En route to Raj Bhawan in Kolkata on Wednesday. (Express photo by Partha Paul)A sea of red flags filled Rani Rashomoni Avenue in Kolkata Thursday as thousands of All India Krishak Sabha (AIKS) members concluded their two-day ‘Long March’ from Singur, demanding job creation and an “end to corruption surrounding rice procurement”.
Senior CPM leaders including party state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra addressed workers who marched for 52 km, raising slogans against both state and central governments and demanding an end to divisive politics.
“You have turned this into a historic rally. Agriculture cannot survive without industry and the industry cannot survive without agriculture. The governments need to address the issues faced by farmers. The corruption surrounding the rice procurement must end. Jobs must be created through industrialisation and given to relatives of farmers who have given up their land. If this does not take place, you have to agitate in such a way that it raises the heartbeat of the state government,” said Mishra.
Fighting long odds in state with long marches
The CPM leader also criticised the Mamata government for allowing BJP’s rath yatras. “Both BJP and TMC are indulging in communal politics. Instead of addressing real issues, they are dividing people along religious lines. BJP is talking about constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Modi and Yogi are competing in making taller statues. Their rath yatra which has been planned in Bengal is nothing but a vote yatra. They resort to such antics whenever election approaches. The chief minister here is not opposing such yatras. If she has the guts, she must not allow such yatras just like the way Lalu Prasad Yadav had stopped it in Bihar,” he said.
Mishra said Left parties will organise a Brigade rally on February 3, which would register a huge turnout of party workers. “We have the confidence that we will organise a bigger ‘brigade rally’, which will register twice the turnout of the ‘brigade rallies’ of TMC and BJP combined. You have to make our February 3 ‘brigade rally’ a big success,” he said.
Sources said around 15,000 farmers took part in the march. Two other such marches will be taken out from Cooch Behar and Nadia in December.
