[Marxistindia] Huge Success of Countrywide Protests - PB Congratulates

[news from the cpi(m)]

November 26, 2020

Press Statement


The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued  
the following statement:

The Polit Bureau congratulates the working class, peasantry and  
agriculture workers all over the country for observing very  
successfully protests against the anti-national, anti-people policies  
of the Central Government, particularly large scale privatisation and  
loot of national assests, abrogating labour laws and new agri laws.  
The call of the central trade unions was for a nationwide general  
strike today. The kisan and agricultural workers organisations will  
continue with their protests tomorrow as well, in accordance with  
their call.

These successful protests are taking place despite severe repression,  
intimidation and largescale arrests across the country particularly in  
BJP ruled states. All the entry points on the highways connecting  
Delhi were heavily barricaded to prevent kisan and agricultural  
workers from reaching Delhi for their protest before parliament.  
Wherever they were stopped with tear gassing or heavy water cannons in  
this cold wave conditions, the highways have been blockaded by the  
protesters.

The general strike called by the trade unions have received immense  
response all across the country. The strike in public sector  
undertakings were more effective this time than earlier. All major  
ports, PSUs like HAL, BHEL, BEML, BEL, steel plants in Vizag, Salem  
and Bokaro, coal and iron mines, electricity sector, public transport  
works, road transport including truck operators; construction workers,  
headload workers, beedi workers and scheme workers like anganwadi,  
Asha, mid-day meal workers struck work along with medical and sales  
representatives, sections of IT employees and central and state  
government employees all across the country.

Kerala witnessed a virtual bandh like situation with an estimated 1.6  
crore workers and peasantry participating in the protests. Despite  
physical attacks on striking workers by the ruling TMC goons in West  
Bengal, the strike was a big success, total in the jute mills, private  
bus transport, steel factories and 80 per cent in cement, banking and  
insurance sectors, apart from government employees. In Tripura,  
despite the ruling BJP government’s attacks and its directions to keep  
all establishments open and functioning and resisting attacks by BJP’s  
anti-social elements, the protest turned into a virtual bandh.  
Likewise, in BJP ruled states of Assam, Karnataka, Bihar and elsewhere  
the protests were a big success.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the repression  
unleashed by the central and state governments controlled by the BJP.  
The central government and PM Modi must now reconsider, in the face of  
such widespread anger and protest by India’s working people,  
annadatas, agricultural workers and workers in the unorganised sector,  
its anti-national and anti-working people policies that are ruining  
the livelihoods of crores of our people and imposing greater misery in  
the country.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly demands that the central and  
BJP state governments surrounding Delhi stop this repression and  
permit our kisan and agricultural labourers to exercise their  
constitutional guarantees for peaceful protests against the retrograde  
agri laws tomorrow i.e. November 27.



For CPI(M) Central Committee Office