The Himachal Pradesh State Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist) has given a call to hold protest demonstration throughout the state on 31st March against the reign of terror let loose by the Congress govt. of the state which is brazenly using the police to attack movements of the people.
Recently, the police launched a brutal lathi charge on protesting students in Shimla and attacked the state headquarters of the CPI(M) on 18th March. Dozens of students were injured and leaders of the SFI were beaten and dragged from the Party office to the local police station where the beating continued. In another incident, there was a planned attack on Rakesh Singha, CPI (M) leader, who is leading a people’s movement in Kinnaur.
The Party has campaigned and exposed the despotic and authoritarian rule under the Virbhadra Singh Govt. Thousands of leaflets, posters and scores of street corner meetings were held during this campaign. The Shimla town committee will hold the protest demonstration in front of the Vidhan Sabha.
The CPI(M) has reiterated that a judicial probe should be held to investigate the lathi charge on students and attack on Party Office followed by barbaric beating in the police station. To cover up this attack, the Chief Minister openly lied when he claimed that the students came to meet him at 10:00 a.m., carrying stones in their bags, and after the meeting they pelted stones on the police men who then raided them and in this exercise immediately after they entered the CPI (M) office to arrest the delinquent students. This is a blatant lie manufactured foolishly by the government. It’s absurdity is exposed by the sequence of events: if the students met the CM at 10:00 am and left 10:30 then according to his story the stone pelting should have happened at 11:00 am and the chased students should have been picked up at the most by 11:30 am from the Party Office. However the reality is the students met the CM at 10:00, but were attacked at 2:00 pm and the Party Office was attacked at 6:00
It is because of this reason the CPI(M) finds no faith in the CM’s unbiased functioning and hence demands a judicial probe. It has been nearly two weeks since this incident happened but till date no FIR has been registered against the rampaging policemen who carried out wanton destruction of the Party Office and beat the students in police custody.
The CPI (M) has urged the Congress Party and its govt. to learn some bitter lessons from recent developments. The virtual isolation of this party from the masses has taken place because of two main reasons. Firstly, the neo-liberal path of development has been brazenly adopted and executed by the Congress led governments both in the States and at the Centre. This has created innumerable tensions and disparities, both economic and social, in the society. The gap between the rich and poor has reached unprecedented heights. Corruption has become inalienable part of Congress party which has drifted away from the masses. Secondly, the instruments of the state have been utilized in the most blatant manner to cow down dissenting voices of the people through the cruelest methods. Thousands of cases have been registered against agitating people.
The CPI (M) will thoroughly expose the hollowness of the Congress govt. The CPI (M) calls upon the people to give these nefarious designs of the govt. a strong rebuff and participate in large numbers in these protest demonstrations.