Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: At Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, a resolution was adopted at the ‘Jan Aakrosh Rally’, organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanding that the BJP-led union government must condemn the US-Israel attack on Iran and Palestine and take steps to protect the lives of Indians who are living in the Gulf and West Asia.“The war should end immediately, resolution adopted at the rally stated. Thousands including farmers, labourers, ASHA and Anganwadi workers gathered holding up the CPI(M) flag and raised slogans of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’.The rally was organised to demanding the scrapping of the notification of four labour codes, the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act that has replaced MGNREGA, India-US trade deal, Electricity Amendment and Seed Bills. The rally is a culmination of 33 jathas that covered all the states in North India.“US-Israel attack on Iran is having a big impact on our lives. Due to the failure of the BJP-led government to assess the situation and take necessary steps, there is scarcity of gas cylinders even in small villages. On top of it, the government has increased the price of gas and petrol. The resulting increase in the price of vegetables, rice and other essential commodities have added to our burdens,” the resolution stated.“All of us who have gathered here in the Jan Aakrosh Rally demand the government to curb price rise, reduce the price of gas and ensure that cylinders are available to all those who are in need,” it added.Addressing the rally CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby said “Elections are important, but issues of the common people are equally important. We will continue to fight for them.” Referring to the upcoming elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, he said the party’s poll preparations are going on and they are reaching out to people in these regions.From the rally, Baby stepped up the party’s attack on the BJP leadership. “In their speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah often say the red flag (the Left flag) has disappeared from India, and that it survives only in Kerala. They say it will soon be eliminated even from there. But I want to challenge this narrative,” Baby said. He pointed towards the crowd at the Ramlila Maidan to say, “Look at all the flags here. People have come here from all over the country – from Jammu and Kashmir to Jharkhand and from Gujarat to Himachal Pradesh.”
