Skip to main content

Congress, Communists, Narmada Bachao Andolan form front to fight against "draconian" land bill

By Our Representative
In an important political development, Congress, Communists and senior activists fighting against the Land Acquisition Bill, pending clearance of the Rajya Sabha, joined hands on Thursday to form Bhoomi Adhikar Sangharsh Andolan (BASA) as a “movement of land rights” and declared their intention for hold a well-represented rally at Parliament Street, New Delhi, on May 5.
Calling it continuation of “the joint movement against the draconian Land Acquisition Bill, 2015”, the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), apex body of rights-based organizations in India, said, this will be third “massive protest” and will be bigger than the one held on February 24. “We discussed the way forward”, it added.
The NAPM said, it was a “strategy meeting” for uniting forces to launch “protests with massive participation in all states, adding, “Various protest actions have been planned by different unions and people’s organisations. All those protesting against the Bill will undertake a signature campaign against the ordinance aiming to collect 5 crore signatures. A Massive Bhoo Adhikar Sangharsh rally will be held on May 5, 2015 at Delhi.”
Among those who decided for the joint movement included Jairam Ramesh (Indian National Congress), Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party India-Marxist), D.Raja (Communist Party of India), K.C.Tyagi (Janata Dal-United), and all the splinter left parties.
The NAPM said, all of them “expressed solidarity with the struggle against the Land Acquisition Bill”, adding, “They decided not to allow the Bill to be passed in the Rajya Sabha. They will struggle inside Parliament and join hands with movements to struggle outside on the street. Together we can defeat this design of NDA government.”
“A comprehensive strategy with the immediate aim of mounting a robust opposition against the new Land Acquisition Bill as well as to move towards the long-term objective of achieving land rights for all was arrived at”, the NAPM said, adding, “Farmers’ unions, people’s movements and political parties from across the country came together to form a strong opposition force against this historic challenge.”
Others participating in the meeting were Narmada Bachao Andolan's Medha Patkar, All-India Kisan Sabha's Hannan Mollah, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti's Dr.Sunilam, All-India Agricultural Workers' Union's Suneet Chopra, the All India Union for Forest Working People's Ashok Choudhary and Roma, Insaf's Dayamani Barla and Virendra Vidrohi, Yuva Kranti's Rakesh Rafiq, Sarvahara Jan Andolan's Ulka Mahajan, and Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch's Smita Gupta.
A Resolution was passed at the meeting said the programmes to be held would include burning of the Land Acquisition Ordinance, once promulgated, as decided by NDA government, April 6; Bhoomi Adhikaar Sangharsh rally in Delhi at Parliament Street on May 5, 2015; state-level conventions, mass mobilisation, padayatras, rail roko, rasta roko and human chains in all states and districts; 5 crore signatures across the country; Zameen Wapsi campaign and a state-level mobilisation against the Land Ordinance on April 9 at Vijaywada, on April 10 at Bhubaneshwar, and April 11 at Patna.

Comments

TRENDING

Junk food push causing severe public health crisis of obesity, diabetes in India: Report

By Rajiv Shah  A new report , “The Junk Push: Rising Consumption of Ultra-processed foods in India- Policy, Politics and Reality”, public health experts, consumers groups, lawyers, youth and patient groups, has called upon the Government of India to check the soaring consumption of High Fat Sugar or Salt (HFSS) foods or ultra-processed foods (UPF), popularly called junk food.

Avoidable Narmada floods: Modi birthday fete caused long wait for release of dam waters

Counterview Desk  Top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has accused the Sardar Sarovar dam operators for once again acting in an "unaccountable" manner, bringing "avoidable floods in downstream Gujarat."  In a detailed analysis, SANDRP has said that the water level at the Golden Bridge in Bharuch approached the highest flood level on September 17, 2023, but these "could have been significantly lower and much less disastrous" both for the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, if the authorities had taken action earlier based on available actionable information.

From 'Naatu-Naatu' to 'Nipah-Nipah': Dancing to the tune of western pipers?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Some critics have commented that the ecstatic response of most Indians to the Oscar for the racy Indian song, “Naatu-Naatu” from the film, “RRR” reeks of sheer racism, insulting visuals and a colonial hangover. It was perhaps these ingredients that impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, one critic says.

Astonishing? Violating its own policy, Barclays 'refinanced' Adani Group's $8 billion bonds

By Rajiv Shah  A new report released by two global NGOs, BankTrack and the Toxic Bonds Network, has claimed to have come up with “a disquieting truth”: that Barclays, a financial heavyweight with a “controversial” track record, is deeply entrenched in a “disturbing” alliance with “the Indian conglomerate and coal miner Adani Group.”

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Asset managers hold '2.8 times more equity' in fossil fuel cos than in green investments

By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi*  The world’s largest asset managers are far off track to meet the  2050 net zero commitments , a new study  released by InfluenceMap , a London-based think tank working on climate change and sustainability, says. Released on August 1, the Asset Managers and Climate Change 2023 report by FinanceMap, a work stream of InfluenceMap, finds that the world’s largest asset managers have not improved on their climate performance in the past two years.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.