Karat anti-poor slur on Cong, BJP

CPM workers take part in a rally in Ranchi on Sunday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, March 3: CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today urged the commoners to unite against the Centre’s anti-poor economic policies.

Slamming both Congress and BJP, he said policies formulated by the governments led by both parties were aimed at benefiting industrial giants and multi-national companies while poor farmers were doomed to commit suicides.

“In the past 18 years, over three lakh farmers have committed suicides due to faulty economic policies. The percentage of landless farmers has gone up to 41 per cent in 2011 from 22 per cent in 1992,” Karat, who came to Ranchi with the party’s eastern zone “jatha”, said to a public gathering at Argora grounds.

“Over 6.67 crore tonnes of foodgrains were found rotting in FCI godowns on January 1 this year, but no action has been taken to distribute it among the poor despite the apex court’s intervention,” he added.

Price rise, an issue that is increasingly turning out to be a common poll plank for all, featured prominently in his speech. “The latest increase in diesel prices for bulk consumers will have a direct impact on railway and transport corporations of different states. Transportation costs will shoot up, which will, in turn, influence prices of commodities,” Karat argued.

Claiming that there was a ploy to virtually privatise health and education sectors, he said the Right to Education Act was promulgated in 2009 and by now, every child ought to have been in schools.

“The fact is barely 16 per cent of the total number of children going to schools ultimately take Class XII exam. Only 10 per cent of students passing Class XII exam are able to secure admissions to colleges. And six bills facilitating corporatisation of higher education are pending in the Parliament,” he ridiculed.

On unemployment, he said there were over 10 lakh job vacancies in offices controlled by the Centre. The railways alone has 2.2 lakh vacant posts. The employment growth rate has slipped down to 0.8 per cent during 2005-10 from 2.7 per cent in 2000-2005.

The “jatha” will culminate in a mass rally in Delhi on March 19.