The CITU greets the working class and the people of the Socialist countries for holding aloft the banner of Socialism, notwithstanding the setbacks of the last decade in certain parts of the world.

The CITU greets the working class of the advanced capitalist countries who are pitted against the ruling polity of their respective countries, for imposing unbearable burdens, in the process of pampering to the greed for profits of the transnational corporations in the neo-liberal globalisation regime.

The CITU pledges solidarity with the fellow fighters from the ranks of working class of all the third world countries, engaged in fighting back the offensives of imperialism, set to undermine the national sovereignty and impose economic and political hegemony of the affluent countries. The CITU also greets their struggles for safeguarding hard won trade union and democratic rights and against the capitulation of the ruling classes, abdicating the path of self-reliance, to imperialist forces.

The CITU urges all anti-imperialist forces to condemn in unequivocal terms the frequent violations, by G-7 countries and U.S.A. in particular, of the United Nations Charter, mounting militarist attacks and imposing economic blockades on the countries which opt not to toe their line. In the name of economic blockade against Cuba, Libya and Iraq, the U.S. and the servile partners are waging a trade and financial war against these countries. In this attempt to arm twist the Governments of these countries, the worst sufferers are the common people, particularly children. The CITU expresses full sympathy to these victims of imperialist design to achieve global hegemony and pledges to mobilise all forces in support of their courageous and patriotic crusade of the opposed people to defeat these offensives.

This May Day in India, we are faced with the aggressive anti-people offensives launched by the BJP led coalition which has captured power at the Centre, in the last hustings. The rank communal party leading the ruling coalition has put on a cloak in the name of the common minimum programme of their National Democratic Alliance just to hoodwink the secular minded masses of the country.

Commencing with the steep hike in diesel prices immediately after the last general elections were over, the present Government at the Centre has unleashed economic terror against the

people. The issue prices of food grains under the Public Distribution System have abnormally been increased, withdrawing the subsidies given to poor people. Fertiliser subsidies have also been cut, putting the small and marginal farmers to undue hardship. Excise duties on products of domestic industries have been raised and with the increase in rail freight, the essential commodities of every day use have been placed out of reach of the common people. On the other hand, import duties have been reduced and with the removal of quantitative restrictions on imports, in the recently announced export-import Policy, the Indian market has been left wide open for plunder by multinationals. Indigenous industry, small scale sector and agriculture have been hard hit. Fast-track privatisation is on: disinvestment is gaining jet-speed; the Central Public Sector assets are being squandered and offered in gold platters to private and international capital market operators.

The ruling BJP has found a pliant opposition in the Congress Party, which has willingly and over-zealously acquiesced in passage of Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill and other legislative measures to usher in the new patent and free market regime dictated by international finance capital. The international trade and financial institutions, viz., the World Trade Organisation, the world Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are dizzy with raptures at the pace and speed with which their dictates are being carried out by the NDA Government.

But, it is heartening to find that the Fund-Bank dictated policies of neo-liberal globalisation is meeting with forms of resistance not only in the third world countries, but at the global level as well. International unity of trade unions opposed to these policies is growing and manifesting in many forms.

The communal agenda of the saffron party in power at the Centre is no longer hidden. The Gujarat Government order removing the ban on its employees participating in the activities of the RSS, the open support and justification by the Prime Minister and others, laudatory discourses on RSS role by the Home Minister - all smacked of the most sinister design. Though, concerted resistance by the secular opposition deadlocking the Lok Sabha proceedings for days together, coupled with murmurs from within the coalition, had led to a face-saving retreat by the Gujarat BJP Government, the saffron designs can, by no means, be presumed to have ended there. The stopping of printing of the two volumes of "Towards Freedom", authored by eminent historians, the ugly incidents that marred the shooting of the film "Water" in Varanasi are clear symptoms of the ‘Hindutva’ forces directed by the fascistic RSS spreading their tentacles.

The BJP Government has proceeded with the constitution of a Committee to review the Constitution of India ignoring the wise counsel of no less than a person than the President, K.R.Narayanan. His soul searching question whether "is it the Constitution that has failed us or if it we who have failed the Constitution?, fell on deaf ears of those in governance. Despite their repeated assertions to the contrary, this exercise could prove to be a subtle move to subvert the very basic structures of our Constitution.

