The last of four countrywide ‘Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha’ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was flagged off from Mumbai on Friday in the presence of Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury. It will conclude in Delhi on March 19, along with the other three, which began from Kanyakumari, Kolkata and Amritsar.
Well-known Marathi poetess Pradnya Daya Pawar flagged off the jatha at Hutatma Chowk here. With focus on right to food security, the jatha will travel from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh before culminating in Delhi. Central committee members of the party Mohammad Salim and Nilotpal Basu were present.
“This jatha is to promote the message of struggle for alternative policies to address the issues and concerns of women, adivasis, farmers, workers, dalits, a large majority of whom are in the unorganised sector. The jatha is for an alternative policy agenda, which puts people, not profits at the centre of development strategies,” said Mr. Yechury.
The major demands to be raised include the implementation of land reform policies by distributing surplus land to the landless, provision of 35 kg of grains at a maximum price of Rs. 2 a kg, opposition to privatisation of educational and health services, rise in public investment to ensure creation of jobs and enactment of Lokpal legislation with autonomous powers of investigation.
