Calling “detentions and intimidation” of social and environmental activists in J&K “arbitrary”,  NAPM sought in a statement the release of all detained activists immediately, withdrawal of arbitrary cases under Public Safety Act (PSA) against them, and stop criminalising activists.

National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), along with other people’s organizations and concerned citizens from across India strongly condemns the arbitrary detention of social and environmental activists in Jammu & Kashmir under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Those detained under the provisions of J&K Public Safety Act, 1978, include Mohammad Abdullah Gujjar (resident of Sigdi Bhata), Noor Din (resident of Kakerwagan), Ghulam Nabi Choppan (resident of Trungi – Dachhan), Mohammad Jaffer Sheikh (resident of Nattas, Dool) and Mohammad Ramzan (resident of Dangduroo – Dachhan), trade union leaders from Kishtwar district.

The authorities claim that these persons were attempting to ‘obstruct projects of national importance’. However, according to local sources and social media posts of activists and journalists from the Chenab Valley, the detained activists were voicing several specific concerns about the hydropower projects including infrastructure-related impacts and damages, environmental violations, denial of compensation and rehabilitation etc. They also alleged that local houses and properties suffered severe damage due to project-related blasting and that construction work reportedly caused ‘structural integrity issues’ in nearby buildings. It is learnt that 22 other persons have bene placed under state ‘surveillance’ and we fear that they may also be subject to arbitrary detention.

It has also been reported that another young climate activist Rehamatullah (25), from Dessa Bhatta of Doda (J&K), who has been vocal about environmental issues and was actively uncovering a solid waste management scam, has been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA). His work exposed the alleged misuse of funds and negligence in managing local waste, affecting public health and the environment. These detentions have raised concerns among local communities and environmental organizations, who view it as a suppression of environmental activism and transparency efforts.

We are of the earnest view that the detention of these activists who have only been advocating for the protection of local ecosystems, people’s democratic rights and truly sustainable development, undermine the right to hold authorities accountable, the right to peaceful protest and community involvement in decision making processes. It also represents a troubling misuse of power and a suppression of fundamental rights, which should alarm every citizen who believes in democracy and justice.

The criminalization of activism in Jammu and Kashmir, exemplified by laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA), has systematically suppressed local voices. We must unite in support of activists, including climate justice activists, and support their well-meaning advocacy efforts in J&K. It is imperative that the new government that has been voted to power in J&K with expectations that at least some democratic rights would be upheld, must live up to this popular mandate. Even as issues and subjects of federal rights are divided between the Centre and J&K, we expect the Lieutenant Governor and the Central Government to act responsibly and refrain from high-handed interventions, as people on the ground voice legitimate concerns in a peaceful way.

NAPM strongly asserts that socio-ecological justice activism and the act of raising legitimate concerns should not be mislabeled as “anti-national.”  Attempts to silence dissent by branding it as “anti-national” weaken the foundations of democratic governance and hinder constructive dialogue on pressing social issues.

We call for the immediate and unconditional release all detainees and demand that the PSA charges against them be withdrawn. Activism and dissent are essential components of a healthy democracy, and they should be respected rather than criminalized. The authorities must instead impartially inquire into the allegations of corruption and ensure that ecological justice is prioritized. As the 29th United Nation Climate Change Conference kickstarts at Baku (COP29), we hope necessary attention would be paid to environmental defenders safeguarding ecology at great risk.

Courtesy: CounterView

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This collective action follows the Central Government’s suspension of NREGA funding for the state in December 2021, citing Section 27 of the Act. This decision has resulted in a complete halt to NREGA projects and has left workers without wages for nearly three years.

As part of a nationwide postcard campaign orchestrated by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, workers from various states have not only penned letters to the Prime Minister but also contributed one rupee each towards West Bengal’s NREGA budget.

