As part of country-wide protests, CPI (M) took out a rally in Srinagar on Monday, protesting against the steep hike in fuel prices.Demanding the withdrawal of the hike in fuel prices and an increase in the tax levied on private oil companies, the protesters carrying placards raised slogans against the BJP-led Government’s anti-poor and anti-farmer policies.While addressing the party workers CPI (M) leader and MLA Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said that people were already overburdened with spiraling prices of essential commodities, and an increase in prices of petroleum products was adding insult to injury.The unprecedented economic burdens are being mounted on the people by Modi government. The exponentially rising prices of petroleum products are having a crippling effect on the livelihood of millions of poor in India as it has led to the increase in overall price of all essential commodities.The unprecedented fall in the value of the Indian rupee reflects the deep economic crisis created by the BJP government. Such economic attacks on the people come on top of the vicious communal-authoritarian onslaughts mounted by Modi government.In J&K governance deficit, unemployment, denial of wages to casual labourers and other scheme workers and problems of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers have peaked in the last four years.
The weaker and poorer sections of the society have been totally neglected by the government which has severely hit their means of livelihood.The welfare schemes for old aged, destitute and other weaker sections are virtually defunct. Same is the situation with casual labourers working in different departments. The governance deficit has cost the state dearly and inflation is so high that for a common man purchasing essential commodities from the market has become difficult.State Secretary CPI (M) Ghulam Nabi Malik while addressing the protesters said the peasantry all over the country has been demanding the promised remunerative price and loan waiver, but the Modi government callously refuses. On the other hand, it shows largesse of waiving off loans taken by the corporates during the last four years of nearly Rs. 4 lakh crores.The steep hike in fuel prices has hugely affected Kashmir’s fruit industry as the transportation charges have substantially increased. This has impacted the livelihood of lakhs of people in the state who are directly or indirectly dependent on the fruit industry. The artesian community is also under huge stress due to steep price rise and nobody is bothered about their plight.Humongous amounts of loans taken from our banks by the corporate and the consequent NPAs has bled our banking system. Black money, instead of recovering, as promised, has been legitimized. All efforts to divert people’s attention away from these monumental failures by spreading an atmosphere of hate, violence and indiscriminate arrests of activists will not succeed.(CNS)