THE recent spate of bans on protests by the Madhya Pradesh government was resisted by the left parties jointly through a convention held on 15 June in Gwalior and a rally held in Bhopal on 20 June.
CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) and SUCI(C) organised a 'Defend Democracy' convention in Gwalior against Sections 144 and 133 being imposed in whole of the Madhya Pradesh indefinitely by the Shivraj Singh BJP government. This draconian order has been passed to curb the popular protests against BJP government while mega scams like DEMAT and killings in Vyapam scams go on unabated. A privatisation spree is on in the state of essential public amenities like transport and electricity, crimes against women are rampant, and the recent move of imposing 144 is meant only to suppress the widespread resentment and movement forces who are giving voices to the people's grievances. The Left parties have decided to jointly lead agitations against such fascist moves by the MP government. The convention was held to raise these issues which was attended by hundreds of activists. The convention was addressed by CPI(ML) leader Vinod Rawat and leaders of other left parties. Comrade Dhirendra Bhadoria presided over this convention.
On 20 June thousands of people including youth, students, workers and peasants gathered in Bhopal to hold a rally on above issues. This was addressed by the leaders of the the four Left parties. CPI(ML) Central Control Commission member Devendra Singh Chauhan, CPI(M) State Secretary Badal Saroj, SUCI(C) leader Pratap Sanwal, CPI(ML) Bhind District Secretary Suraj Rekha Tripathi and Dhirendra Bhadauria and other left leaders addressed the rally.