The postcards directed to PM Modi carry a clear and assertive message: “If the Union Government cannot allocate the NREGA budget for West Bengal, we, the workers of India, will fund it ourselves. We demand an immediate resumption of NREGA work in West Bengal.”

On August 5, 2024, a 15-member delegation representing various worker unions met with Shailesh Kumar, Secretary for Rural Development, advocating for the urgent release of funds and the renewal of NREGA work in West Bengal.

The delegation voiced concern that, despite the more than two-and-a-half year freeze, there has been no substantial investigation into the alleged irregularities that prompted the suspension, nor has accountability been established for the ongoing disruption.

Worker representatives have also engaged with key political figures, including Members of Parliament like Dr. V. Sivadasan and Amra Ram, pressing them to address the issue in Parliament.

The situation for workers has been dire, marked by forced migration, rampant hunger and malnutrition, rising suicide rates, and increasing poverty among vulnerable rural households in West Bengal, says an NREGA Sangharsh Morcha statement. Despite ongoing outreach to the Union Minister for Rural Development, workers have not yet secured a meeting, deepening their frustration amidst a backdrop of alleged administrative irregularities and governmental inaction.

In response to the escalating crisis, the Calcutta High Court intervened in April 2024, establishing a four-member committee to examine the legitimacy of prior NREGA work in West Bengal, following a petition from Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity (W.P.A. (P) 237 of 2023).

According to NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, while the court’s establishment of an investigative committee is a positive step, it should not come at the expense of the rights of millions of workers unfairly denied their right to work. The suspension effectively penalizes innocent workers for past alleged irregularities.

In September 2024 alone, over 3,500 demand applications for work were recorded in West Bengal, highlighting the urgent need to resume NREGA activities it added. However, the Central Government’s failure to release funds has meant that these demands are being addressed through a state-sponsored employment programme, ‘Karmashree.’

On September 23, 2024, around 100 NREGA workers, led by the Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity, staged a ‘Gherao’ demonstration at the BJP state headquarters in Kolkata. Although no senior officials attended the protest, the office assured attendees that their concerns would be addressed at an upcoming BJP state committee meeting. This protest in Kolkata is part of a wider mobilization across the nation.

On Sunday, September 28, 2024, hundreds of NREGA workers from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha will converge in Ranchi for a mass protest, NREGA Sangharsh Morcha declared. Gathering at Raj Bhawan at 11 am, these workers aim to demand the Centre reverse its anti-labour, anti-poor policies and uphold the true intent of MGNREGA.

Courtesy: CounterView

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The Campaign against State Repression (CASR) unequivocally condemns the arrest of human rights activist and Advocate Ajay Kumar by National Investigation Agency early morning 3 am from Chandigarh. He was sent  on police remand for m 3 days. For the last more than 1 year  the Indian state has undertaken a concentrated campaign to intimidate Ajay Kumar with members of the NIA, Central Intelligence Bureau and intelligence agency of the state of Haryana repeatedly harassing his relatives, friends and former neighbours regarding his whereabouts, warning them against any interaction with him and even supposedly letting slip that a raid of his residence is likely.

An activist, writer, lawyer and intellectual, Ajay Kumar has dedicated near three decades to the struggles of toiling masses for liberation from oppression and exploitation. Since his days as a student in Kurukshetra university, he has been active in various mass and democratic struggles be they the struggle against the illegal termination of canteen workers in Kurukshetra University or the struggle against the demolition of working-class neighbourhood of Gandhi Nagar, Kurukshetra. He participated in the peasant movement in Kandela, Haryana, was active in opposing the arrest of peasant leader Ghashi Ram and took lead in fact-finding missions on atrocities against Dalits in Haryana. In Chandigarh, he was active in the movement against evictions of slum dwellers as well as the movements against the amendments to Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act and Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act in 2016. He was active in the organizing of various programs, among others, the Mumbai Resistance programme in 2004 to oppose imperialist penetration into people’s movements via the World Social Forum. Apart from this, Ajay has aided in the capacity-building of activists from the anti-displacement movements against Electro Steel Company in Santhal Pargana (Jharkhand), Grabanda Bera electricity project in Gumla (Jharkhand) and South Korean giant Posco in Jagatsinghpur (Odisha).

