On 14 March, thousands of people from all over the country marched through the streets of Delhi to Parliament demanding that the UPA Government quit in light of unprecedented corruption, backbreaking price rise, rampant unemployment and assault on people’s movements. The ‘People’s March to Parliament’ was organized by the All India Left Coordination (AILC), a platform comprising four Left parties – the CPI(ML) Liberation, CPM Punjab, Left Coordination Committee (Kerala) and Lal Nishan Party (Leninist) Maharashtra. For two consecutive days prior to the 14th, rallyists from various states thronged the Capital city to participate in the March. On 14 March, he procession – well decorated with red banners and flags, colourful festoons and placards and reverberating with slogans demanding ‘UPA Government Quit Power’ – marched from the Ramlila Grounds at 11 am. Participants in the March were from all over the country including Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The procession culminated in a mass meeting at Parliament Street where a big dais was put up.
The mass meeting began with rousing revolutionary songs against corruption, rendered by the Jharkhand Sanskritik Manch (Prerna). Senior leaders, leaders from various states of the four parties graced the dais. The main speakers at the meeting were the main leaders of the constituent parties – Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of the CPI(ML), Comrade Mangat Ram Pasla, General Secretary of the CPM Punjab, Comrade Bhim Rao Bansode, Secretary of Lal Nishan Party (Leninist), and Comrade Hariharan from LCC (Kerala). The meeting was also addressed by Comrades Vinod Singh (CPIML’s MLA in Jharkhand), Krishna Adhikari (CPIML Leader from UP), Harkanwal (CPM Punjab), Mahendra Chaudhary (CPIML’s Rajasthan State Secretary), Uday Bhatt (LNP-L, Maharashtra), Bhagwant Samao (CPIML, Punjab) and peasant leader Rajaram Singh (CPIML, Bihar) among other left leaders of the four parties. The mass meeting was presided over by a presidium consisting of the leaders from the four left parties which included Comrades Rameshwar Prasad (CPIML), Rajendra Baooke (LNP-L), Vimla (LCC-Kerala) and Ratanlal Randhawa (CPM Punjab). The proceedings were conducted by Comrade Swapan Mukherjee, Central Committee member of CPI(ML). The sea of demonstrators was welcomed by Delhi State Committee member Com. Ravi Rai.
On 14th March, rally dharna, and mass meeting were also held in some other states demanding that the corrupt UPA Govt must quit office. A dharna was held at Raipur, Chhattisgarh; and a march to Karnataka Assembly at Bangalore, and also well attended protests in various parts of Andhra Pradesh- Kakinada, Vijaywada, Ananthpur, Jangareddygudam, and other places. In West Bengal, protests were held on 11 March at all districts on the same issues, also propagating about the rally in Delhi. In Tamil Nadu solidarity meetings for March 14 People’s March were held. On March 12 a public meeting was held in Ambattur. Candidates of the forthcoming assembly elections Comrades S Janakiraman (Madhavaram), K Palanivel (Ambattur), A Socratese (Sripeumbudur) were introduced in the meeting. A public meeting was held in Madhavaram constituency on March 13. Kumarapalayam candidate Com.Venkatachalam was introduced in the public meeting held in Kumarapalayam on March 14. Mettupalayam Candidate Com. R Janakiraman was introduced in the public meeting held in Karamadai. Com. S Kumarasami, CPI(ML)’s PB member addressed all these meetings.
Detailed Report in April 2011 issue of Liberation:
