Communal designs of RSS-BJP given a fitting rebuff in Uttar Pradesh
Political turmoil in U.P. is bound to gain momentum with the approaching assembly elections, to be held, latest by the beginning of 2007. And one can safely predict that the tremors of upheaval in UP will be felt in New Delhi , too.
Mulayam Singh is facing one setback after another. Recently, the Allahabad High Court declared illegal the defection of 40 BSP MLAs to SP and thus, by implication, questioned the very formation of the Mulayam government. But Mulayam Singh, instead of conceding to this judicial disapproval of his patently undemocratic act, shamelessly sought a vote of confidence and 'proved' his majority where these MLAs voted in his favour. In yet another setback, his Party MP from Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan was disqualified by the President on the recommendation of the Election Commission, for holding an office of profit, a charge which may equally apply to his lieutenant Amar Singh as well. More importantly, popular disenchantment with the government is increasing with every passing day.
Mulayam Singh is a desperate man today. It was in this backdrop that the rioteers were given a free hand in Mau and a prolonged communal build-up by BJP was allowed in Varanasi , centering around the killing of its MLA in a gang-war. Then came the Lucknow tragedy, costing four innocent lives. Historically, Lucknow has seldom witnessed Hindu-Muslim riots. It was really intriguing to see that Lucknow became the only city to be engulfed by a communal flare-up during anti-Bush protests. And finally, the attempts for communal polarization utilising Varanasi blasts, were given a fitting rebuff by powerful intervention of democratic forces like the CPI(ML).
Braving unexpected rain and a communally surcharged atmosphere, thousands gathered at the Commissioner's office in Varanasi to mark the culmination of the first phase of the 'Right to Employment (RTE)' campaign which began on 23rd Feb. '06 from Babhni block of Sonebhadra and after passing through Mirzapur and Chandauli districts of eastern U.P., ended with a massive two-day dharna on 9-10 March. The campaign was led by party PB member and U.P. state secretary Com. Akhilendra Pratap Singh. Dozens of mass meetings in which thousands of people, especially the rural poor, participated formed part of this campaign. The tension prevailing after the bomb blasts in Varanasi on 7th March and the efforts of the RSS-BJP to whip communal passion made the task of organizing this dharna a challenging political necessity. The revolutionary zeal of the toiling masses far outweighed the threats of the fascists, and they turned up in thousands on the soil of Varanasi with a clarion call -'We will not let Uttar Pradesh become another Gujrat', 'Stop communal politics on the dead bodies of blast victims'.
The programme began with a one-minute silence in memory of those killed in the blasts. Thereafter, addressing the dharna, Com. Akhilendra said that there is a distinct strengthening of nationalist feelings against the imperialist intervention of the US in the internal affairs of our country, especially in the spheres of nuclear energy, agriculture and trade-industry. Bush faced unprecedented opposition from the masses during his recent visit to India . The initiative of the people is being channelised against the state and central govts. on demands of education, employment and democracy. The Varanasi blasts are part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to undermine the nationalist awakening and divert politics away from people's issues. Pro-American forces like BJP have become active in communalizing this incident. He demanded a high-powered judicial inquiry into these blasts.
Speaking about the promise of the UPA govt. to put an end to farmers' suicides and provide large-scale employment, he said that the NREGA has been implemented in only 22 districts of U.P. and the urban poor have not been covered by this scheme. There are reports of large-scale misappropriation of funds in the NREGA for making job cards. The job cards were supposed to be distributed to the poor by the end of Jan. '06 but this process has not yet started. In spite of the Rs. 25 lakhs released by the Centre for making free job cards, the gram pradhans and secretaries are charging 10-15 rupees from the poor in the name of registration and photography. He said that only their united assertion could check this loot of funds.
The districts of Sonebhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli are facing a drought-like condition; yet the govt. is forcibly collecting revenue and tax from the farmers. There is acute shortage of water not only for irrigation but also for drinking. Incidentally, the ex-P.M. Mr.V.P.Singh along with CPI(ML) and CPI(M) had recently participated in a programme to demand for irrigation water from the Bhoka dam in Chandauli district. Com. Akhilendra said that a major reason for the water crisis is the rampant corruption in water-related schemes. Funds allocated for cleaning of irrigation canals and boring deep wells have been looted by corrupt officials and ministers. He demanded that the state govt. should make public the efforts it is making to end the water crisis.