It is possibly Ajay Kumar’s role as an anti-displacement activist and an opponent to the Indian state’s undeclared war on the Adivasi peasant people of central India to further corporate loot of land and resources that has brought him the ire of the State. Ajay was actively involved in the Forum Against the War on People to oppose the attack by state forces and corporate-sponsored militia, Salwa Judum, on the Adivasi peasants of central India under Operation Green Hunt. He was also founding member of Vistapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan (VVJVA), a conglomeration of more than 50 organisations from across the country seeking to challenge the forcible displacement of peasants particularly Adivasis, for the furtherance of corporate loot and land grab. VVJVA works against the forceful displacement of peasantry, particularly Adivasis for building big dams, industrial projects, mines, Special Economic Zones, highways, National Parks, Smart City projects etc. Ajay Kumar worked alongside the likes of Dr. B.D. Sharma (retired IAS officer), K.N. Pandit (trade union leader), Dr. B.P. Kesari, Father Stan Swamy, Sudha Bhardwaj, Dr. G.N. Saibaba and J. Madhuri in the formation of this forum in 2007.  From 2007 to 2016, Ajay was the All-India Convenor of VVJVA and later a member of its All India Steering Committee. He was also a member of the All-India Committee of the Forum Against Imperialist Globalisation.

Ajay has written seminal articles on agrarian production relations in Haryana and socio-historical overview of Khap Panchayats

He was already targeted with the Israeli-made Pegasus surveillance software, which was confirmed in October 2019 by John Scott Railton, a senior researcher at the Canadian organization Citizens Lab. The next month, WhatsApp too confirmed that this surveillance software was installed on his phone illegally in May 2018. His close association with other incarcerated activists as mentioned above already made him a person of interest in the false case against Prof. G.N. Saibaba, with his name mentioned in the lower courts. Those arrested in the fabricated Bhima Koregaon-Elgaar Parishad case were also interrogated about Ajay Kumar.

As a lawyer and activist, Ajay was active in the campaign against the death penalty awarded to cultural activist Jiten Marandi and opposition to capital punishment in general. As a member of the Indian Association of Peoples Lawyers (IAPL), he struggled for the release of political prisoners including those incarcerated in the Bhima Koregaon case. He helped organise a program against the use of pellet guns in Kashmir and participated in a fact-finding mission in Kashmir in May 2018 alongside Surendra Gadling, Arun Ferreira, and others. When article 370 was revoked, he aided in organizing protests in several prominent universities and was active in protesting against the draconian CAA-NRC-NPR. He was involved in the famous Kisan Andolan and in organising the movement against the caste atrocities committed in Panchkula in the state of Haryana.

Besides all the above, Ajay has written widely on issues concerning the toiling masses. Seminal articles on agrarian production relations in Haryana and socio-historical overview of Khap Panchayats were presented in the University of Hyderabad and Indian Institute for Advanced Studies in Shimla respectively, as well as various books, including titled Vistapan aur Janandolan. He also co-edited 8 volumes of the news bulletin Lalkar and was a regular contributor to the Jan Pratirodh magazine writing on a host of issues including the political economy of the Jat reservation demand, socio-economic impact of technological development, militarization of central India, the Lalgarh movement, state violence, Haryana’s new education policy and social boycotts among others.

CASR strongly condemns the arrest of activist Ajay Kumar for unflinching activism and commitment to the cause of the oppressed and exploited!

CASR demands an immediate Release of Human Rights Activist and Advocate  Ajay Kumar and all such political activists working on people’s issues!

CASR demands an immediate end to the witch-hunt being carried out by NIA across the country in the name of Urban Naxals/OGWs.

