[Marxistindia] Campaign Booklets

[news from the cpi(m)]

The CPI(M) released the first set of two booklets --  one on Communalism and the other on the Gujarat Model - as part of the campaign material for the 16th Lok Sabha elections. These booklets were released by CPI(M) Polit Bureau Member, Brinda Karat and Secretary of the Gujarat State Committee and Central Committee Member, Arun Mehta in New Delhi on March 24, 2014.

 

Unraveling the so-called Gujarat model of development, Brinda Karat said that the "untold truth is that the Modi model is based on cheap labour. It is based on low wages, low monthly consumer expenditures, both in urban and rural areas". While Gujarat boasts of industrial and agricultural development the growth rates have left untouched the earnings of workers. In rural areas, 40 per cent people spend less than Rs.40 per day and 90 per cent people spend less than Rs.75 per day. In urban areas, 30% people spend less than Rs.55 per day and 60% of people spend less than Rs.80 per day.

 

Tearing to shreds the claim made by Narendra Modi and the BJP that Gujarat is "riot free" Brinda Karat said that in 2013, Gujarat had the shameful record of being among the top five states in terms of number of communal riots, with 66 incidents of communal violence being reported in that year. 

 

She also pointed out that the record of other BJP-ruled states in this regard is similar. In 2013, there were 84 incidents of communal violence in Madhya Pradesh. For the first time in South India, large-scale state-supported incidents of communal violence took place during BJP's Yedurappa's rule.  In Odisha, a sudden spurt in communal violence took place in 2008 because of communal violence against christians in Kandhamal that was openly backed by the Sangh Parivar. 

 

 

Brinda Karat also said that in Uttar Pradesh, of about 95 deaths that took place in communal violence until October in 2013, 60 took place in Muzaffarnagar alone. She accused the RSS-BJP of actively providing provided logistical and organisational support, and the weapons, for carrying out the explosion of communal violence in Muzaffarnagar. Three riot accused BJP leaders have also been awarded with BJP tickets in this elections from the affected area-Hukum Singh from Kairana, Sanjiv Baliyan from Muzarffarnagar and Bharatendu Singh from Bijnore. Earlier, Brinda said, Maya Kodani was rewarded for her role in the 2001 Gujarat pogroms. Amit Shah who is out on bail has been put in charge of the BJP unit in Uttar Pradesh. 

 

Responding to various queries, Brinda Karat said that there is nothing called the "Modi wave". If it were so there was no need to induct criminals like Pramod Muthalik and defectors from other parties. 

 

Secretary of the Gujarat State Committee, Arun Mehta sought to expose the campaign of lies resorted to by the BJP and the Gujarat Chief Minister. He said that while Modi claims that farmers in Gujarat are getting 24 hours of uninterrupted electricity, the truth is that they are getting power for not more than six hours a day. 1,25,000 applications for new electricity connections are pending since the last five years he said. As far as drinking water is concerned, supply to 32 urban centres in the state is erratic. Even in places like Rajkot water is supplied to residents every alternate day and in some places once in ten days. Even those kisans who had given up their land for the Narmada project are not getting water themselves. Arun said that the talk of employment generation in the state is a mere myth. Recently when the government had advertised for block secretaries, eight lakh people had applied for a mere 1500 posts. 

 

 

The second set of two booklets -one on Corruption and the other on Inequality - that the CPI(M) is bringing out as part of its election campaign will be released on Wednesday March 26, 2014 at 12.00 noon at A. K. Gopalan Bhawan, Gole Market, New Delhi. 

 

 

These booklets will be released by CPI(M) Polit Bureau Member, Sitaram Yechury.



The full text of these booklets are available at the CPI(M) Election site at :



http://cpim.org/elections-2014

 

March 25, 2014
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