Srinagar, September 17: As part of its nationwide protest programme, CPI(M) held a protest demonstration at Press Colony, Srinagar on Saturday against price rise, unemployment, attacks on the working class, peasants, apple growers and democratic rights of the people, demanding for scientific education for all.

Holding placards in their hands, the demonstrators shouted slogans against the anti-people and repressive policies of the BJP government.

While addressing the demonstrators, CPI (M) leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami questioned the government over its claims of job creation, investments and other promises in the region following the abrogation of Article 370. He said all the promises made by the current Central dispensation proved to be a mirage.

The graph of unemployment has shot up considerably and has reached to the levels never seen before. The CMIE has pegged the unemployment rate for the last month in J&K at 32.8 %, which is the second highest in the country. Lakhs of people have lost their jobs due to sheer uncertainty in the region, let alone the development and creation of new job opportunities. Thousands of daily-wagers, casual labourers, scheme workers and others are denied wages for months together. The BJP government is trying to drive a communal wedge among the communities to digress the attention of the people from real issues,” CPI (M) leader said.

Tarigami said that CPI(M) would continue to make relentless efforts to restore our lost identity and constitutional rights. The uncertainties and uneasy calm with deep alienation pose a greater threat to the region.

He said the abrogation of Article 370 has left a deep scar on the psyche of the people of J&K and has pushed them further to the wall.

“The BJP government has taken repressive measures to contain the dissent. Hundreds of people including political, religious and social activists were booked under various draconian laws and shifted to jails outside J&K. We demand an immediate review of the cases of all those who are under detention to facilitate their release” the political prisoners“, he said.

Drawing attention to the plight of farmers, Tarigami said that the apple growers are bearing the brunt of wrong policies pursued by the central government. Despite a bumper crop this year, the apple growers are distressed with the low rates, due to duty-free apples imported from various countries via Afghanistan. The farmers are forced to sell their produce at dirt cheap rates. The halting of fruit-laden trucks along the NHW has compounded their miseries.

“We demand seamless movement of these trucks so that the crop reaches mandis well in time and effective implementation of the Market Intervention Scheme”, he added.

Tarigami said that the ballooning prices of essential commodities have made the life of the common man miserable.

The CPI(M) in its nationwide programme, inter alia, has included the demand for defending the federal structure and rescinding the abrogation of article 370, scrapping sedition laws, containing the price rise and creating employment opportunities.

Prominent among those who addressed the demonstration included CPI (M) state secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik, Mohamad Afzal Parray, Zahoor Ahmad Rather, Ghulam Mohidin, Mohamad Abbas Rather and Abdul Rashid, CPI(M) leaders.