CITU Conference expresses solidarity with fighting people in WB

N.S.Sajith

Dr. M K Pandhe Nagar (Kannur); April 5, 2013: Condemning the attack on the trade union movement and democratic rights of the people in West Bengal by the TMC-led government, the 14 the conference of CITU being held in Kannur has called the people to build resistance through broader class mobilisation and in alliance with other mass organisations and democratic sections. The conference also expressed the solidarity with the fighting people of West Bengal. A resolution moved by Elamaram Kareem, General Secretary of CITU Kerala state, has said that the West Bengal government is pursuing the neo-liberal economic policies of the ruling classes aided and abetted by the imperialist forces; and the ruling party goons.

“Violent physical attacks are perpetrated on trade unions, particularly targeting CITU, on the organisations of peasants, students, youths and women, on Left supporters, and on democratic institutions and expressions of the people by the armed TMC hoodlums creating a reign of terror. Till date, 88 leading functionaries of democratic movement, including six from the trade unions, have been killed. Hundreds of people have been injured. The police either remain silent spectators or act at the behest of the ruling party.
Around 400 union offices have been forcibly captured, hundreds were burnt and ransacked. Workers are being terrorised to desert CITU and join TMC unions. Contract workers are being thrown out of jobs and replaced by new workers with reduced wages in connivance with the contractors.
 

During the last two general strikes, on 28th February 2012 and 20-21 February 2013, police, administration and TMC goons were mobilised to break the strike including unprecedentedly deploying police for miking.
 

The chief minister personally supervised the strike breaking operations moving around on the streets encouraging TMC hoodlums who continued the attacks on workers even after the strike. They went on slapping senior teachers, cutting the limbs of an employee, damaging the eyes of a brick kiln worker, ransacking the BSNL office for remaining closed on the strike days.
 

This conference welcomes the united move of all the central trade unions in West Bengal in condemning such attacks, submitting joint memorandum to the chief secretary of the state government and in staging joint demonstration on 7th March 2013.
 

 In many places, tenant peasants are forced to leave their land and the former landlords and jotedars are trying to gain control over the land with the help of the TMC goons and the administration. Peasants are being deprived of minimum support price and remunerative prices forcing several peasants to commit suicide, which never happened during the Left Front rule. The state government is procuring rice through the rice mill owners and private agencies, compelling the farmers to make distress sale.
 

 This conference notes with grave concern about large number working and retired workers of state transport corporation and 3 tea garden workers committing suicide for non payment of salaries and pensions, exposing the anti-worker and inhuman attitude of the TMC government.
 

 Cold blooded murder of SFI leader Sudipta Gupta; pre-planned and gruesome murder of an on-duty police officer; arrest and torture of an university professor for forwarding a cartoon; rapidly increasing the number of atrocities against women, including rape; burning and eviction of the poor from their houses and lands; etc expose the true character of an authoritarian rule and fascistic terror unleashed by TMC government.
 

 The pro-people changes in the economic, democratic, administrative, social, educational, cultural institutions during the 34 years’ of Left Front rule are now under attack in West Bengal. Elections to the college students’ unions, school-committees, and cooperative societies are being rigged in most of the places through violence by TMC goons with the backing of the police and the administration. The benefits and rights of the people are sought to be reversed. Such attacks on the Left forces, trade unions, kisan sabha and other class and mass organisations are designed for such right wing reversal. These will have a bearing on the rights of the toiling people in the entire country. Such a situation bears ominous portent for democracy.
 

 This conference congratulates the trade union and democratic movement of West Bengal for their heroic resistance to such onslaughts braving all atrocities and making immense sacrifices.  The Conference also calls upon the working class and democratic forces of the country to raise their voice to vociferously condemn such attacks on the trade union movement, resolution said.