Over 2,200 activists of the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) were removed by the police at over 15 places in Coimbatore district when the activists attempted a picketing agitation.
The parties had called for joint demonstration against the Central and State Governments for their “flawed economic policies and failure to combat the price rise”.
The Communist parties in their release pointed out that permission for online trading had resulted in the steep increase in prices of essential commodities.
The Governments had failed to initiate appropriate and timely remedial measures to protect the interests of the common man.
Those removed by the police included 550 women.
At Saravanampatty, Coimbatore MP, P.R. Natarajan, CPI District Secretary and Ex-MLA, M. Arumugam were removed by the police.
Similarly various party functionaries, elected representatives and trade union leaders were removed from the scene by the police at Thudialur, Gandhipuram, Town Hall, Sulur taluk office, Kurichi post office, Kuniamuthur post office, Pollachi Municipality, Mettuppalayam bus stand, Valparai, Anaimakai, Annur, Thondamuthur, Karumathampatti and Singanallur.
Staff Reporter in Tirupur adds:
As many as 4,447 members of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India, including 1,169 women, courted arrest after they created road blockade in 12 places in the district on Thursday to press their charter of ‘pro-people' demands.
The Left parties asked the Central Government to come out with fiscal initiatives to arrest the steep increase in the prices of essential commodities during the past many months.
Steps should be taken to increase the quantities of rice, wheat, pulses sugar and edible oil supplied to the consumers through the Public Distribution System.
Similarly, futures trading should be banned in the case of essential commodities.
“These steps will help bring down prices,” the agitators observed.
The CPI (M) and CPI activists wanted the Union Government to widen the purview of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to provide employment to poor located in urban areas too.
Minimum days of employment and wages scales under MGNREGS should be increased.
The agitators also condemned the attacks unleashed by Maoists and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on the common man in their attempts to unseat the ruling Left Party government.
District secretaries of CPI (M) and CPI , K. Kamaraj and M. Ravi, were among the leaders who got arrested in the agitation.
