The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Sunday announced a major mobilisation in the national capital, saying it will hold a “Jan Akrosh Rally” at Ramlila Grounds on March 24, marking the culmination of an extensive campaign across northern India against what it described as the “anti-people policies” of the Union government.
In a statement issued by its Polit Bureau, the CPI(M) said the rally comes after the completion of its Jan Akrosh Jathas, a coordinated outreach programme that travelled across 11 states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The party said 33 jathas were conducted between February 27 and March 20, covering what it described as 213 days of mobilisation activity across regions.
According to the party, the campaign featured more than 1,000 public meetings attended by around 1.5 lakh people. It added that nearly 10 lakh leaflets were distributed and about 35,000 explanatory booklets were sold as part of its outreach effort. Cultural teams accompanying the jathas performed street plays and songs, which the party said were aimed at portraying the struggles of workers and farmers.
The Polit Bureau said the upcoming rally is intended to channel what it called growing public resentment against a series of policy measures introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government. These include labour reforms, changes to rural employment programmes, amendments to electricity sector regulations and revisions in seed policy.
“The rally is being organised as part of a campaign demanding withdrawal of the labour codes, strengthening of MGNREGA instead of its dilution, and halting of measures that would lead to higher electricity tariffs and privatisation of discoms,” the statement said, adding that initiatives such as smart metering and reduced cross-subsidies would “burden ordinary consumers.”
The party also reiterated its opposition to proposed changes in seed regulations, arguing that such steps would undermine farmers’ control over traditional seeds and expand corporate influence in agriculture. It further criticised ongoing trade negotiations with the United States, claiming that any such agreement would be detrimental to farmers, workers and MSMEs.
Referring to its field outreach, the CPI(M) said the jathas had exposed what it described as widening economic distress among large sections of society. It cited rising prices of LPG and fuel, intermittent shortages of cooking gas, inflation in essential commodities, and declining business activity and employment opportunities as recurring concerns voiced during the campaign.
The statement also linked domestic pressures to global developments, noting that instability arising from the West Asia conflict involving Iran is contributing to volatility in energy markets. “The impact of the US–Israel war on Iran is being distinctly felt across the country,” it said, arguing that international tensions are exacerbating inflationary pressures in India.
The rally, scheduled a day after Shaheedi Diwas commemorations for Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, is expected to draw large participation from across northern India. Senior leaders of the CPI(M) will address the gathering, and the party said the event would also serve to outline its future political and organisational direction.
Describing the mobilisation as a “voice for the voiceless,” the Polit Bureau said the Delhi gathering would bring together issues raised during weeks of grassroots campaigning. “People’s hardships cannot be ignored,” it said, adding that the party would further intensify its outreach efforts in the period ahead.