Recently, the U.P. Chief Minister announced that all unemployed graduates registered with the employment exchange till 31st Dec. '05 would be given a monthly allowance of rupees 500 per month from 1st April '06. The Party state secretary said that the Mulayam govt. should provide allowance to all the unemployed graduates by waiving the condition of registration in the employment exchange. He said that weavers and other artisans of U.P. are facing acute hardships and these sections should be brought under the employment guarantee scheme and BPL cards be issued to them immediately.
The Mulayam govt. came in for a lot of flak on the issues of social justice and secularism. Mulayam govt. had recently granted SC status to 14 OB castes, a decision that was later stayed by the High Court. Com. Akhilendra accused the U.P. govt. of pitting the MBCs (Most Backward Castes) against the Dalits and demanded that the MBCs should be granted separate reservation quota on the basis of their population. Also, Dalit Muslims should be granted SC/ST status.
Recently, several incidents in the state have exposed the so-called secular credentials of Mulayam and his concessions to BJP's communal politics are an indication of his growing proximity with the BJP. In the Mau riots a few months back, he said that the looting and arson continued for 72 hours in the presence of the state home secretary and DGP in the town. The Sangh outfits not only initiated the riots but they also fanned false communal propaganda in the state with the tacit support of Mulayam. The RSS-BJP tried to instigate communal riots in the aftermath of the killing of one of its mafia-turned MLAs Krishnanand Rai in a gang war in Gazipur. Had it not been for the timely intervention by the Party and the collective wisdom of the masses, the state would have faced untold misery due to the communal fodder Mulayam is supplying to an emboldened BJP, which till late was issueless and clueless about its future course in UP and elsewhere.
The day the RTE campaign took off, news came that the enquiry committee set up for looking into the 2003 Rantola encounter in Sonebhadra district had recommended framing of murder charges against the 15 accused policemen who had killed two students in a fake encounter. The CBI is already investigating the case of the Bhawanipur massacre. Coming down heavily on the successive state govts. for unleashing a reign of terror on the tribals and poor of that region, he said that if the State and Central governments did not hamper a fair enquiry into the Bhawanipur case, the ex-CM Rajnath Singh would be behind bars. Expressing concern at the growing threat to democracy from such forces, he said that there is a mafia-criminal takeover of democratic institutions ranging from Lok Sabha to the Gram Sabha. He demanded that the people should be granted the right to recall in the Constitution.
As the RTE campaign was nearing its end, the sudden blasts in Varanasi gave an opportunity to the Sangh outfits to fish in troubled waters. CPI(ML) took the communal bull by its horns and termed the incident as a deep-rooted conspiracy. A pledge was undertaken by thousands who had assembled and an eight-point resolution was read. The resolution condemned the way in which the RSS-BJP were trying to communalise the blasts and congratulated the people of the state, especially Varanasi, for rejecting communal politics. The resolution condemned the proposed Rath Yatra of Advani-Rajnath and resolved not to let this communal campaign succeed. The people pledged that while defeating the communal conspiracy of RSS-BJP, they would sharpen their struggle on the issues of education, employment, democracy, nuclear energy, trade-commerce and agrarian crisis.
The mass meeting at the dharna site was addressed by prominent intellectuals and scientists like Dr.R.K.Mandal from BHU and Dr.V.Tiwari and Pranay Krishna from Allahabad University . These intellectuals expressed their concern about the recent nuclear deal and said that it not only undermined the sovereignty of the country but would also hamper indigenous research in this field. A letter from Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati was read out in support of the issues raised by CPI(ML). Referring to the proposed Rath Yatra of Advani and Rajnath, it said that it was Ravana, the perpetrator of terror, who boarded the Rath and not Ram by whose name these fanatics swear.
A Memorandum was sent to the CM after the dharna. It demanded immediate implementation of the NREGA in word and spirit, declaration of Poornvanchal as drought area and provision of irrigation facility, increasing the unemployment allowance to Rs. 1000 and waiver of condition of registration for the unemployed, separate reservation quota to MBCs and arrest of 15 policemen charged in the Rantola massacre.
The meeting was also addressed by Dr. Muneeza Khan, Registrar, Gandhi Vidya Sansthan, Varanasi , Ishwari Kushwaha, President of Poorvanchal Kisan Sabha, Md. Salim, National President of RYA, Dinkar Kapoor, State Secretaty, AICCTU, Kripa Verma, State President , AIPWA and Gagan Prakash, State Vice President of AISA.
– P.Shukla