*AIRSO,AISA, AISF, APCR,ASA,BAPSA BBAU,BASF, BSM, Bhim Army,  bsCEM, CEM,COLLECTIVE,CRPP, CSM CTF, , DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telangana, Fraternity ,IAPL, Innocence Network,  Karnataka Janashakti, LAA,Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, Mazdoor Patrika, , NAPM, NAZARIYA , Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajwadi Janparishad, Smajwadi Lok Manch, Bahujan Samjavadi Manch, SFI, United Peace Alliance, WSS,Y4S

Couretsy: CounterView

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Deciding to restart the agitation demanding the implementation of the agreement dated 9th December 2021 between the Union Government and SKM, it said, “Intensifying direct struggles of farmers and farmworkers and also joint struggles with the organised and unorganised workers is the need of the hour in order to bring relief to the people who are facing severe miseries and widespread indebtedness, unemployment and price rise.”

Those attending the meeting included Dr Ashok Dhawale, Dr Darshan Pal, Yudhvir Singh, Balbeer Singh Rajewal, Revula Venkaiah,  Medha Patkar, Satyawan, Ruldu Singh Mansa, Dr Sunilam, Avik Saha, Dr Ashish Mittal, Tajinder Singh Virk, Kanwarjit Singhand Hannan Mollah.  143 delegates from 17 states took part.

It was held against the backdrop of victory of farmer leaders Amraram from Sikar, Rajasthan; Rajaram Singh from Karakat, Bihar; Sudama Prasad from Arrah, Bihar and R Sachithanantham from Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, in the Lok Sabha polls.

“As part of restarting the struggle, the SKM will submit the updated demand charter to all Members of Parliament (Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha). A delegation of the respective SKM state leadership will directly meet them on 16, 17, 18 July 2024 and request them to put pressure on the NDA Govt to immediately take action on the demands. SKM leadership will seek an appointment with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and submit the memorandum of demands to them”, it declared.

The 9th December 2021 agreement covers the demands of ensuring legally guaranteed MSP@ C2+50% with procurement for all crops, no to privatisation of the power sector and prepaid smart meters, compensation to all the families of martyrs who died during the historic farmers struggle, withdrawal of all the cases related to the farmers agitation, and freeing farmers from criminal liability by amending the act on pollution control due to stubble burning.

“The general body meeting strongly condemned the anti-farmer Govt of NDA for violating the agreement made after the supreme sacrifice of 736 martyrs and sufferings of lakhs of farmers who participated for 384 days — 26th November 2020 to 11th December 2021 — of consistent and militant struggle at the Delhi borders”, the statement said.

Revealing its agitation plan, SKM said, “On 9th August 2024, SKM shall observe Quit India Day as Corporates Quit India Day by holding protest demonstrations across the country in support of the demand charter. The demand that India must come out of WTO and No MNCs in agricultural production and trade will be popularised among the farmers.”

Then, “On 17th August 2024 the SKM Punjab unit will observe ‘3 hours protest at the homes of all ministers including the Chief Minister of Punjab’ regarding the demands of Punjab, including the severe water crisis, burden of debt, opening India-Pakistan trade through road corridors and federal demands of Punjab against the policy of centralisation of power and resources by the Modi-led NDA government.”

“On the same day SKM will organise large seminars in all the states on the issue of water crisis and climate change affecting agriculture and against the commodification of natural resources including water, land, forest and minerals”, SKM added.

As part of restarting the struggle, the SKM will submit the updated demand charter to all Members of Parliament

It further said, in view of the upcoming Assembly elections, the State coordination committees of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir will convene their meetings and ensure an independent and massive campaign among the farmers based on the SKM’s demands to expose, oppose and punish BJP in the forthcoming assembly elections.

“The State units also will explore coordination with trade unions and other mass and class organisations, and hold Vehicle Jathas, Padayatras and Mahapanchayats”, it added.

