MAMMOTH RALLY STAGED IN CALCUTTA
CALCUTTA -- This city witnessed its biggest rally in recent years on December 18 when hundreds of thousands of employees of the Central and West Bengal governments protested against soaring prices, scarcity of food and rapidly declining living standards.
About fifteen huge processions, including a large number of women, came from the different parts of the city to converge in a mammoth rally at the foot of the Ochterlony Monument. The authorities tried initially to declare the rally illegal but gave it up later on the advice of their legal experts. Even so, the Chief Secretary of the West Bengal government issued a circular on Decem= ber 18 warning employees against staging demonstrations within the premises of government offices and also against leaving-the office
before time. The massive demonstration, organised jointly by the two co-ordination committees of the Central and State government employees! unions, gave a fitting reply to the government's attempt at: intimidating the employees. a
Presiding over the rally, K.G.Basu, who. is also the President of the Central Co-ordination Committee, declared that in today's world 'no force was strong enough to suppress the voice of the hungry > masses, and the policy of repression, exploitation and intimidation: wt pursued by the government must fail.
Earlier, the representatives of the employees! unions submitted a 40=—point charter of demands which included the following. major demands:
(1) Effective measures to bring down prices of anaentict”
commodities .
(ey ‘Punishment of hoarders and profiteers,
(3) Nationalization of banks.
(4) Take-over of the food-grains trade by the government.
(5). Automatic grant of dearness allowance commensurate with the rise in the cost of living.
(6) Full trade-union rights for all government employees.
- -. (7) Revision of the employees! service conduct rules to make it demoeratic.
(8) Reinstatement of dismissed employees who were office bearers of the employees' unions, etc.
The government employees constitute relatively a more sheltered section of the community. The stirring in their midst is, thus, an indication of the depth of mass discontent with the government's economic policy and as such it heralds much bigger struggles to come in the days ahead,
WEST. BENGAL TROTSKYIST WINS MUNICIPAL ELECTION ©
CALCUTTA, Dec. 29 =-- Samiran Jadav, a member of the West