India - Maoists call for Independence Day boycott

VISAKHAPATNAM: The CPI Maoists’ East Division Committee has called for a bandh on Independence Day. Urging people to boycott I-Day celebrations, the Reds asked them to instead hoist black flags on the day. In a press note issued to the media on Saturday, the East Division Committee alleged that in the past 68 years after independence, the poor had continued to remain poor and it was only the rich that prospered in the country. The Maoists alleged that various parties that formed the government since independence were violating the special acts for tribal areas such as 1/70, 1996 PESA, 5th and 6th schedules, 2006 Forest Rights Acts to make way for corporate bigwigs like Tata, Posco, Birla, Vedanta, Essar, Anrak and Jindal to earn from these regions.

The Maoists said the government was implementing phase-III of Operation Green Hunt to oppress the anti-mining agitations of the tribals. The release accused the security forces of attacking villages and firing at innocent tribals headed to the forests for hunting. “Successive governments have been trying to grab land in the name of land acquisition for huge projects, state capital and airport, which are not relevant for public welfare,” the Maoist release said.