Claim:

"… in the last ten years, holistic healthcare has been one of the top priorities of the government"

Reality

Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

Under the Modi regime, there is basic shift in the health sector.  India’s National Health Policy based on WHO’s declaration to achieve ‘Health for All’ i.e. free universal public healthcare system is being replaced by insurance-based healthcare system. Government’s role has been changed from being a provider health, a basic need of the people, to a financier of private health business. That is the reality of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana for the poor. Instead of strengthening the public health infrastructure, the central and state governments pay insurance premium @60:40 ratio to the insurance companies. An investigation under the Right to Information by The Indian Express revealed that two thirds of the total money spent went to private hospitals. As is well known, the cost of hospitalisation in private hospitals is several times that in government hospitals. At the same time, it is reported that over 85% people in rural areas and 80% people in urban areas are not covered by any health scheme.

Health Budget

National Health Policy 2017 set the benchmark of increasing government expenditure on health to 2.5% of GDP. However, the share of total government expenditure on health still hovers around 1.30% to 1.40% of GDP while the allocation for health in the Union Budget has remained stagnant at a measly 0.3%.

According to a WHO report published in 2022, Indian people spend 53% of the total expenditure on health in the country, (which includes the cost of infrastructures, instruments, medicines, payment for doctors and staffs) from their own pocket! Every year, 5.5 crore people in our country are pushed into poverty because of the huge unavoidable expenditure on health.

Public Health Care Infrastructure

The number of health subcentres, primary health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs) is highly inadequate

The Rural Health Statistics (RHS) 2021 released by Central government itself showed that, the shortage of doctors in CHCs has risen from 45% in 2005 to 80% in 2021; there is a 7% shortfall of doctors at Primary Health Centres (PHC). Almost two-third of the country's population resides in rural areas but only 33% of the total health workers and 27% doctors are available in rural areas. Instead of strengthening public health infrastructure, the government is resorting to privatisation of PHCs, CHCs etc through the PPP route. Is it not a crime on people?

In July 2022, the government said in Lokasabha that it was setting up 22 new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. As of now, only seven AIIMS are fully functioning in the country – one is the first AIIMS established in Delhi in 1956; the other six were set up under the UPA regime.

Increasing Cost of Medicines

The first National Drug Policy based on the Hathi Committee’s recommendations was aimed at providing medicines at affordable prices. This was revised several times and diluted since the advent of neoliberal policies. The Modi government has changed the very concept of cost based pricing of medicines to market based pricing. Medicine prices are fixed at average market prices of high profile branded products having more than 1% market share and allowed to freely increase their prices by 10% every year. Medicines are subjected to high taxes, based on retail prices and not on production cost. Retail prices are often 100% to 500% more than the production costs. It has also removed the States’ option of free Sales Tax on medicines. 

Disastrous Response to Covid Pandemic

In the initial phase, the Modi government, instead of promoting scientific approach to the pandemic among the people resorted to gimmicks and utterly unscientific calls like beating of plates, putting lights on and off etc. It failed to strengthen the health infrastructure before the second wave of Covid struck. As a result, thousands of people died due to lack of oxygen and hospital beds. The images of people dying on pavements outside hospitals as hospital beds were still alive in our minds, of bodies floating on rivers as people could not afford cremation, can never be forgotten.  And in that process,  seven new billionaires in the healthcare and Pharma business has emerged in our country.

Health is a basic need of the people and it is the responsibility of any elected government to ensure universal free health care for all its citizens. The corporate communal nexus represented by the Modi government has not only totally neglected this responsibility; it has made a lucrative business for the private health-tycoons; it has been promoting unscientific thinking, making false claims and spreading lies. This BJP government led by Modi must be defeated to strengthen united struggles for universal free health care 

Use your vote! Decisively defeat the BJP and its allies! Strengthen the Left in the 18^th Parliament!

Promise/Claims:

"No person should go to bed hungry” – This PM NarendraModi’spromise on ensuring Food and Nutrition to all Indians.

