Kolkata: Yesterday, Thousands of people, including six leaders of the farmers’ movement at Singhu border, coming from different walks of life took part in a rally on Wednesday urging people not to vote for the BJP in the forthcoming Assembly elections.
The rally was supported by all progressive organisations, cultural groups and common people. They were joined by farmer leaders from Punjab and Haryana
The rally titled ‘No vote to BJP’ started from Ramlila Maidan off Entally and ended at Elite Cinema Hall opposite the headquarters of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). Many supporters from the districts took part in the rally on Wednesday.
The non-political group was formed at a meeting held at Bharat Sabha Hall on January 4. Members of the group have set up committees in the districts up to the block-level.
The forum consists of activists of various people’s movements and the secular-progressive camp had announced the need to begin an anti-fascist campaign during the run-up to the upcoming assembly election in the state with the slogan of “No Vote to BJP”, at a press conference held in Kolkata.
The group has been working actively for the last couple of months in the district to city-level street campaigning as well as social media outreach.
Alongside exposing the BJP-RSS, the campaign was working on putting forward a people’s charter of demands, so that people make an informed and effective decision in their own self-interest and decimate the BJP in the ballot box too.
The speakers representing the farmers demanded the withdrawal of the three draconian laws that would ruin the farmers and the common people. They narrated how the police had tortured them and forced them to withdraw from the movement. The speakers said: “We urge the people of Bengal not to vote for BJP. BJP’s sole business is to support big businessmen and traders. The party is the biggest enemy of the common people. The farm laws will ultimately kill the farmers.”
Speakers from the city said: “BJP is trying to divide society on the basis of religion. The saffron brigade is letting loose the Hindus against the Muslims and in many areas they are inciting the various groups of Hindus against each other. BJP is leaving no stones unturned to establish its control over Bengal as it is up to destroy Bengali tradition, culture and intelligentsia.
The forum sees its No Vote to BJP campaign as not an end in itself but only as a part of the ongoing anti-fascist struggle in the country.
The “No Vote to BJP” campaign focusses on the fascist nature of the Narendra Modi regime by highlighting its successive onslaughts on the secular democratic edifice of the Indian federal republic by sweeping attacks on the rights of the minorities and systemic subversion of the independent constitutional institutions including judiciary and media.