SKM’s demands include:

1. Legally guaranteed MSP@C2+50% with guaranteed procurement for all crops.
2. Comprehensive loan waiver to free farmers and agricultural workers from indebtedness and end farm suicides.
3. No privatisation of power sector, no prepaid smart meters.
4. Comprehensive insurance coverage to all crops and animal husbandry under the Public Sector, scrapping of the anti-farmer and pro-corporate PMFBY Scheme.
5. Pension of Rs.10,000 (ten thousand) per month to all farmers and agricultural workers.
6. Implementing Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, revised circle rate of land every alternative year across India, providing due compensation to all those who lost land due to illegal acquisition for projects by the public as well as private sector and stopping acquisition without rehabilitation and resettlement; ending Bulldozer Raj of demolition of slums and settlements without prior rehabilitation.
7. No corporatisation of agriculture, No MNC’s in agricultural production and trade, bringing India out of WTO agreement on agriculture.
8. No GST on agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, electricity, irrigation, petroleum products, machineries and tractors.
9. Amending the GST Act to ensure the State Governments’ right to taxation as per the federal principles enshrined in the Constitution of India with the principle of strong States and strong Union of India.
10. Introducing separate Union Budget for Agriculture with adequate share of GDP.
11. Abolition of the Department of Cooperation in the Union Government, and keeping Cooperation as a State Subject as enshrined in the Constitution of India. The Union Government has to support the States instead of promoting centralisation of power for the interest of the corporate class at the cost of the producing classes — farmers and workers.
12. Ensuring permanent solution for wildlife menace; provide Rs 1 crore compensation for loss of life and adequate compensation for loss of crops and cattle.
13. Providing compensation for all the families of martyrs of the historic farmers’ struggle including the martyrs of Lakhimpur Kheri.
14. Withdrawing all the cases related with the farmers’ struggle and building a suitable Martyrs Memorial at Singhu/Tikri Border to commemorate the 736 farmer martyrs.

Courtesy: CounterView

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The PUCL condemns the decision of the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena to grant Delhi Police sanction to prosecute writer Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, (former Professor of International Law at Central University of Kashmir), in a 2010 case for offences under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. This decision of the LG follows the earlier decision to grant sanction to prosecute Roy and Husain for offence under sections 153A, 153B and 505 of the Indian Penal Code in October of 2023.

It bears noting that the sanction given by the LG for prosecuting Roy and Husain for offences u/s 153A, 153B and 505 IPC is hit by Sec. 468 CrPC which bars courts taking cognisance of cases after a delay of 3 years when the offences carry a maximum sentence of 3 years. It seems plausible that the LG’s sanction to prosecute for offences under section 13 UAPA (which carries a sentence of 7 years), after a gap of fourteen years is to get over this legal hurdle.

The invocation of the UAPA by the LG, is politically motivated, patently unconscionable and vindictive. Prima facie, it does not flow out of any concern for national security or national interest, but seeks to deploy the UAPA as a tool to serve one’s political masters. This is obvious from the fact that it is not even the LG’s case that the speeches made by Arundhati Roy and others at a convention on Kashmir, ‘Azadi: The Only Way’, organised in New Delhi in October 2010 has provoked violent disturbance in 2024, thereby necessitating urgent legal action under the UAPA!

A mature constitutional democracy ought not to prosecute speech, which by itself has no direct causal connection to violence or disorder. It is shameful that an FIR was even registered for speech which by all accounts did not incite or provoke any form of violence and even more reprehensible that the LG has granted sanction to prosecute, that too in 2024!

To persist in prosecuting the authors and writers under this old FIR, casts a long shadow on India as the world’s largest democracy

We condemn this knee jerk reaction to grant sanction to prosecute an alleged offence committed almost fourteen years ago as nothing other than an attempt by the administration to intimidate and browbeat courageous writer and thinkers who dare to speak truth to power.

