Left parties begin week-long protests in Maharashtra

The Left parties began their week-long protest across Maharashtra on Wednesday. The parties are in protest of Narendra Modi-led NDA government’s policies, which the Left parties said were leading to unbearable price rises and unemployment.

According to the Left parties, the RSS, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar had resorted to crass communal polarisation to divert the attention of the people from these important issues. The protest will continue till May 31.

The Left parties at the national level had given a countrywide call for massive actions against price rise and unemployment; they have also proposed a seven-point demands charter, said a press statement.

A decision to hold united protests—on the issues of price rise and inflation—at the district and tehsil level in Maharashtra was taken at an online meeting of the state’s Left party leaders. The participants at the meeting also expressed intense dissatisfaction at the minute decrease in petrol and diesel prices by the central government.

The online meeting was attended by Dr Ashok Dhawale, Dr Uday Narkar and Dr S K Rege of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s; Communist Party of India’s Tukaram Bhasme, Prakash Reddy, Prof Ram Baheti and Subhash Lande; Rajendra Korde of the Peasants and Workers Party; Bhimrao Bansode and Rajendra Bawake of the Lal Nishan Party, and Shyam Gohil and Ajit Patil of the CPI(ML-L).

It was reported that the Samyukta Shetkari Kamgar Morcha and the Jan Andolananchi, which comprise several mass organisations, would also participate in the week-long agitation.