Reality:

The POSHAN abhiyaan and ‘Anaemia Mukt Bharat’ campaigns were launched with the characteristic fanfare by the Modi government in 2018. However, anaemia among children under five increased from 58.6% in 2015-16 to 67.1% in 2019-20. Prevalence of anaemia among adolescent girls increased from 54.1% to 59.15; among women of reproductive age, it increased from 53.3% to 57.2%. How did the Modi government respond? It has decided to remove anaemia from the NHFS -6 surveys.

As per the Family Health Survey for the period 2019-20 35.5%, i.e. more than one third of children under five in India are stunted, i.e. they are short for their age; 19.3%, i.e. around one fifth of children in the same age group are wasted, i.e. too thin for their height. In addition 32% of children under five are underweight.

Food Consumption:

The last Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) published by the National Sample Survey Office was conducted between August 2022 and July 2023.The aim was to calculate the Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) of Indian household. The per capita expenditure of the bottom 20 per cent of the total population was not more than Rs 2,112 in rural areas and Rs 3,157 in urban areas. It means a person can spend maximum Rs 70 per day in rural areas and Rs 100 per day in urban areas for his entire consumption starting from food, cloth, education, health, housing, transport, old-age expenses, electricity, fuel, communication, festival and all.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has estimated that 23 crore people in India are poor, earning less than Rs 1268 in urban areasand Rs 1089 a month in rural areas.

With Parliament elections round the corner, we are bombarded with ‘Modi guarantees’. But what the Modi government has done during its ten years’ tenure, is curtail subsidies on many programmes and schemes that benefit the poor and deride whatever little subsidies to the poor as ‘revdies’.

Sharp decrease in food subsidy:

Food subsidy in the Central Budget in FY 2020-21 wasRs 5,41,330 crore. It has been curtailed down every year by the Modi government and in 2024-25 budget estimate, the allocation is Rs 2, 05,250 crore. At the same time the government advertisements boast of extending the PradhanMantriGaribKalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) of 5 kg free food grains to over 80 crore people up to 2028. Thus, indirectly the government acknowledges that over 80 crore, or more than 57% of our people are poor and need to be provided free food grains. It is also an indirect indication that it would be pursuing the same policies that would keep large number of our people poor and hungry for the next five years also. People are thus warned that the so called pre election ‘guarantees’ would be turned mere ‘jumlas’ once it crosses the bridge. 

Besides, food does not mean just rice or wheat. As per aCRISIL survey, the cost of a vegetarian thali was Rs 33.8, while that of a non-vegetarian thali was Rs 67.3 in August 2023. This means that two plates of vegetarian meal for one person, for lunch and dinner will cost Rs 2028 a month. As per the UNDP estimates of income, it is clear that more than 23 crore of our people are not in a position to have two meals a day, leave aside meet the other basic necessities of life.Oxfam India Report 2023 has exposed that yearly 17 lakh Indians die with diseases related to paucity of food intake.

Crores of poor in our country, most of them working poor, who produce the wealth of this country are compelled to go to bed hungry because of the policies pursued by this Modi led BJP government. They suffer hunger and malnutrition because the policies of this Modi government facilitate loot of the wealth produced by the workers and other sections of toiling people by a few big corporates, domestic and foreign. 

This Modi led BJP government must go to strengthen our united struggle for a hunger free and healthy country.

Use your Vote! Defeat this anti people Modi led BJP government!

Promise: We will provide 2 crore new job each year – Narendra Modi in 2014

Reality:

The number of fully employed persons in absolute numbers in 2024 is less than that in 2014. The number of people employed in 2022-23 was less than that in 2016-17 by 50.2 lakh in urban India and 20.1 lakh in rural India. In addition, at least 80 lakh or more young people are entering into the labour market every year.

 Unemployment is one of the most serious issues that the youth of our country faces today. From 1991 unemployment rate hovered around 5% to 5.5% till 2014. Thereafter, average unemployment rate shot up to 7.4% in 2019 and further to 10% in 2020. It remained high at around 8% during 2023.

