[Marxistindia] Letter to the President of India by Leaders of 7 Political Parties

[news from the cpi(m)]

May 8, 2020

Press Release

Leaders of seven political parties have in a letter addressed to the  
President of India today raised concerns over the security, welfare,  
livelihood and future of crores of Indian working class and working  
people.

The full text of the letter is being released herewith.


***


The President of India
Rashtrapathi Bhawan
New Delhi

Dear Rashtrapathi ji,

We, the undersigned leaders of political parties represented in the  
Indian parliament, are writing to you on a very serious issue that  
concerns the security, welfare, livelihood and future of crores of  
Indian working class and working people. In fact, this concerns the  
well being and prosperity of our entire country and its future. The  
issue is the nullification of the labour laws and the hard-won  
democratic rights of the vast majority of Indian people in the name of  
fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequences of this prolonged  
national lockdown. We are drawing your attention to these issues which  
we think are anti-constitutional, hence against the law of the land.

Using the pretext of battling the Covid-19 pandemic, drastic changes  
are being made to the existing labour laws of the country which  
further jeopardises the lives and wellbeing of the working people.  
Already the country is witness to the most inhuman tragic dimensions  
of the plight of the migrant works since the national lockdown has  
been enforced. Far from protecting the fundamental right to life and  
dignity, today’s conditions are barbaric. Last night, sixteen migrant  
workers, mainly tribals, forced to walk thousands of kms back to their  
homes with no arrangements being made for them, were crushed to death  
by a goods train in Maharashtra. The easing of restrictions have not  
been accompanied by the required safety measures and environmental  
concerns. Such negligence has led to the Vizag industrial accident  
claiming 12 lives and hundreds hospitalized. The concerns for the  
safety and survival of the workers is grossly neglected by “your  
government”. Such is the state of affairs in our country.

Already “your government” has initiated the legislative process of  
codifying 44 existing labour laws into four codes. One of these has  
been adopted by the parliament – the Code on Wages Bill. The others  
are in the process. Even before this codification gets a legislative  
sanction, the existing laws are being violated with impunity. Once  
this code gets the legislative sanction, then the executive i.e. the  
government can through an executive order change this without the need  
for any reference to the parliament or state legislatures. This is  
patently anti-labour and draconian.

Using the pretext of battling the pandemic, the daily working hours  
have been increased from eight to twelve hours through executive  
orders in various states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana,  
Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab without amending the Factories  
Act. Some other states are likely to join this growing list. The state  
government of Uttar Pradesh has suspended all labour laws, except  
three, for a period of three years. The Madhya Pradesh government,  
similarly, announced a cabinet decision to exempt all establishments  
from obligations under all labour laws for a period of a thousand  
days. The fundamental right for the workers to organise themselves  
into unions is also being gravely threatened.

Diluting labour rights seems to be the logic employed by “your  
government” at the centre and by some state governments, rather than  
concentrating on fighting the pandemic by augmenting our health  
facilities and protecting our doctors and health workers and taking  
care of the people’s requirements.

All this is being done in the name of reviving our economy due to the  
difficulties caused by the national lockdown. We may add that the  
Indian economy was already in a tailspin hurtling towards a recession  
before the outbreak of this pandemic.

“Your government” has done very little to look after the people who  
have lost all their livelihood and all capacity to meet their hunger  
needs. They are languishing. Fourteen crores of workers have lost  
their jobs since the lockdown began. Surely, you will agree that India  
cannot have more deaths due to hunger, starvation, poverty and  
deprivation than those infected by this deadly virus.

The manner in which the migrant workers in various states, except with  
honourable exceptions like Kerala, have been treated, leaving them  
without any support is deplorable. Worse, they are now being charged  
for their travel to return home. Many restrictions are also being  
placed on their movement virtually treating them as bonded or  
indentured labour.

Instead of moving towards a vibrant modern secular democratic  
republic, India is today being pushed back to medieval barbarism and  
slavery. It is simple, honourable President, workers under the Indian  
Constitution are not slaves. Reducing them to this status is not  
merely a violation of the Constitution but its nullification.

We, the undersigned, appeal to you, being true to the oath that you  
have taken at the time of assuming office of the President of India,  
to urgently intervene to stop such naked savagery against the working  
class and the working people, at this crucial juncture when the unity  
of all our people is our biggest strength in fighting and defeating  
this pandemic.


With regards



(Sitaram Yechury)	(D Raja)
General Secretary, CPI(M)	General Secretary, CPI

(Dipankar Bhattacharya)	(Debabrata Biswas)
General Secretary, CPI(ML)-L	General Secretary, AIFB

Manoj Bhattacharya	(Manoj Jha)
General Secretary, RSP	Member of Parliament, RJD

Dr. Thol. Thirumavalavan, MP
President, VCK


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