Mahila Congress Announces Five-Phase Agitation Against Kerala Govt Policies

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22: The Mahila Congress has announced a five-phase agitation against alleged price rise and anti-women policies of the Kerala government. As part of the first phase of the protest, a 24-hour-long hunger strike will be held in front of the state Secretariat here on Monday under the leadership of state president Jebi Mather MP.

KPCC president Sunny Joseph will inaugurate the protest, according to a Mahila Congress statement. The concluding meeting of the hunger strike will be inaugurated by AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on February 24, it said. In the second phase, district presidents will lead day-long hunger strikes at district centres on February 26, 27 and 28.

Block-level protests will be held on March 2, 3 and 4, followed by dharnas at mandalam centres on March 5 and 6. The Mahila Congress leadership also said that International Women’s Day on March 8 will be observed as a “Betrayal Day” at the ward level.

Mathar, in the statement, alleged that women in the state were bearing the brunt of rising prices and accused the government of failing to take effective steps to control inflation. The Rajya Sabha MP claimed that while essential commodity prices rose marginally at the national level, the increase in Kerala was significantly higher.

Among various other issues, the organisation also criticised the Left government over issues related to wages of ASHA and anganwadi workers, increase in utility charges, and extension of bar timings, claiming these measures adversely affect women and families. The protest, though led by the Mahila Congress, is open to women irrespective of political affiliation, the statement added.