 28.96% of youth in the 15-24 year age group, were unemployed in 2021 while 42% of graduates below 25 years of age are unemployed. More than 90% of our working age population is in the category of ‘below the graduation level education’. Around 65% of them are unemployed. The number of unemployed persons in 2023 October was 4.2 crore.

 As per the official definition, if a person has worked even one hour in any current week, then he or she will be called ‘employed’. Thus the official figures of unemployment are a gross underestimates of the real situation of unemployment and joblessness.  

 Certainly, ‘desh ki in naujawanonko (for the youth of the country)’ Modi ki guarantee has in reality proved to be nothing but another ‘jumla’.

 Labour Force Participation Rate:

 The ratio of number of persons employed or unemployed but seeking employment to the total working age category of population (above 15 years) is called labour force participation rate (LFPR).It was more than 58% in 1991. While falling gradually through last decades it has drastically declined by 7% in the last 5 years. It has shrunk to 40% in 2021.

 LFPR in November 2022 was estimated at 43.7 crore which was still lower than the pre pandemic lowest, i.e. 44.2 crores of 2019. Female labour force participation rate has drastically come down to 9% during January – April 2022.Given the notorious track record of the Modi government in manipulating statistics, this is only the tip of the ice-berg.

 Public Sector and government employment:

 The total strength of the employees in CPSEs has fallen from 17.3 lakh in March 2013 to 14.6 lakh in March 2022. Employment in CPSE declined by almost 12% between 2014 and 2023, over 18% in public sector banks and nearly 5% in central government. On the other hand, the proportion of contract and casual workers in CPSEs increased from 20.1% to 43.4% between 2014 and 2023.  Contractualisation takes away all sorts of reservations.

 There are 9.79 lakh vacant posts in union government jobs alone. Job vacancies under the staff selection commission have drastically fallen from 80,650 in 2014 to 36,348 in 2023.

 Employment in the Manufacturingsector:

 The manufacturing sector started shrinking since 2016 and fell to all time low of 13% of GDP during 2016-20. Employment in manufacturing as a share of total employment also fell from 12.8% in 2012 to 11.5% in 2018. It only touched the 2012 level by 2022. Furthermore, the character of employment also witnessed a aggressive trend of faster contactualisation of majority workforce.  This decade is a lost decade for industrial workers in India.

 According to CMIE October 2023 report, there has been a decrease of 1.03 crore daily wage labourers in small shops. The number of salaried workers has also decreased by 46 lakh

 MGNREGA: The gravity of the situation can be understood by the rise in demand for MGNREGA work. But, the Modi government has deleted 7.6 crore workers from MGNREGA registered list since April 2022. Of the current residual list, one third (8.9 crore) will be thrown out due to the Aadhaar Based Payment System.

 Precarious Employment, Under Employment and Self Employment:

 Most of the work available is precarious work – as contract, fixed term workers or apprentices etc or self employment. There is a drastic decline in permanent secure jobs. 46.8% of regular wage / salaried persons and casual labourers in the country are not eligible for paid leave which includes leave during sickness, maternity etc.

 Out of the 10 new entrants to the workforce 7 are self-employed or in fragile employment relations. Underemployed workers in agriculture constituted 46% of the workforce in 2023. After Covid, 60% of working women are self-employed. More than half of them are employed in unpaid family work or working in family farms.

 Thus, large sections of even those who are considered to be employed are pushed into destitution and indebtedness. The number of working poor has enormously increased.

 This Modi led BJP government is pursuing policies that jeopardise prospects of employment generation not only for the present young generation but also future as well. It has no right to continue.

 Use your vote! Defeat the BJP and its Allies. For strengthening the fight for decent and dignified employment for all

On this May Day 2024,

CITU extends warm fraternal greetings to the working people across the world who are fighting capitalist onslaught and to protect their hard won rights and their unity.

