‘We are offering a political alternative’

Interview with Amra Ram, convener of the Loktantrik Morcha.

Amra Ram: “We are raising people’s issues.”

HE is the dark horse of Rajasthan politics. State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and former president of the All India Kisan Sabha, Amra Ram is recognised as the face of farmers not only in Rajasthan but elsewhere in the country. A four-time legislator, he is known for his indefatigable energy. He led a massive 13-day farm loan waiver agitation in the Shekhawati region comprising Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu districts in 2017, so much so that a political observer said that the mobilisation of farmers had turned the region into a “red island”. The convener of the seven-party Loktantrik Morcha, Amra Ram is confident that its candidates will be able to make an impact in the coming Assembly elections in the State. He spoke to Frontline at Daata Ramgarh, where he was campaigning. Excerpts from the interview:

What are the prospects of the CPI(M) and the Loktantrik Morcha?

We hope to do much better than last time. The Loktantrik Morcha is contesting all the 200 seats. The CPI(M) is contesting 28 seats and we are confident that history will be made as the united Left will break all records and secure a good number of seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] did not fulfil a single promise it had made. In the past five years of its rule, atrocities on Dalits and minorities went up. It was the CPI(M) that held protests on issues such as lynching in the name of the cow and beating up of Dalits. During the 13-day farmers’ agitation we got the government to waive farm loans up to Rs.50,000. The Congress did not utter a single word. It played the role of a “B team” of the BJP.

Why do you feel that there is an anti-incumbency mood?

The BJP government in Rajasthan was the first to implement labour laws that went against the working class. Around 25,000 schools have been closed. When roadways and transport employees struck work demanding implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and payment of retirement benefits, the government came down heavily on them. It also came out with a law [Criminal Laws Amendment Bill] to shield corrupt public servants from a probe. It had to withdraw the ordinance. People have seen both the Congress and the BJP; they want to give the Morcha a chance as we are offering a political alternative.

What is the nature of your campaign?

Well, we are raising people’s issues; livelihood issues. The BJP is focussing on religion and polarising the electorate with talks of caste and the Ram Mandir. Whenever elections approach, the Ram temple becomes relevant. The Congress is also playing the same game. It is indulging in soft Hindutva, which is there for all to see. Religion is a personal matter. It is not a matter of politics. In 2014, the BJP took votes in the name of development; now it is the mandir. [Chief Minister] Vasundhara [Raje] promised 15 lakh jobs. I often wonder where they are. The Congress is also making false promises of unemployment allowance and loan waivers. Why didn’t they do this earlier? When Pehlu Khan was murdered on the Jaipur-Alwar highway by cow vigilantes, the Congress did not raise its voice in the Assembly. Not one of its two dozen legislators spoke out.

Look at the Sabarimala issue: both parties have ganged up against the Left Democratic Front government [in Kerala] and the Supreme Court. Neither party has any commitment to the Women’s Reservation Bill as well. In my opinion, they are the same, representing two sides of the same neoliberal coin.