The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government repressing people’s movements, says CPI(M)

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government repressing people’s movements, says CPI(M)

Special Correspondent

Concern over ‘free run of communal forces in the State’

‘It has become a government of different mafias’
‘They are fomenting communal unrest by provocation’

BANGALORE: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has condemned the 100 days of rule of the BJP Government in the State as a period of “many failures and many atrocities”.

In a joint statement released to the press here on Sunday, the party’s State unit secretary, V.J.K. Nair, and State secretariat member Maruthi Manpade have stated that the BJP’s only achievement in the State was triggering a series of defections from other parties.

They said the BJP, which posed to be a farmers’ party, had subjected a peaceful rally of farmers to firing by the police killing one, maiming another and injuring several others. And, all that for only asking for a good supply of fertilizers to grow foodgrains for feeding millions of people.

The statement said that the BJP Government does not tolerate people’s movement. Citing the incidents of the police repressing the people’s movement, the statement pointed out that after the firing at Haveri, the Government had been a “mute spectator” to a lathicharge on a peaceful rally of citizens who were demanding reduction in water tariff in Mangalore.

The police have been repressing all people’s movements, including the farmer’s demands for seeds, fertilizers, irrigation and other facilities.

The Government has let loose the police on farmers in Hubli, Davangere, Dharwad, Harapanahalli, Hiriyur, Honnali, Nanjangud, Gulburga, Tumkur, Hassan, Kolar and Bagalkot.

The Government has also foisted false cases on the peasants and harassed them to appear before courts for no fault of theirs.

The statement said that on the day (August 20) of the all-India general strike against the price rise, the BJP Government had given orders to the police to brutally beat up students in Kolar and arrested and jailed several leaders in Mangalore, Bhatkal, Mavalli, Mandya and other places on flimsy reasons.

The statement said the BJP has no cause to celebrate its 100 days in office as it has become a government of different mafias, including illegal miners, land grabbers and criminals.

Three leading iron ore miners have become Cabinet Ministers holding important portfolios, while about 46,000 acres of land held by the land mafia was being resold to them through open bidding instead of putting the land for public use. The BJP has also allegedly allowed eight Ministers with criminal charges to continue in the Ministry.

The statement said the BJP Government has also made transfer of officials a big time business.

Mr. Nair and Mr. Manpade have expressed concern over the “free run of communal forces in the State”.

They said that in the name of religion the fundamentalist elements were snatching the rights enshrined in the Constitution of India on minorities.

They were running a campaign against meat eating, hoisting religious flags over the shrines of minorities, and were fomenting communal unrest by provocation.

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