Six Left parties hold convention and protest in Jalandhar against fake encounters and corporate policies

By Harsh Thakor* 

On June 10, six leftist and communist parties and organizations held a state-level convention at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall in Jalandhar, Punjab. The gathering, attended by around 200 people, was organized to protest what they described as fake encounters and corporate exploitation in the name of anti-Maoist operations. The event was followed by a protest march through the city.

Speakers at the convention linked recent police encounters—particularly Operation Kager in Chhattisgarh—with broader government policies they characterized as authoritarian and corporatist. They alleged that these operations target Adivasis, Maoists, and other dissenting groups under the guise of counterterrorism, with the real intent being the suppression of grassroots resistance to the privatization of natural resources and public assets. The policies were also framed as attempts to divert attention from what they termed the central government's failures.

Key speakers included Mangat Ram Pasla (RMPI), Bant Singh Brar (CPI), Darshan Khatkar (CPI-ML New Democracy), Gurmeet Singh Bakhtpur (CPI-ML Liberation), Kiran Jeet Singh Sekhon (MCPI-U), and Mukhtiar Singh Puhla (Inquilabi Kendra Punjab). The convention was conducted by several party representatives including Jasbir Kaur Natt and Narinder Singh Safipur.

A resolution passed at the convention called for an immediate halt to alleged extra-judicial killings in anti-Maoist operations, particularly in Chhattisgarh, and demanded that natural resources not be handed over to corporate interests. It also opposed the displacement of Adivasi communities, which have historically lived in forest regions.

The resolution further condemned communal propaganda and the criminalization of dissent, citing campaigns against minorities—especially Muslims and Christians—as well as the incarceration of journalists, activists, and others critical of the central government. Specific objections were raised to changes in Waqf laws and the use of incidents such as Pulwama to incite nationalism.

International issues were also addressed, including condemnation of Israeli military actions in Palestine and U.S. deportation policies under former President Trump.

The protest march that followed the convention voiced these demands in public, with slogans against what participants described as state repression and economic exploitation. The event was moderated by Kanwaljeet Khanna.

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*Independent journalist