Thousands of farmers, workers and labourers stormed the capital on Wednesday, September 5, in a historic rally against the central government, seeking fair wages, better prices for farm produce, and an end to privatisation, among other demands. It was organised by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the All India Agriculture Workers Union (AIAWU), and the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the country’s largest peasant organisation. The rally was backed by the CPI(M), and the Congress also voiced its support.
The rally began and Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, and made its way to Parliament Street. As per CPI(M), this was “the biggest rally of the working people that Delhi has seen in decades,” with the complete kilometre-long stretch from the Parliament street police station to outer circle of Connaught circus being awash in red flags.
Those participating in the Mazdoor Kisan Rally had several demands of the government, including:
- Curb price increases
- Universalise the Public Distribution System
- Ban forward trading in essential commodities
- Concrete measures for generation of decent employment
- A minimum wage of not less than Rs. 18,000 per month for all workers
- An end to anti-worker labour law amendments
- Remunerative price for peasants as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee
- Ensuring public procurement
- Debt waivers for poor peasants and agricultural workers
- Comprehensive legislation for agricultural workers
- Implementation of MGNREGA in all rural areas, and an amendment to the Act to cover urban areas
- Food security, health, education, and housing for all
- Universal social security
- Equal pay for equal work for men and women
- No contractorisation
- Redistributive land reforms
- An end to forcible land acquisition
- Relief and rehabilitation for victims of natural disasters
- A reversal of neoliberal policies
“This is a historic union. For the first time, workers and farmers have marched together in such numbers to protest the government policies,” said Tapan Sen, general secretary of the CITU, The Hindu reported. Per The Hindu, S. Thirunavaukkarasu, who heads the AIAWU, noted, “This year, rural agricultural workers got only 27-days of work through MGNREGA,” and questioned, “What has happened to ‘acche din‘ promised by the Modi government? It was only acche din for corporates, not for people like us.” CPI(M) chief Sitaram Yechury also spoke at the rally, pledging to “take the struggle to every district”.
This rally came just months after the Kisan Long March that made its way from Nashik to Mumbai earlier this year, in March. There are plans for another ‘long march’ to be held in Delhi in November. Vijoo Krishnan, joint secretary of the AIKS, said, “From November 28 to 30, we will hold a ‘Long March of the Dispossessed’. It will not just be farmers, but also the landless, Adivasis, Dalits, workers who will come to surround the four corners of Delhi,” per The Hindu. The CITU’s Tapan Sen announced that CITU workers would also participate in the November march, according to the CPI(M).