To persist in prosecuting these authors and writers under this old FIR, casts a long shadow on India as the world’s largest democracy. A country which persecutes its writers and truth tellers, for words which it deems unpalatable, forfeits the claim to be the ‘mother of democracy’

We demand that the prosecution be withdrawn with immediate effect against both Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain under both the UAPA as well as the IPC provisions for a speech made almost fourteen years ago.

We also demand that the UAPA, a law rife with unconstitutional implications be repealed.

— Kavita Srivastava (president), Dr V Suresh (general secretary), PUCL

Courtesy: CounterView

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The complaint said, addressing election rallies in Chaibasa, Palamau and Gumla on 3-4 May respectively,  Modi “misled the public with fabricated facts to the effect that the Congress Party was planning to rob Adivasis and other communities of their property and give it to Muslims, using derogatory terms such as ‘infiltrators’ and ‘vote jihad’ ”

It added, “He further misled people by saying that the Congress Party would take away reservation quota of Adivasis, Dalits and OBCs and give it to Muslims.”

Calling these “fabricated and inflammatory statements”, the complaint said, these are “clearly aimed at creating a fear of Muslims among many voters and make them look to the BJP for protection”, insisting, “They violate the first clause of the Code of Conduct, which prohibits all parties and candidates from indulging ‘in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic’.”

According to the complaint, “These and other recent statements of the Prime Minister in Jharkhand also violate Section 3(A) of the Representation of People Act, which prohibits any candidate from attempting to ‘promote, feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language’.”

Modi’s statements are aimed at creating fear of Muslims among voters and make them look to BJP for protection

The complaint further said, “It may be recalled that the Supreme Court, in the “Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay versus Union of India & Ors.” (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 943/2021) case, has called for suo motu filing of FIRs against hate speech under IPC sections 153A, 153B, 295A and 506.”

It added, “These communal statements are especially dangerous coming from the Prime Minister, who sets the tone for others. Already, there have been many other speeches of this nature from BJP leaders in recent days. The poison is spreading fast.”

The civil society regretted, the CEO, “unfortunately, did not show any interest in this complaint, nor did he engage with the delegation. When the delegates pressed him on what he intended to do, he simply said that the ‘rules’ would need to be studied, inquiry would have to be made and the complaint would have to be forwarded to the Election Commission of India.”

It added, “When the delegation asked the CEO what action would be taken to check such inflammatory and communal speech in the coming days, he remained non-committal.”
The delegation comprised Elina Horo, Jean Drèze, Siraj Dutta and Tom Kavla.

Courtesy: CounterView

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Condemning the arrest, the civil rights network, Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), called it “yet another attempt to silence the voice of Adivasis.”

Tekam was produced in a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bilaspur and charged under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act, alleging that the police seized Naxalite literature, banners and explosives.

“It is a clear case of fabrication by planting the said materials illegally in his house while stage-managing a supposed raid and search operation. He was also arrested in false cases in October last year”, CASR said.

Acording to CASR, Tekam is “a well-known Adivasi leader who has been speaking against the violations of Adivasi rights and leading Adivasis in Chhattisgarh against the militarization and corporatization in the mineral rich area.”

Tekam is the convener of Bastar Jan Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti (Coordination Committee for Bastar Prople’s Struggle) and Vice-President of Sarva Adivasi Samaj, a collective of all Adivasi organisations in Chhattisgarh.

Said CASR, “Tekam has been fighting against fake encounter killings of Adivasis in the recent period, particularly after BJP came to power last year in Chhattisgarh. His attempts to mobilise Adivasi people against fake encounter killings is the main reason for this fabricated case.”

Demanding immediate withdrawal of the “false case fabricated against Tekam”, it sought his and release unconditionally, even as appealing “all democratic organisations to condemn Takam’s arrest.”

