People's Democracy

ANDHRA PRADESH

CPI(M) To Pressurise UPA Govt For Agricultural Workers' Legislation

Kerala chief minister V S Achutanandan addressing the agricultural workers rally in Nalgonda

M Venugopala Rao

V S ACHUTANANDAN, chief minister of Kerala and Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), said pressure was being brought on the UPA government to bring about a comprehensive legislation for the welfare of the agricultural workers and farmers. Addressing a massive public meeting held at Kodad in Nalgonda district marking the conclusion of the three-day 24th state conference of Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Workers’ Union (APAWU), he made it clear that announcement of special packages for farmers and agricultural workers would not serve purpose. 

The public meeting was preceded by a massive rally in which thousands of agricultural workers participated, holding Red flags and raising slogans expressing their determination to fight for their rights. 

Achutanandan found fault with the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, for going contrary to the pre-election promises he made about taking steps for the welfare of the agricultural workers in the state. If the chief minister had any sincerity of purpose, he should take steps for the welfare of the agricultural workers on the lines of the measures taken by the LDF government in Kerala, he said. After the formation of the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala, apart from paying a lump sum of Rs 1500 per head to agricultural workers, arrangements have been made for payment of monthly pension for them, he explained. He reminded that the dalits in Kerala have been living with self-respect as a result of distribution of land taken up by the first communist government under the leadership of Comrade E M S Namboodiripad. The dalits who used to be submissive to the landlords and influential people in the past have now been living in a dignified manner. Explaining that the CPI(M) has been working for eradication of untouchability and caste discrimination, Achutanandan referred to the cycle yatra conducted by B V Raghavulu, Andhra Pradesh state secretary and Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), as a part of that effort. On similar lines, the CPI(M) in Kerala had conducted struggles and scored victories decades back, he said. Achutanandan asked the government of Andhra Pradesh to take steps for enhancing wages for agricultural workers. He also asked the government to sanction old age pensions to agricultural workers and allot house sites and construct houses for the people living on the banks of canals, etc. 

B V Raghavulu demanded the state government to take possession of assigned lands grabbed by influential people and warned that if it failed to do so the CPI(M) would encroach on those lands and distribute the same to the poor. The Party has been demanding a comprehensive policy on land distribution. Though the government has been claiming that it had already distributed 2 lakh acres of land, Raghavulu pointed out that there was no use in giving pattas on lands which were being cultivated already by others and for lands which were not cultivable. He demanded the government to distribute 40 lakh acres of land available for distribution.

Raghavulu criticised the government for alloting hundreds of acres of land to the billionaire industrialists and refusing to allot small pieces of land to the poor. He lashed out at Rajasekhara Reddy for stepping into the shoes of the former chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, and toeing the line of anti-people reforms as charted out by the World Bank. Raghavulu announced that the CPI(M) would stand by the agricultural workers and farmers and fight along with them for solving their problems.

Paturu Ramayya, central committee member of the CPI(M) and president of All India Agricultural Workers’ Union, found fault with the Congress government for not implementing the 18 legislations enacted for protecting the right of agricultural workers. He warned that if corporate houses entered into agriculture on a large scale, there was every danger of the farmers themselves becoming agricultural workers in their own lands. Ramayya said that time had come when the Agricultural Workers’ Union should fight on the problems of the farmers also. B Venkat, general secretary of APAWU, announced that the conference had resolved to resort to direct agitational programmes, demanding the government to distribute land to the poor. It was decided to observe November 19 as a day of land struggle, he said. Venkat warned the government that if it did not distribute government lands, the agricultural workers would occupy them and that the attempts of the rulers to suppress the struggles of the agricultural workers would not be tolerated. Explaining that 24 resolutions were passed by the conference on the issues of agricultural workers, Venkat said it was decided that the Union should work to serve the poor people, leaving no scope for corruption and irregularities in the implementation of the employment guarantee scheme. Thammineni Veerabhadram, central committee member of the CPI(M) and MLA also spoke. P Somayya, the newly elected president of APAWU, presided over the meeting.