A state wide rally was held by CPI(ML) in the state capital of Uttar Pradesh on 21st October, to highlight the rising danger of communalism and betrayal of the promises made by the ruling Samajwadi Party government of Akhilesh Yadav. The recently engineered communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and the poor state of law and order in the state have been a source of grave concern for the people.
Addressing the rally, the General Secretary of the CPI(ML) Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya said that the BJP is trying to convert UP into a communal laboratory in the run up to the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Tainted ministers of the Gujarat government like Amit Shah have been send on deputation to UP to re-enact Gujarat-like pogroms here and the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar are a testimony to this nefarious design of the BJP. He said that the SP government has failed in the promises it had made to the people of the state after it voted out of power the unpopular government of BSP one and a half years ago. Be it the promise of checking crime, waiver of loans of farmers, unemployment allowance or fighting the communal forces, the SP government has had a dismal performance. The mafia forces are ruling the roost but forces like the CPI(ML) have pledged to give them a befitting reply.
He cited the example of how the party leader Com. Ramesh Senger had intervened against the sand mafia and the party had to pay a price in terms of the brutal attack on its leader. He said that there is a political vacuum in the country. People are fed up by the scam-tainted UPA whose rule has led to widespread joblessness, inflation and corruption and they are in no mood to allow forces like the BJP to fill the gap. In such a situation, the left and democratic forces can play a major role, particularly in states like UP, Bihar and Jharkhand to consolidate and lead a consistent opposition to the pro-corporate, pro-imperialist policies of Congress, BJP and their regional allies.
The rally was also addressed by Akbar Chaudhary, the president of JNUSU. He said that innocent Muslim youths are languishing in jail and some are even getting killed in police custody in UP like in the case of Khalid Mujahid. There is no justice for them in UP.
Amongst others who addressed the rally include Comrade Arvind Raj Swaroop, the Uttar Pradesh joint Secretary of CPI, Mohd. Shoaib, the Convener of Rihai Manch, which has been leading a struggle for the release of innocent Muslim youth in jail, Comrades K.D.Yadav, Sudhakar Yadav, Krishna Adhikari, Mohd. Salim, Central Committee members of CPI(ML), UP State President of AIPWA Tahira Hasan amongst others.
A notable feature of the rally was the 10 km long march on the streets of the State capital from the railway station to the Jyotiba Phule park, the rally ground. Thousands of peasants, workers, youths and a large number of women carrying red flags and posters made for a very impressive sight.
