The AIALA held protests in state capitals including Patna, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhubaneshwar, Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, as well as in Diphu, the headquarters of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous district in Assam on February 23, highlighting a 10-point Charter of Demands to the Prime Minister. The major demands are to institute a CBI inquiry into the rampant corruption and huge misappropriation of funds under the NREGA in the light of recent CAG draft report and to allocate at least Rs. 50,000 Crores for the NREGA in the budget proposals to be presented in Parliament. Similar protests are also planned to be held on Feb. 25 in Guwahati and on Feb 27 in Ranchi and Jaipur.

AIALA has also demanded from all state governments to publish a White Paper after convening a special session of the State Assembly on the actual status of the NREGS in respective states. Waiver of all types of loans to Agricultural Workers and poor peasants is also being demanded from the governments. Earlier on Feb. 2, ’08, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the NREGA implementation, AIALA has sent an open letter the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on this issue.

AIALA has launched a nationwide campaign beginning on February 23 to highlight the issues of the rural poor and agrarian labourers, especially the reduction of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act into a mere show-piece, shrinking of PDS, ever expanding poverty being restricted to pre-decided BPL quotas, loan waiver, rampant loot and corruption in various developmental schemes and programmes, displacement of agricultural labourers and peasants by SEZ and other schemes, and rising malnutrition, hunger and starvation deaths, etc. This campaign will culminate on March 27 in a “Seize the Block Office” movement where block/Mandal level offices will be gheraoed in protest of reducing NREGA and PDS into showpieces and making them centres of rampant corruption. Village/Panchayat level agitations will also be held during this campaign. 