Government pursuing anti-farmer policies: Left parties

Anantapur: The Left parties sponsored Rayalaseema bandh called to focus attention on Rayalaseema problems including drought conditions, industrialisation and migration and payment of drought relief to farmers including input subsidy and crop compensation evoked near total response with shopkeepers downing their shutters and RTC buses partially shut down.

Highlights:

• Bandh near total in most parts of the district
• RTC buses confined to depots
• Business establishments closed

Police took into custody hundreds of CPI and CPM party workers and leaders and detained them at the local police stations and later let them off. The bandh concluded peacefully.

Dozens of party workers of both the CPI and CPM parties marched through the streets of the city and calling upon business establishments to down their shutters and sympathise with the people's cause. The Left party workers also squatted before the local RTC depot and prevented drivers from taking out the buses.

Hundreds of All India Youth Federation workers jostled with the police and prevented the movement of buses. Later, few buses started plying after the agitators left the place.CPM state secretary P Madhu also participated in rally along with local CPM leaders Obulakonda Reddy and others. CPI district secretary Jagadeesh, city secretary Jaffer and others actively participated in rallies surrounding the city.

CPM state secretary Madhu lashed out at the ruling TDP government for pursuing policies which displaced farmers and being responsible for farm suicides. Despite desertification conditions prevailing and drought ruling the roost in the district, the government's apathy towards the woes of the farmers is reflected in mass migration of small and marginal farmers.

Meanwhile, the police tried to foil the bandh by preventing the party workers from imposing the bandh. People expressed support to the Left parties’ bandh by voluntarily shutting down shops and business establishments. The CPI, CPM and CPI(ML) parties and other frontal organisations including SFI, AISF and other student organisations actively participated in the bandh.

CPI district secretary Jagadeesh and CPM district secretary Obulakonda Reddy lambasted the state government for being indifferent towards the plight of farm workers, who had abandoned their native villages in search of work and wages. They flayed the government for not releasing NREGS wages to workers. They said there is no point in government claiming that there is work in the district when they are unable to pay wages.

The bandh was near total in most parts of the district including Tadipatri, Kalyandurg, Rayadurg, Hindupur, Guntakal and Kadiri towns where scores of Left party workers, farmers, students and frontal organisations workers started imposing the bandh from as early as 8 am in the morning. Police tried to foil the bandh but the bandh received people's support.

The RTC buses were confined to their depots at all the towns except stray incidents of management trying to take out the buses from the depots with police support. Congress district president Kota Sathyam and vice-president Dada Gandhi and several party workers also showed solidarity with the Left parties by marching with them in the city.

The Left leaders scoffed at the assertions of the ruling party leaders who were promising to transform Rayalaseema into Ratanalaseema. They quipped that they should first prevent Rayalaseema from turning into Rallaseema instead of making high-sounding assertions.The city looked red in the morning with communist flags donning the roads and streets and party workers rallying at several places and making the bandh a success.