On the occasion of Com. Ibnul Hassan Basru’s Memorial Day the Jharkhand Gramin Mazdoor Sabha (JHAMAS) organized its 4th State conference on 29 September 2015 at the Com. Arun Pandey auditorium in Mirzaganj (Ibnul Hasan Basru Nagar) in Jamua block of Giridih district.
Prior to the conference thousands of rural workers led by CPI (ML) General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya, Comrades Janardan Prasad, Manoj Bhakt, former MLA Vinod Singh, sitting Dhanwar MLA Rajkumar Yadav, Parmeshwar Mahto, Usman Ansari, and others took out a 5 km march from Jamua chowk, culminating at the conference venue.
The opening session of the conference started with songs presented by cultural teams from Bengal and Jharkhand. Inaugurating the conference, Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya said that Ibnul Hassan Basru had dedicated his whole life to carrying forward the struggles of the rural workers of Jamua and nearby areas, and he always emphasized the need to strengthen the CPI (ML) for the freedom of rural workers. Referring to the current scenario, he added that the BJP government is working in the interests of capitalists and big multinational companies, and prices are skyrocketing in this regime. The common people were not being benefited in any way. He called for a concerted struggle and emphasized the need to build the rural workers into a force to reckon with.
Com. Rajkumar Yadav and Com. Vinod Singh highlighted the anti-people policies of the BJP governments in the state and at the centre which included rampant loot of resources, huge cuts in food security, price rise, cuts in MNREGA, weakening of CNT and SPT acts, policies facilitating land grab of the poor and increased state oppression. Jharkhand State Secretary, Com. Janardan Prasad said that the rural poor under the banner of Jhamas would play a decisive role in the forthcoming panchayat elections and in fighting for the political claims of the rural poor.
The delegate session was conducted by a board chaired by eight members and attended by 300 delegates. Currently Jhamas is active in 14 districts where 1 lakh family memberships were targeted, out of which 41,000 memberships have so far been achieved. At the conclusion of the conference a 70 member State Council and 21 member National Executive were constituted with Com. Parmeshwar Mahto as General Secretary and Com. Devki Nandan Bediya as President.
The following responsibilities were undertaken by the Conference: 1. To fight against forcible land acquisition- to oppose any tampering with SPT-CNT Act and ensure implementation of 5th schedule; to fight for distribution of ceiling, gairmajrua, unutilized government land, agricultural, and housing land among the poor; 2. To ensure passing of food security bill and guarantee of 50 kg grains, 5 liters kerosene, and other necessities at affordable prices for the poor; to oppose scams in ration-kerosene distribution; 3. To demand housing; house construction funds in proportion to rising prices and housing for all the poor who do not come in the BPL list; 4. To fight for 200 days’ work under MNREGA; fixing minimum wage at Rs 300; ensure weekly payments, and fight attempts to link this with Adhar card 5. Guarantee of free health and education through health centres in every village; appointment of doctors in each health centre; to fight for improvement in quality of primary education; 6. Guarantee of clean drinking water, roads, and other basic amenities in every tola; 7. To fight for social security pension for the aged and helpless even without BPL.
The conference resolved to take up the struggle for these issues by developing them as the focus of the struggle of the rural poor.