Courtesy: CounterView

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Phool Kumari from Katihar in Bihar gave the instance of her her village, where 76 people demanded work, but hardly 7 got work. Bholu Pando and Sevak Lakra from Chhattisgarh said that the introduction of NREGA brought revolutionary changes in their lives, but due to continuous budget cuts and the introduction of digital attendance, it is becoming very difficult to work under NREGA.

The Jan Sunwai (public hearing) on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), where NREGA workers from various non-party trade unions and mass organisations from Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh participated, saw Congress leaders and Jairam Ramesh and Kanhaiya Kumar as chief guests accusing the Government of India of creating unnecessary technical complexity into NREGA in the name of transparency.

Others participating in the event were Rameshwar Oraon, Alamgir Alam , Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan leder Nikhil Dey, “Chaupal” editor Gangaram and James Herenj and Balram from the Jharkhand NREGA Watch.

Kanhaiya Kumar said that this country was built by the workers and without workers the country will not prosper. He added that, if the current Union government can waive off the loan of capitalists amounting to Rs 14 lakh crores, then it should also guarantee the rightful work and wages of crores of NREGA workers.

Senior leader and former Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam said that the Jharkhand State Government wrote several letters to the Union Government questioning the logic in paying NREGA workers less than the statutory agricultural wage rate and promised that the State would put pressure on the Union Government to withdraw digital attendance.

Jairam Ramesh recalled the struggle behind the NREGA Act and outlined its objectives, adding that the current Union Government is bringing unnecessary technical complexity into NREGA in the name of transparency, which is in violation of the people’s right to work. He stressed that the main objective of the Union Government is to end NREGA.

He also suggested that after Rajasthan, Jharkhand could be the second state where urban employment guarantee should be implemented. He urged that it is the duty of public representatives to participate in such public hearings and take collective decisions, keeping in mind the ground reality.

Economist Jean Dreze, while showing a fish from the pond built by NREGA workers, said that NREGA is an investment that has brought prosperity among the rural poor. On behalf of NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and Jharkhand NREGA Watch, Gangaram Paikra, Balram and James Herenj presented a Charter of Demands:

Guarantee 100 days work per adult (vyask) person in a family.

NREGA wage rate should be Rs 800.

Pressure should be put on the central government to pay wages within 15 days as per NREGA law.

The Union Government should follow the order of the Supreme Court in the Swaraj Abhiyan case and pay the pending compensation.

Do not make Aadhar Based Payment System (ABPS) mandatory for payments.

Digital attendance in NREGA should be stopped immediately.

Adequate budget should be allocated for social audit and the autonomy of the social audit department should be maintained. In the social audit of every work, it should be done as per the rules of CAG, keeping all the information before the Gram Sabha.

In the name of Section 27 of the NREGA Act, the injustice being done to NREGA workers of West Bengal should be stopped. Section 27 should be amended so that such injustice does not happen to other states.

There is a provision of unemployment allowance in the NREGA Act if work is not found within 15 days, but it is not followed. The central government should take responsibility that the workers get unemployment allowance.

Every person in every family should get 100 days of work in a year.

For the empowerment of the Gram Sabha, it is necessary that the decisions of the Gram Sabha be given priority in the determination and implementation of schemes.

Urban Employment Guarantee Act should be brought in the entire country so that every hand actually gets work and gets full wages for the work.

Courtesy: CounterView

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Those who addressed the gathering included Delhi University’s Dr Jitendra Meena, Dr Saroj Giri of the Political Science Department and Dr Nandita Narain of St. Stephen’s College, DU.

Dr Meena spoke on the intensified displacement of Adivasis from their land by way of big corporates seeking to begin mining projects in resource-rich regions. He raised his astonishment as to how forests in Hasdeo which were once declared a “No-Go” zone for human activities are now being cut down for the interests of Adani’s mining project right after the BJP government came to power in Chhatisgarh.

He expressed his concern regarding how displacement of people in the name of environmental conservation and building a tiger reserve such as in Kaimur, is being justified through amendments in forest conservation and wildlife protection laws.