CITU greets and congratulates the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), the only class oriented and militant global trade union, for being in the forefront in uniting the workers all over the world to fight against imperialism and capitalist exploitation.

CITU greets the working class of socialist countries, China, Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea. Despite facing serious challenges because of the crisis that has engulfed the entire world the socialist countries have been successful in improving the living standards of their people and in ensuring universal health and education to their people. CITU strongly condemns the more than six decades of inhuman sanctions by US imperialism on Cuba, defying UN resolutions and world opinion. Despite the sanctions and blockade, Cuba has been able to develop one of the best health care systems in the world, even extending medical help to many countries in the world.

CITU greets the LDF government in Kerala, which has been striving to implement pro people policies, protect the rights and livelihood of the workers and toiling people in the state despite facing serious challenges and financial constraints due to the discriminatory and vindictive attitude of the Modi led BJP government at the centre. The LDF government has an exemplary record of providing benefits to various sections of the workers through its welfare boards and in protecting the rights of the migrant workers.

CITU expresses its firm solidarity to the fighting people of Tripura and its cadres and members in the state who are under brutal attack by the BJP goons, further being intensified when any elections are round the corner, to terrorise Left supporters. CITU congratulates people who supported the Left forces braving such inhuman attacks. CITU  greets the toiling people of West Bengal for their struggles combating the violence by the TMC regime in the state.

On this May Day

CITU strongly condemns Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine in which over 33000 people have been killed since 7^th October 2023,more than half of them women and children. Israel is targeting hospitals and residential areas for bombing and is blocking aid to Gaza inflicting unprecedented suffering and destitution.

People across the world including in USA, UK, Europe and Jews in Israel condemned Israeli genocide and stood in solidarity with Palestinians. Huge protests were held in more than 120 cities in 45 countries in all continents on the occasion of 100 days of Israeli war. Several big trade unions in USA condemned Israeli war and extended solidarity to the Palestinian people. Despite some statements on the need for ceasefire by Biden, USA continues to back Israel openly thereby exposing its utter hypocrisy.

CITU congratulates people across the world who expressed solidarity with the Palestinians and is proud to be part of worldwide solidarity actions. It calls upon the working class in India to raise their voice louder and with much more intensity against Israeli genocide and in solidarity with Palestinians.

CITU demands immediate cease fire and free passage of aid to Gaza. We support the Palestinian people’s demand for their homeland and resolution of the issue on the basis of establishment of Palestinian State with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital. CITU condemns the wavering on the Palestinian issue displayed by the Modi government, departing from India’s traditional support to the Palestinian people against Israeli aggression. Under Modi’s rule, India has become the largest customer of Israeli arms and advanced sensitive defence service and surveillance systems. We also condemn the government’s ongoing move to send workers including construction and care workers to Israel to replace Palestinian workers, not only putting the lives of our workers in danger but also making them indirect collaborators in Israel’s genocidal war.

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) strongly condemns brutal police crackdown by Haryana Police forces at Punjab Haryana border on the protesting farmers in their march to Delhi to press for their legitimate demands including legal guarantee of MSP. The farmers were attacked on 13^th February, 20224 at two border points in Haryana-Punjab border, they were brutally lathi charged, they faced tear gas shells, some dropped by drone.

 To stop these marching farmers entering into Delhi, the security forces are taking an unprecedented war like preparation by erecting concrete barricades, iron nails, barbed wires in the Delhi borders. At this juncture, Modi led BJP government once again exposed their class interest by refusing to legal entitlement of MSP. After having held several rounds of talks with the farmers, Union agricultural minister Arjun Munda made it clear that announcing a guaranteed MSP will not be possible.  CITU recalls the emergence of historic farmers movement and formation of SKM was a result of the united struggles of farmers movement against the now repealed three anti farmers pro corporate farm laws, which was actively supported by central trade unions. The united farmers movement spearheaded by SKM compelled the Modi Government to repeal the farm laws but the corporate communal regime at centre later betrayed the farmers by refusing to accept the major demands including legal entitlement of the MSP.

