Mangaluru: The centenary birth anniversary celebrations of former MP and CPI leader BV Kakkilaya will be held at Bishop Jathanna Auditorim, Sahodaya in Balmatta here in Mangaluru on August 10 and 11, wherein Dr. Kanhaiya Kumar is also expected to address the event.
The two-day event will be inaugurated by Amarjeet Kaur at 10.am on August 10. Kaur will also address the inaugural event 'Indian Freedom Struggle and role of the movements of the working classes in nation building'.
Popular scholar and youth leader Dr. Kanhaiya Kumar who contested the Lok Sabha Election from Begusarai in Bihar will also attend the event on first day and will speak on ‘Indian Youth in Crossroads’. Kanhaiya’s address is scheduled to begin at 11.am, soon after Kaur’s inaugural address.
Kalale Parthasarathy and Dinesh Amin Mattu would also address the event later in the day on ‘National Democratic Revolution’ followed by Kanhaiya’s and Prof. Anand Teltumbde’s interaction with audience on ‘Struggles of Oppressed: Theory to Practice’. The first of the two-day event is scheduled to conclude with cultural programs by IPTA, Karnataka.
On the second day, Dr. Siddanagouda Patil will address the event on ‘BV Kakkilaya – From Malabar to Karnataka Assembly (In Kannada). Prof. Muzaffar Assadi, Shridhar Prabhu, PV Lokesh and Kagodu Thimmappa will participated address the event on ‘Land reforms in Karnataka – Past, Present and future’ (in Kannada).
Dr Siddana Gouda Patil would speak on BV Kakkilaya: from Malabar to Vidhana Soudha on August 11 at 10 am. Prof Muzafer Assadi, Shridhar Prabhu, PV Lokesh would participate in a session on Land Reforms in Karnataka, chaired by former minister Kagodu Thimmappa.
Another session on ‘Writings on Philosophy, History and Economics in Kannada’ (in Kannada) will be held under the chairmanship of Dr. G Ramakrishna. TS Venugopal, Dr. Vijay Poonchcha Thambanda, Kalale Parthasarathy will also address the event during the session.
Before the valedictory event at 7.pm on the second day, TM Krishna, Noor Zaheer will interact with the audience on ‘Reshaping Art, Beyond Caste and Gender’.
The two-day event will conclude with a vocal concert by Vidwan TM Krishna, Violin by Vidushi Akkarai Shubhalakhsmi and Mrindangam by Vidwan KU Jayachandra Rao.
The organisers have urged people to turn up in large numbers to make the event a grand success.
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New Delhi (PTI): A day after the workers' protest turned violent in Noida, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said what unfolded on the streets was the "final cry" of this nation's workers and said the burden of US tariff wars, global inflation and fractured supply chains has not fallen upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "industrialist friends" but squarely upon the daily-wage labourer.
The Leader of Opposition said he stands with every worker who is the backbone of this country, and whom the Modi government has "come to view as a burden".
"What unfolded on the streets of Noida yesterday was the final cry of this nation's workers - a voice that went unheard at every turn, a voice weary from ceaseless pleading," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
A labourer working in Noida earns a monthly wage of Rs 12,000, yet faces a monthly rent burden of Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000, the former Congress chief said.
By the time they receive a meager annual increment of Rs 300, their landlord has already hiked the rent by Rs 500, he pointed out.
"Before their wages can catch up, this unbridled inflation strangles life, plunging them into the depths of debt- this is the stark reality of 'Viksit Bharat'," Gandhi said.
"As one female worker remarked, 'Gas prices keep rising, but our wages do not'. In the midst of this gas crisis, these individuals have likely had to purchase a single cylinder for as much as Rs 5,000 just to keep the stoves in their homes burning," Gandhi said.
This is not merely an issue confined to Noida, nor is it an issue unique to India alone, fuel prices are skyrocketing across the globe and supply chains have been disrupted due to the conflict in West Asia, he said.
"However, the burden of America's tariff wars, global inflation, and fractured supply chains has not fallen upon Modi Ji's 'industrialist friends'. The heaviest blow has landed squarely upon the daily-wage labourer - the one who must earn each day just to eat that same day," Gandhi said.
"The labourer who played no part in any war, who drafted no policies, who simply did his work. Silently. Without complaint. And what does he receive in return when he demands his rightful dues? Coercion and oppression," the Congress leader said.
Another critical issue is that the Modi government, in a hasty and unilateral move, implemented four new Labour Codes effective November 2025, thereby extending the standard workday to 12 hours, he said.
"Is the demand of a labourer, who stands and works for 12 hours every single day, yet still has to borrow money to pay his children's school fees, truly unreasonable? And is the one who systematically denies him his rights each day truly delivering 'development'?" Gandhi said.
Noting that labourers of Noida are demanding a wage of Rs 20,000, Gandhi said this is not greed, it is his right, the sole foundation of his life.
"I stand with every worker who is the backbone of this country, and whom this government has come to view as a burden," Gandhi said.
Vehicles, including police SUVs, were torched, public property vandalised, and stone-pelting reported from industrial hubs in Noida on Monday as protests by factory workers demanding a wage hike turned violent, paralysing traffic.
The Uttar Pradesh Police used mild force to disperse the agitators and later registered FIRs against two X handles, charging them with spreading rumours linked to the unrest. The state government also formed a special panel to address the crisis.
Violence was first reported in the afternoon, with sporadic stone-pelting and vandalism continuing till 5 pm. No major incidents of arson or violence were reported thereafter, officials said.
The unrest, which began in the morning, left thousands of commuters stranded on key routes leading to Delhi during peak hours. Long queues of vehicles stretching several kilometres were reported at the Delhi-Noida border, with major congestion at Sector 62, National Highway-24, Sector 63 and the Chilla border. Protesters blocked key routes, including stretches connecting Sector 62 to Sector 16 and NH-9.
Officials said a large number of workers from industrial units in Phase-2 and Sector 60 gathered to press for long-pending wage revision demands and raised slogans.
Similar protests were reported from Sector 62 and Sector 84, including at a Motherson company unit. NH-9, a key link between Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh, was also blocked.
The protests soon escalated, with some protesters torching vehicles, vandalising property and pelting stones.
Officials said workers had been mobilising support for their demands on a wage hike and better working conditions in factories over the last two days. However, it was not clear what sparked the violence during the protest.
Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh on Tuesday said that more than 300 individuals had been arrested and seven FIRs registered in connection with the workers' protest that turned violent in Noida.
