The anger of the common people, workers, kisan and other toiling people expressed itself in the Protest Day organised on 8th November 2017, the first anniversary of the demonetisation / note ban, which created miseries and imposed serious hardships to them. 30 persons died while standing in the queue for hours for getting some money from the ATMs. The small business has seriously suffered. The GDP has gone down drastically. The people were running here and there to get a few notes for their day to day expenditure.

None of the great aims of note ban was not implemented as the note ban like confiscating black money, containing terrorism  could be achieved.

The Central Government should apologise to the people for Tuglak like action taken by the government, creating a lot of difficulties to the people.

The three day Maha Dharna being organised on 9-11 November 2017 against the wrong policies of the government and on a 12 point Charter of Demands by the ten national trade union centres and federations of central/state government employees, PSU unions etc. has started on 9th with massive participation. Lakhs of workers with their own union flags are participating in the dharna, coming from all parts of the country. I could participate in the same on 9th instant. A brief report on the same is given below:

The thousands of workers who stormed the national capital and assembled at Parliament Street in the national capital Delhi, to participate in the first day of the three days ‘mahapadav’ on 9th November 2017 enthusiastically endorsed the call of the speakers to intensify the struggle against the anti worker, anti people and anti national policies of the BJP led government and prepare for a countrywide indefinite general strike if the government fails to concede their demands.

Workers from all over the country representing many sector – public and private, permanent employees and contract, casual workers, state and central government employees, banks, insurance, telecom, railways, defence, and the various schemes of the government of India participated in the ‘mahapadav’ on the first day.

Ashok Singh (INTUC), Gurudas Dasgupta (AITUC), HS Sidhu (HMS), Tapan Sen (CITU), Satyawan (AIUTUC), G Devarajan (TUCC), Manali (SEWA), Rajiv Dimri (AICCTU), M Shanmugam (LPF) and Ashok Ghosh (UTUC) addressed the gathering in the first session presided over by Sanjay Singh (INTUC), Ramendra Kumar (AITUC), Raja Sridhar (HMS), Hemalata (CITU), RK Sharma (AIUTUC), Naren Chatterjee (TUCC), Sonia (SEWA), Santosh Rai (AICCTU), Subbaraman (LPF) and Shatrujit Singh (UTUC).

Leaders of the federations spoke in the second part of the first session. It was most significant that the leaders of the two major national federations of the railway employees – Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary of All India Railwaysmen’s Federation and Raghavaiagh, general secretary of National Federation of Indian Railwaymen – have announced that they would join the indefinite strike whenever the joint trade union platform gave the call. Leaders of several other all Industrial federations including Venkatachalam, general secretary of All India Bank Employees’ Association, Subhash Lamba, additional general secretary of All India State Government Employees’ Association and secretary of Electricity Employees’ Federation of India, KK Divakaran, general secretary of All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation, C Sreekumar, general secretary of All India Defence Employees’ Federation, Jagdeesh Sreemali, VS Dahiya, GR Shiv Shankar, Ravi Sen, Peelimuthu, Kalyan Sengupta, also joined them in endorsing the call addressed the huge gathering and announced they would join the indefinite country wide general strike whenever the joint trade union platform took the decision. Thampan Thomas (HMS), Vijay Pal Singh (AIUTUC), Anil Sharma (TUCC), Sonia (SEWA), Mahendra Parida (AICCTU), Natarajan (LPF) and Thomas Joseph (UTUC) also addressed

Lakhs of workers from all parts of the country will be flooding Delhi streets, participating in the Maha Padav (Maha Dharna) called for by the Central Trade Unions, Federations of Central and State government employees, PSUs etc. etc. The dharna is being organised in protest against the anti-worker policies of the government and also demanding settlement of the Charter of Demands which has been served to the government.

Participate in large numbers! The Maha Padav will be a warning to the government.

The Left Parties have given call to organise Protest  Day on 8th November 2017 against the anti-worker policies of the central government including imposition of Demonetisation, GST etc. which have made the life of the people miserable. The unprecedented increase in the price of petrol and cooking gas has made every thing costlier making it difficult to make  both ends meet. Public Sector units are either privatised or closed to suit the requirement of the private corporates both Indian and Multi-National.  Organise the Protest Day with massive participation.

Demonetisation, GST, criminal daily increase of price of petrol and monthly increase of the price of cooking gas – the Modi Government is on a mad spree of attack against the people. The fact that BJP had got brute majority in the Parliament is no justification for the criminal assault on the livelihood of the people.  They have to remember that they got only 31% of the total votes, meaning that the others are against.

On the other hand, lakhs of crores of rupees are subsidized to the corporates through various measures. Mukesh  Ambani has become the richest person in the continent with the full support of the Modi Government. Was not Prime Minister Modi the brand ambassador in the full page news paper advertisement for the Reliance Jio inauguration?

The people have to react and react sharply. Gujarat and Utterakhand People have got the chance now to show BJP their anger against the attack on the people.