Ludhiana: "The definition of democracy has been changed in Modi's fascist rule. Earlier, where the voters of the country used to elect the governments, now through arbitrary SIR, the government is choosing the voters who will be able to vote and who will not." This was said by the speakers who addressed the grand 'People's Hearing Convention' convened on the issue of SIR at Ambedkar Bhawan here. Decorated with red and blue flags, Ambedkar Bhawan presented a supernatural spectacle of the unity of forces fighting for social change. Despite the scorching heat, active political activists, workers-farmers, women and youth from all districts of Punjab including Ludhiana city had arrived in large numbers to be a part of this People's Hearing.
The convention was presided over by Comrade Ruldu Singh Mansa and Comrade Rattan Singh Randhawa. The convention began with paying tribute to all the innocent people killed in expansionist, imperialist and racist wars and attacks in different parts of the world and to those killed in the Delhi Hotel Agni incident. Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI (ML) Liberation and Comrade Mangat Ram Pasla, General Secretary of Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) were the main speakers. Eminent Ambedkarite thinker Advocate SL Virdi, State Secretary of RMPI Comrade Pargat Singh Jamarai, Senior State Leader of Liberation Comrade Sukhdarshan Singh Nat, National President of 'Samajik Sangharsh Party' Harvinder Kaur, State General Secretary of 'Bharat Mukti Morcha' Dalvinder Singh also delivered their views.
Professor Jai Pal Singh moderated the stage and Comrade Chittaranjan welcomed the leaders and people who arrived.
In his address, Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya said that after Bihar and West Bengal, the next state to fall under the spell of SIR will be Punjab. In both the above states, the names of lakhs of people have been removed from the voter lists through SIR. Punjabis will have to become aware and organized to thwart this scheme. The experience of Bihar and West Bengal tells us that removing a name from the voter lists is the first step in a series of actions that deprive a citizen of his constitutional rights. Whereas, the houses, shops, etc. of such people are being demolished through bulldozers, thereby taking away their livelihood. Not only this, the people removed from the voter list are also being deprived of ration and other welfare schemes. The most inhuman aspect of the above policy-pantheon is that people are being locked up in torture centers (detention camps). But the brave people of Punjab will definitely stop this dictatorial policy-approach and bulldozer rule. He said that Punjab had faced the assembly elections about four and a half years ago in the context of the historic farmers' movement. At that time, the people of Punjab had given a wonderful opportunity to the 'Aam Aadmi Party' to solve the demands and issues of the farmers, laborers and unemployed youth of the state. But the 'AAP' government has failed miserably in fulfilling its election promises. While the Modi government is busy bringing pro-corporate agricultural laws through the back door. By changing the law, FCI is being handed over to the Adani Group and America is being given free rein to capture the country's agricultural sector and retail market. Industrial workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Rs 20,000 are being declared anti-national and jailed under false cases across India. Students demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister due to repeated paper leaks are being described by the judiciary as cockroaches, parasites and attackers of institutions. Keeping up with its militant traditions, Punjab should stand up for the rights of all the suffering farmers, labourers and unemployed youth and against misleading slogans like 'one nation, one election' and stand for the principles of democracy, federal structure, secularism and unity in diversity.
RMPI General Secretary Sathi Mangat Ram Pasla said that the Modi government, under the agenda of its ideological master RSS, is paving the way for the construction of a religion-based, radical Hindutva nation by destroying the country's constitution and the 'people's government,' 'secular, federal structure'. For this nefarious purpose, it wants to establish a grossly communal, casteist and authoritarian political structure in the country under the guise of strengthening the center. Its intention is to take away all the fundamental rights of the people, including the right to vote. Religious and national minorities, Dalits and women are being continuously attacked by the Sangh Parivar and BJP activists. These corrupt groups are burdening the entire countrymen, including the majority Hindu population, with untold mountains of problems like poverty-hunger, unemployment and inflation. Ignoring India's political and economic interests, the BJP government is imposing trade agreements with the US and other imperialist countries that are destroying our agriculture and retail trade and are binding the country in the chains of 'neocolonial' slavery.
Comrade Pasla said that the next target of the BJP is now Punjab. It is trying to seize power in the state by using all the weapons of 'competition, punishment and discrimination' during the upcoming assembly elections. He said that the Left parties, organizations loyal to the Ambedkarite ideology and other like-minded forces are determined to work with full force to oppose the arbitrary SIR and build a strong political alternative in Punjab.
The convention was also attended by Liberation Central Committee members Comrade Parshotam Sharma, Rajwinder Singh Rana, farmer leaders Dr. Satnam Singh Ajnala, Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Gurnam Singh Bhikhi, Comrade Mahipal, Raghbir Singh Benipal, Progressive Women's Association (EPWA) central leaders Jasbir Kaur Natt, Jai Prakash Narayan, Comrade Gurnam Singh Daud, Gobind Singh Chhajali and Balbir Singh Jhamka.
