Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], February 18 (ANI): The Himachal Pradesh State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held its meeting at the party office in Shimla under the leadership of Onkar Shad, where key political and organisational decisions were taken, including participation in a nationwide rally in Delhi on March 24.

Addressing the meeting, party Central Secretariat member Vikram Singh outlined the party's perspective on international, national and Dalit issues. State Secretary Sanjay Chauhan presented a report on the prevailing political situation in Himachal Pradesh. Senior party leaders Comrade Rakesh Singha, Dr Kashmir Singh Thakur, Kushal Bhardwaj, Dr Kuldeep Singh Tanwar, Prem Gautam, Vijender Mehra and Bhupender Singh, along with other state committee members, were present.

State Secretary Sanjay Chauhan said that more than 1,000 people from Himachal Pradesh would participate in the March 24 rally in Delhi against what he termed the 'anti-people, anti-worker and anti-farmer policies' of the Modi government.

In the run-up to the rally, the state committee has decided to organise a statewide campaign from March 9 to March 19 across all districts of Himachal Pradesh. The campaign will focus on issues including the free trade agreements imposed on India by New Zealand and the European Union, trade deals and tariffs imposed by the United States that the party described as anti-farmer, anti-worker and anti-industry, the four labour codes introduced by the Modi government, the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025, the Seed Bill, the alleged move to dismantle MGNREGA, the introduction of what the party termed the 'anti-people V.B. Gram G Scheme', the discontinuation of Himachal Pradesh's revenue deficit grant, and the installation of smart meters.

Chauhan said the campaign would include processions and street-corner meetings (nukkad nataks), preceded by a ten-day grassroots outreach drive in villages. The statewide march will begin from Paonta Sahib on March 9 and conclude in Shimla on March 19. Public meetings and street plays will be organised in Paonta Sahib, Rohru, Rampur, Tapri, Ani, Kullu, Balichowki, Jogindernagar, Sarkaghat, Kangra's Mand area, Khundian, Dharamshala, Chamba, Sujanpur, Una, Bilaspur, Darlaghat, Solan and Shimla.

Alleging that the Modi government is protecting corporate interests, Chauhan described it as an alliance of corporate houses and communal forces. 'The policies of the Modi government are increasing inflation, unemployment and poverty. The government is granting huge concessions to the rich while pushing policies that ruin farmers and workers,' he said.

He further claimed that recent agreements with New Zealand, the European Union and the United States would adversely impact farmers and orchardists in Himachal Pradesh. According to him, any move to dismantle MGNREGA would severely affect 2.8 million registered beneficiaries in the state. He alleged that power sector privatisation would impact consumers as well as over 50,000 employees and pensioners in the state.

Chauhan also stated that free trade agreements and trade deals could push nearly three lakh orchardists and farming families engaged in apple, pear, kiwi and other fruit cultivation towards economic distress, affecting an economy worth approximately 5,500 crore that contributes around 13 per cent to the state's domestic product. He claimed that smart meters would impose an additional financial burden on consumers, lead to higher electricity tariffs and end subsidies.

He further alleged that implementation of the new labour codes would weaken labour protections and push nearly 75 per cent of workers outside the ambit of existing labour laws. The discontinuation of the revenue deficit grant to Himachal Pradesh, he said, would severely impact the state's finances, affecting the public, employees and pensioners.

The party has decided to mobilise people across the state through the proposed statewide march and awareness campaign on these issues, he added. (ANI)