties and attended by a large number of people, including women, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader Amarjeet Kaur urged people to vote out the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Haryana Assembly elections.

Mr. Yechury cited the enactment of electoral bonds – which he had challenged on behalf of his party in the Supreme Court among others – as a “shameless” example of legalising corruption through corporate funding quid pro quo, said a joint press statement issued by the CPI(M) and the CPI. He wondered how the State Bank of India was made to withhold the details of donor companies defying the Supreme Court order. Mr. Yechury said the electoral bond “misdemeanour” was only one in a series of several other scandals, including demonetisation, Rafale deal and Hindenburg revelations. He added that the country needed alternative policies and not change of leaders alone.

Ms. Kaur, the CPI national secretary and AITUC leader, made a scathing attack on the Modi government for “making the farmers and workers suffer with unprecedented unemployment, poverty and mounting miseries”. She said 25% of suicides last year were by daily wage workers. Even workers of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme were starved of their rightful job days. She emphasised the need for workers and peasants’ alliance to oust the “corporate communal alliance” from power.

The two leaders exhorted the people of Haryana to give a crushing defeat to the ruling BJP-JJP in the State in tune with the INDIA call to “defeat BJP and save the country”. They hoped that all secular and democratic parties, forces and individuals would come together and ensure that anti-BJP votes were not divided in the ensuing Lok Sabha election.

The secretaries of the CPI(M) and CPI State units, Surender Singh and Daryao Singh Kashyap respectively, accused the Khattar government of mindless privatisation of education, health, electricity and other public sectors leading to the highest-ever unemployment.

The rally passed a resolution fully supporting the March 14 “Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat” at the Ram Lila Ground in Delhi at the call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and central trade unions for a legal guarantee for minimum support price, loan waiver for farmers and workers, withdrawal of four regressive labour codes and other issues.