 CITU denounces the brutal police actions on farmers and demands upon the central government to immediately implement recommendations of Swaminathan Commission including the legal guarantee of MSP. SKM and CTU have been in the persistent struggles against the anti farmers anti workers anti people  destructive policies of the Modi led BJP government. On 16^th February SKM-CTU once again will have nationwide massive militant joint action on basis of 21 point charter of demands that were formulated at the historic first ever joint convention of SKM-CTUs on 24^th July, 2023.

 CITU extends its solidarity to the protesting farmers, CITU also appeals to the all sections of farmers and agricultural workers, all organisations of farmers to actively participate in the call for 16^th February nationwide joint action.

Issued by
Tapan Sen
General Secretary

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) a class oriented Trade Union confederation representing more than 7 million workers and an affiliate of WFTU, extends its international working class solidarity to the striking Greek workers of 4 big companies in the sector Telecom Sector, Call Centers & Teleperformance who goes on strike today, 8^th February, 2024 demanding a hike in wage to mitigate the inflationary downward pressure on real wage.

The strike was democratically decided with active participation of mass of the workers in these sectors in an open meeting held in the regional trade union centre of Piraeus. Earlier the striking workers submitted their memoranda to the management of Teleperformance but they didn’t accede to the just demands of the workers. Teleperformance has given no pay rises since 2010 while the cost of living has skyrocketed. The experiences of criminal negligence to the demands of workers have been same in WebHelp, TTEC and Foundever. In this situation, the workers of the 4 big companies in these sectors go for strike action today with united voice.

CITU fully supports the just demands of striking Greek workers and demands upon the Greek Government to intervene in the favour of the workers of these sectors in negotiation with these big companies. CITU once again congratulates the striking workers of the sectors of Telecom, Call centres and Teleperformnace for their successful strike actions and calls upon its affiliates and members and also the entire fraternity of the WFTU within the country and abroad to organise solidarity actions.    

Issued by
(Swadesh DevRoye)
National Secretary, CITU & 
Head of International Affairs

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) slams the interim budget placed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman as a bunch of lies and a desperate attempt to privatisation. It is an attempt to come back to power by claiming that the average income of people has increased by 50% and inflation is moderate, which is a myth, while the reality is otherwise with raising prices of essential commodities and unemployment across the nation. The ILO report has unravelled falling real wages across the world including India and UNO report on Poverty Index ranking has exposed the performance of India as worst of the times. Interim budget instead of infusing confidence in the people struggling to meet the ends of their life as only made cruel fun of reality.

Finance Minister in her shortest budget speech has desperately claimed to compare the performance of Modi led BJP Govt with the earlier, while the fact remains that this is the regime under which Privatisation of PSU’s to the huge extent of Rs.4.09 lakh crores was done which is the highest ever in the nation and has set the target of divesting Rs.50000 crores worth PSU shares in FY 25 as against the target of Rs.30000 crores for FY 24. The interim budget has further opened up defence research and development to private players and a corpus of Rs.1 lakh crores is set up for enabling it, to fund 50 years interest free loans to private sector to achieve it in the guise of innovations.

The tall claims made while placing budget in terms of allocation to various welfare were unspent and surrendered back as seen in the case of surrender of Rs 1 lakh crores unspent amount allocated to Agriculture farmers welfare between 2019-20  to 2022-23 reveals the dubious nature of the BJP Govt claims and the fraud on people played by it.

It's a mark of sarcasm that while BJP Govt at the centre is doing everything to dismantle the very concept of federalism enshrined in Constitution, the budget has claimed to chalk out blue print for next generation of reforms in consultation with the states. The track record of last 10 years rule of this Govt clearly demonstrate that its anti-worker, anti-peasant, anti-people and anti-national, true to its character the interim budget has not uttered any positive steps for the workers, peasants and general public at large, rather has claimed to lay down the blue print of its Vikasit Bharath by June 24 coming back to power.  True to its neo liberal policies it shall be pro corporate & pro rich Vikasit Bharat which it wishes to build by 2047.

