Thursday, November 13, 2014

AIDWA condemns deaths due to criminal negligence of BJP Goverment

 AIDWA is absolutely shocked at the deaths of 8 women at the hands of the health department, Chhattisgarh Government and appalled at the level of negligence that has led to nearly 50 more women being hospitalised and still in serious condition. These women were participating in a family planning camp organised at a private hospital under the National Family Planning Programme, in Takhatpur Block of Bilaspur District on 8th November 2014. All of them were under 32 years of age and had put their lives and their future at the hands of the health department, which the department so negligently snatched away.

It is absolutely deplorable that in complete disregard of the Supreme Court’s order, the surgeon performed nearly 83 operations in 5-6 hours. The scale of this incident clearly shows that these operations were not done in clean and sterilized conditions. The quality of drugs and other consumables also come into question. The motivation for such government programmes to be held in private sector hospitals, rather than in government ones is questionable.

This is not the first time that women have been at the receiving end of the government’s pro-privatisation, pro-profit, and anti-poor policies in the last few years. In 2012 nearly 7000 women had their uteruses taken out by private hospitals within a period of 30 months in order to profit from the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana package money. From 2011 to 13 more than 80 people lost their eyesight due to botched up cataract operations. This year in Raipur city, more than 30 people died of Hepatitis E outbreak, of which nearly half were pregnant women.

All these incidents reflect the utter callousness of the government of Chhattisgarh in ensuring any kind of health for its people, especially poor and rural women.

The only step that the government has taken on this incident is to announce mere Rs. 4 lakh compensation for the families of the dead and suspension of the Director Health Services, State Family Planning Nodal Officer, BMO, Takhatpur, the operating Surgeon and Bilaspur CMHO. However, such incidents illustrate the systematic failures and the person responsible for taking all the critical decisions, the Health Minister, needs to be removed and legal action taken against him for the criminal lapse.

The 3-member probe team constituted to enquire about this incident are part of the government machinery itself. We fear that like in many previous cases, the enquiry will simply be an eye wash. We demand that the investigating team should include people who are not a part of the health department in Chhattisgarh, and respected experts. All the victims who are currently in serious condition should be given the best of care and it should be ensured that no further deaths occur

Such ‘Camps’ keep getting organised daily in various parts of the state. The government gives unwritten targets to all its health functionaries. Sterilizations are often dependent on doctors coming from other blocks, district or the private sector. This leads to huge delays and long waiting period for the women. Many a time the ‘camp’ has to get cancelled because the doctor does not come or he/she comes only if certain number of cases has arrived. All this leads to extreme harassment of the women patients.

The state still focuses on the more permanent methods of family planning rather than the temporary methods and subjects especially women to such surgeries. We demand that women be provided with safe choices for contraception. The public health system has to be made to function properly, with quality so that poor people do not get exploited by the private sector.

FOUR LEFT PARTIES CHITAWANI RALLY ( WARNING RALLY ) ON 28TH NOVEMBER AT LUDHIANA

State Secretaries of Four Left Parties - Comrades Bant Brar, (CPI), Charan Singh Virdi, CPI(M), Mangat Ram Pasla, CPM Punjab & Gurmit Singh Bakhtupur, CPI(ML) Liberation addressing  Press conference

The four left parties, namely CPI, CPI(M) ,CPM Punjab , and CPI(ML) Libration have jointly launched a mass struggle against the Akali – BJP misrule in Punjab and for the realisation of pressing demands of workers , peasants , unemployed youth, dalit and women including scraping of black law which scuttles democratic rights. The State Secretaries of Left Parties – Comrades Bant Singh Brar , ( CPI ), Charan Singh Virdi, CPI(M), Mangat Ram Pasla, CPM Punjab, and Gurmit Singh Bakhtupur, CPI(M) Liberation. jointly addressed a Press conference at the Press Club. 

They stated that after holding a joint convention at Jalandher on August 4, massive demonstrations were staged at all the district headquarters and submmited to the govt. a 14 Point demand charter . They further said that Left Parties conducted a Jatha March in all the 22 districts from October 25 to 30 during which it was observed that almost all the sections of the society are totally fed up with the govt. and its hollow promises made during the election. They condemned the callous and adamant attitude of the govt. in respect of just & burning demands is condemnable. They declared that as a third phase of joint struggle a State Level Chitawani Rally ( Warning Rally ) will be held at Ludhiana on November 28,2014 in which more than 50,000 peoples are expected to participate in the massive rally. They said that It will be strong warning to the govt. for conceding the demand charter or to face to a militant mass movement in the near future.

The leaders indicated that this rally would also lodge mass protest against the intensified implementation of anti people neo liberal agenda of the Modi Govt.at the Centre.

They alleged that the Govt. is hell-bent upon further privatization of public sector, diluting the MNREGA , abolishing the meagre subsidies for the downtrodden & crises ridden peasantry , opening more and more sectors for the exploitation of FDI, dismantling the labour laws at the behest of foreign and domestic corporate houses and introducing most reactionary and communal content in education curricula. They also were critical that the govt is also attacking democratic norms and forms so as to move towards a RSS dictated administration and to harm secular political system. They said that all the issues will be strongly raised in the 28th November Rally. Alongwith State leaders of these four Left parties,Central leaders of these parties, especially Com.Parkash Karat, General Secretary CPI( M) , Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary CPI (ML ) Liberation & Veteren Leader of CPI, Com.A.B.Bardhan will also address the rally. They expressed the confidence that this rally is sure to usher in presenting a left and democratic alternative committed to topple new liberal economic policies and strengthning secular democratic Indian Polity.