The much orchestrated visit of Bill Clinton, U.S.President, was marked by a competitive display of vulgar psychophancy and slavish surrender to the head of the U.S.A., which is behaving like a world gendarme. The BJP Government has lost all its sense of proportions and went ahead with appeasing its "master", who utilised the visit to get a stranglehold over the affairs of the sub continent and clinching deals securing the trade and business interests of the U.S. The BJP Government described the past record of India’s commendable role in the Non-Aligned Movement as "wasted decades" and openly tilted towards the USA by joining the "Community of Democracies" sponsored by it.

At the very outset of commencing its present term, this Government announced the constitution of the Second National Commission on Labour, with a tailor-made terms of reference to change the labour laws to suit the requirements of employer-class, in the present liberalisation - globalisation dispensation. The Commission is packed with pro-employer, pro-Sangh Parivar nominees and the suggestions of the Central Trade Unions, both on the composition and the terms of reference of the Commission have totally been brushed aside. Not content with this brazen anti-labour move, the BJP Government is in a mad hurry to tinker with the Trade Union Act, trampling upon the workers’ right to organise, even without waiting for the recommendations of their ‘National Commission’.

With the Government policies speeding up the process of deindustrialisation on the one hand, the proliferating sickness afflicting the Indian industries is spelling grave dangers to the industrial economy as well as the jobs of millions of workers. Instead of taking meaningful measures to revive the sick units, the Government is preparing a case for repealing the Sick Industrial Companies Act itself, leading to abolition of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) and its Appellate Authority, AAIFR. Thus, whatever limited avenues are open for revival or rehabilitation of sick industries through the mechanism of BIFR, its shortcomings notwithstanding, are sought to be shut out. This reflects a totally callous attitude towards employment protection - not to speak of employment generation.

The hypocritical assertions to abide by the democratic process have been laid bare by the murky events in the aftermath of elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. The unscrupulous machinations to hijack the mandate of the people in that State by the partners in the National Democratic Alliance, floundered in the face of post-poll realities in Bihar. The BJP Government had no qualms to misuse every institution or authority, including the office of the Governor and the Central Investigating agencies, to subserve its partisan interests.

The BJP and its allies in the NDA face a big stumbling block, in their path, in the Left forces. The Left forces and the Left-led mass organisation have been consistent in their steadfast resistance to anti-people measures, be it the retrograde economic policies or the nefarious communal game plan or shameless compromise on the question of national sovereignty. Hence, the saffron brigade is scheming to target and isolate the Left. The talk of a ‘Mahajot’ in West Bengal, with the communal BJP and professedly ‘secular’ Congress joining hand from behind their backs is an off-shoot of this scheme. International pressure is also aimed at helping this process of isolating and marginalising the Left forces, as in their perception, in the realm of economic pollicies, it is Left versus the rest. But, the masses who by every passing day realise the anti-people character of the pro-reform politics, will rally round the Left forces which are spearheading the campaign and agitation against these policies.

The vast multitude of Indian people - workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, women, students, youth and even sections of self-employed and intelligentsia are victims of these disastrous policies. They are coming together in the arena of struggle. The National Platform of Mass Organisations has become the broadest forum and the launching pad for united struggle and resistance. The 9th March rally in New Delhi had given the clarion call for a countrywide general strike on 11th May. Following this May Day, the country is poised to witness a most powerful country wide general strike on 11th May, against economic policies and communalism. The trade unions in South Asian countries in a splendid display of solidarity will observe 11th may as a day against globalisation and express solidarity with the working class of India.

On this May Day, the CITU exhorts the working class of the country to strengthen and consolidate the unity of all masses, to unleash more and more united and powerful struggles against imperialist designs, ruinous economic policies and divisive forces of communalism, casteism and terrorism.

Let us march ahead to defend the interests of our great country and its people.

On to 11th May countrywide general strike!

Long live working class unity!

Long live international solidarity of working class!

Down with Imperialism!

Down with Communalism!