In this back ground CITU calls upon its affiliated unions and its members to make the Feb 16th nation wide mass mobilisations including industrial /sectoral strike & Grameen Bundh call of Samyukth Kisan Morcha and Joint CTU’s a success.

Issued by
Tapan Sen
General Secretary

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) denounces the Union Govt initiative to provide Indian workers to Israel which has unleashed inhuman barbaric genocidal war on Palestine and urges the Govt to rescind, terminating the agreement entered into with Israel to provide Indian workers.

CITU appeals to the Indian Workers not to fall prey to the abetment of the BJP led Govts at Center and states for going for jobs at Israel which is itself a conflict-torn area and its Govt is rendering thousands of Palestinians working at Israel jobless while carrying out genocidal attacks on Palestine.  

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship overseeing the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) was reported to have entered into three year agreement with Israel in November 2023. As per which it shall facilitate Indian workers for temporary employment in specific labour sectors like construction and care giving in Israel. The agreement was entered into amidst the genocidal Israel war on Palestine while thousands of casualties were reported as on that date. CITU and its affiliate Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI) had condemned it then itself and said it shall only put the lives of vulnerable unemployed youth of the nation to the death trap.

Now while the barbaric attacks on the Gaza by Israel has entered 100^th day, the preparation to screen the youth for jobs in Israel by the BJP led UP and Haryana Govts is reported. But the Central MSDE and NSDC do not at all owe any responsibility regarding the future and safety of the workers including that of social security and other such minimum labour protection. At the same time the NSDC is robbing the unemployed Youth with the charges of Rs.10000 in the name of inculcating skill sets required for jobs in Israel.

This move of the Govt of India to provide cheap man power to the country engulfed in genocidal war militates against the UN Resolutions for two Nations and for ceasefire and the established foreign Policy of Indian Nation in recognizing Palestine as a free independent sovereign Nation. It is an act of standing with inhuman Zionist genocidal war mongering Israel and put the lives of Indian workers at stake. The Govt must put a halt to this inhuman move.

Issued by,

Tapan Sen
General Secretary 

Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) expresses its deep grief at the sad demise of Comrade Maharani Konar, the veteran communist leader and one of the founder leader of All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helper’s, who died on yesterday, 5^th December, 2024 at Burdwan, West Bengal. She was 90 years old.

Born on 23^rd November, 1933, Comrade Maharani Konar joined the communist party in 1958 and was instrumental in developing the Communist party and Left movement in Burdwan district, West Bengal. She made a major contribution in building the working class movement in Burdwan, she was involved in organizing toiling women and became one of tallest leader of democratic women movement in Bengal.

During the semi-fascist terror in West Bengal in the seventies, she became a beacon of organized mass resistance; she used to give shelter to party leaders and cadres in her home, risking her own life. She was also involved in heroic peasant’s movement in Burdwan district under the banner of AIKS against the feudal landlords. She was actively involved in organizing Anganwadi workers and helpers, she was one of the founder leaders of AIFAWH, and she was Vice-President of ICDS workers union in West Bengal for a long period and was one of its National Vice Presidents. She was state committee member of CITU West Bengal.

Comrade Konar also played a memorable role as a MLA, she was elected from Memari, Burdwan district for three consecutive terms from 1982 to 1991, in championing the cause of the working people, both inside and outside of the assembly.

Comrade Maharani Konar was a living inspiration for the left movement in Bengal, she was active in political life till her death, barely a month ago she participated in ‘Insaf Yatra’ called by DYFI West Bengal. She was married to Benoy Konar, veteran leader of Kishan Movement and CPI(M) in West Bengal, legendary Communist leader Hare krishna Konar was her brother-in-law.

