Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A two-day meeting of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), held here in Gandhi Bhavan, ended on Saturday by expressing concern over the negative impact of corporations on the lives of farmers, workers and other marginalized sections of society.
“Business houses and fascist forces dominate the country and farmers, workers, fishermen and other marginalized sections suffer” was the conclusion of the two-day meeting.
Addressing a press conference at the end of deliberations on Saturday, the closing day of the event, Medha Patkar, Prafulla Samantaray, Fr Anand, CR Neelakandan, Richa Singh and other leaders from various NAPM member organizations from different states said toxic communalism was being unleashed by politicians and large swaths of the media.
Activists also strongly criticized ‘Bulldozer Raj’. On the other hand, women, Adivasis and Dalits have been subjected to different forms of atrocities, as part of the larger project of Hindutva, the speakers said.
The meeting also expressed deep concern over the way the “Agnipath” program was introduced into the armed forces.
The meeting also focused on safeguarding rivers from indiscriminate sand mining, industrial pollution and excessive use of water for non-essential purposes.
The meeting demanded the imposition of a wealth tax of 2pc on the richest 1pc of Indians and an inheritance tax of 50pc. “These two taxes will mop up around Rs 17 lakh crore, which can be spent on education, health and other priority sectors,” Patkar said.
It was also decided to release a “Sanjhi Virasat, Sanjhi Sanskriti, Sanjha Sangharsh Yatra” from October 2 to highlight the inclusiveness of Indian culture. Nadi Yatras will be deployed in different states in September to mark World Rivers Day to highlight issues affecting rivers.
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