CPI calls for nationwide general strike on Feb 12

Vijayawada: Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary K Ramakrishna called upon workers and farmers across the country to make the nationwide general strike scheduled for February 12 a grand success. He strongly criticised the BJP-led Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing it of pursuing anti-labour and anti-people policies.

Ramakrishna, along with party State secretary Gujjula Eswaraiah, national executive member Muppalla Nageswara Rao, and State secretariat member B Harinath Reddy, addressed the media at the party’s State office, Dasari Bhavan, in Vijayawada on Sunday. Ramakrishna alleged that the Centre had diluted labour rights by repealing existing labour laws and replacing them with four labour codes. These measures, he said, had eroded job security and left workers dependent on the mercy of employers. He expressed concern that employees and workers were losing hard-earned protections achieved through decades of struggle.

Further, he alleged that the Central government was weakening Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by renaming it and introducing amendments that harmed rural workers’ interests. He also criticised reduction of the Centre’s funding share from 90 per cent to 60 per cent, placing an additional burden on the States and adversely affecting the poor and agricultural labourers.