Comrade Maharani Konar throughout her active political life did articulate as to how the movement of working people is effectively advanced. She will be remembered for generations for her unwavering class commitment and revolutionary zeal, she was affectionately called ‘Ranidi’, she was very kind to younger comrades, with her passing way working class movement lost a leader with the strongest conviction in the ideology of the working class.

CITU conveys its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members of the departed leader, dips its banner and submits homage of respect to the great contribution of Comrade Maharani Konar.

Red Salute to Comrade Maharani Konar!

Issued By
Tapan Sen
General Secretary

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) notes with grave seriousness the spontaneous outburst of the protest actions throughout the country by the Road Transport fraternity including the mass of the road transport workers arising out of thoughtless exercise of hasty passage of the so called Bharatiya Nyaa Sanhita, replacing Indian Penal Code and in particular impractical, unjust and unconstitutional provisions put therein relating to road transport accidents arbitrarily empowering executive/authority concerned to impose atrocious penalty and punitive action.

The entire exercise of passing three penal legislations called Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bhartiya Sakshya Sanhita, replacing the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act, was pushed through by the Government at the Centre, bulldozing any discussion in Parliament and also ignoring the consensus recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs in a brazenly authoritarian manner.  It’s patently clear given their authoritarian attitude they would not allow to have a meaningful debate and discussion in the Parliament leave alone public consultations and discussions with stakeholders- particularly the road transport workers unions.

In the name of de-colonizing the criminal justice system, above legislations have been pushed through. Any process of de-colonisation worth name should entails giving more power to people than treated as subjects during the colonial regime. But in action the Central Govt did just opposite, while touting on its deceptive claim. One of the major points of their claims of decolonization is the removal of section 124(a) of IPC, popularly known as the sedition law. But, if we closely examine the BNS, the same draconian content and intent were retained in section 150 of BNS. And there are many other examples of such deceptive claims in these legislations only.

Moreover, it has expanded the power of police and the executive arbitrarily and abnormally. One of such more glaring instances is the amending of IPC provisions related to the road accidents and other rash and negligent acts/driving where it proposes a jail term of 10 years and/or fine, if a person is found involved in rash driving, escapes the crime scene (mostly out of in fear) and fails to report the incident to police.

The section 104 (2) of BNS says, “Whoever causes death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide and escapes from the scene of incident or fails to report the incident to a police officer or magistrate soon after the incident, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Currently, incidents of hit-and-run are registered under sections 279 (rash or reckless driving), 304A (causing death by negligence) and 338 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC. The punishment for causing death due to rash and negligent driving under 304A is two years.

It is relevant to recall that after its first introduction in the Lok Sabha on 11^th August 2023, it was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs where the committee has recommended reconsidering this section 104(2). The para 3.20.5 of the recommendation of the Standing Committee says that “The Committee is of the view that clause 104(2) may be against the Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India which says - ‘No person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself’. But, the Supreme Court has widened the scope of this immunity by interpreting the word ‘witness’ to include oral as well as documentary evidence so that no person can be compelled to be a witness to support a prosecution against himself. Hence, further contemplation is required, if the Government still seeks to retain this new provision”.

Given governments’ scant respect to Parliamentary democracy, we cannot expect them to listen to any such collective wisdoms. Accordingly, they were more recalcitrant and  retained the same ten years’ imprisonment with a new provision 104(2) adding the term ‘driving’ with rash and negligent act against the above mentioned article of Constitution and the Recommendation of Parliamentary Standing Committee.

In this background, motor workers across the country have been on struggle for past three days against these draconian provisions. CITU extends its wholehearted support to the strike actions of road transport workers.

Sensing the surging support for the strike among the vehicle-driving public and workers, Government has assured not to implement that punitive provision but has not uttered any word to revise the same. Thus, CITU demands that this section 104(2) has to be deleted from the penal statue and all stakeholders- particularly the road transport sector trade unions should be consulted on the future corrective measures on these issues.

Issued by:
Tapan Sen
General Secretary