He said, “108 villages in Kaimur have been given a notice for displacement. Same story is being seen in Rajasthan, in the Kumbhalgarh area, where more than 50 villages have received the same notices for displacement. In Karoli, Dhaulpur, more than 50 villages too have received notices from the government to leave. Where will these Adivasi peasants go, what will happen to their lives? Nobody knows. But the story of displacing them from their lands has already begun, whether it be in Kaimur, Hasdeo, Bastar or Rajasthan.”

Dr Giri pointed out how the Indian state is unleashing an undeclared and undocumented war on the Adivasi people of the country since Salwa Judum and Operation Green Hunt which has now intensified into Operation Samadhan-Prahar. The people’s struggle against militarization and corporate loot is a struggle for their existence which is tied to their land, he said.

Condemning the death of a 6 month old infant in Bijapur during anti-Naxal operations, he drew a contrast with previous such massacres in Gompad, Sarkeguda and Eddesmetta, stating, despite judicial enquiry reports finding the paramilitary personnel responsible for the fake encounter in Edesmetta and Sarkeguda, no action has been taken.

Dr Narain said how corporate loot of resources is expanding its tentacles. She reminisced the campaign led by Dr GN Saibaba against Operation Green Hunt which culminated in his incarceration, thereby exposing the state’s attempt to silence any voice that questions this undeclared war.

The protest was also addressed by constituent members of FACAM.

Courtesy: CounterView

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In a statement, the Central TUs said, first the Modi government was quick to express its solidarity with Israel, then there was “studied backtracking by the Foreign Ministry”, following which humanitarian aid began being sent to Palestine. Then, it abstained from supporting the UN Resolution for a ceasefire.

“But now even more shocking facts are coming out”, the Central TUs said. Thus, “in May 2023, during the visit of Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen to New Delhi, both countries signed an agreement to send 42,000 Indian workers to Israel, out of which 34,000 were to be brought into the construction industry, to replace the Palestinian workers.”

“Now, the Indian government is planning to export around 90,000 construction workers to Israel as demanded by them”, said Central TUs, adding, “The Indian Government is playing a despicable role of supporting the Israeli plans to throw out Palestinian workers. Retaliation of Hamas attack is only an excuse.”

The statement continued, “As it is, the settler-colonial occupation of Palestine has decimated its economy, causing high levels of poverty and unemployment, and has resulted in Palestinians being dependent on Israel for employment.”

“Though numbers have fluctuated over time, an average of 1.3 lakh Palestinians were employed in Israel, with the construction sector accounting for the largest share of Palestinian workers, with Palestinian worker making almost 65-70% of the total workforce”, it added.

Central TUs commented, “Nothing could be more immoral and disastrous for India than the said export of workers to Israel. That India is even considering exporting workers shows the manner in which it has dehumanized and commodified Indian workers.

During  Israeli foreign minister’s visit to New Delhi in May, both countries signed  agreement to send 42,000 Indian workers to Israel

“Such step will amount to complicity on India’s part with Israel’s ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians and will naturally have adverse implications for Indian workers in the entire region”, it underlined.

The statement said, “India’s trade union movement must rise in solidarity with Palestinian workers and reject this disastrous idea. Let’s resolve that we will not work to replace Palestinian workers in Israel. India and Indian workers should boycott Israeli products. Indian workers, as their counterparts in some western countries, should refuse to handle the Israeli cargo.”

The Central TUs demanded that the agreement with Israel to export Indian workers be scrapped immediately; there should he an immediate halt to Israeli aggression against Palestine and end of its occupation; and the Palestinian right to a sovereign homeland be upheld.

*Indian National Trade Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India United Trade Union Centre, Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self Employed Women’s Association, All India Central Council of Trade Unions, Labour Progressive Federation, United Trade Union Congress, and Independent sectoral federations/associations

Courtesy: CounterView

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