Left parties organise rally in Bangalore as part of nationwide campaign

Left parties on Friday took out a  rally in Bangalore as part of all-India campaign the parties have organised on issues related to the public distribution system. It was a culmination of a month-long campaign on food security and price rise. that citizens across the country be given their right to food.

Led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India, the rally from the Bangalore City Railway Station to Freedom Park. A memorandum that demands a rectification of irregularities in the public distribution system (PDS) was submitted to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar after the agitation.

The members spoke about how the Union government has “failed” to check the rising food prices. They demanded that the PDS be made universal, allowing all citizens irrespective of their poverty status to have access to essential commodities through the system. “The PDS is not being implemented properly. We are seeking a universal system, as opposed to a targeted one so that all those in need of food have unlimited access,” said G.C. Bayya Reddy of the CPI(M)

CPI(M) State secretary G.V. Sreerama Reddy criticised the “anti-poor policies” of the government. Their other demands included 35 kg of rice for each below poverty line family at a subsidised rate of Rs. 2 per kg, proper determination of the poverty line, cancellation of the unit system and setting up of government fair price shops for every 2,000 card holders.