Amit Jogi’s ‘Khatiya Khadi’ movement fails to receive public support
Team News Riveting
Korba, March 19
The “Khatiya Khadi” movement, organized recently at BALCO under the leadership of Amit Jogi, was reportedly a complete failure.
Not only did the workers stay away from the movement, but even the local people showed no interest. The lack of public support for the movement raised questions about Amit Jogi’s intentions, the political observers in Korba said.
The Jogi Congress had organized the movement against the BALCO management over various demands, including employment. Only a handful of people showed up at the protest in Parsabhata, Balconagar in front of the plant. Amit Jogi leveled numerous allegations against the Balco management regarding neglect of workers’ interests and employment, but most of the allegations were unfounded.
Workers and local residents were at a loss to understand the purpose of Amit Jogi’s sudden movement. Locals said that the issues raised in the movement did not resonate with the public as much as had been hoped. The influence of the Jogi Congress and its leader, Amit Jogi, is negligible in the Balconagar area. The lack of an organizational structure led to a lack of workers. Secondly, the issues raised by Amit Jogi were ineffective.
Workers stated that the issues raised in the protest were not their priority. Local citizens believed that the protest was unlikely to provide practical solutions to the region’s problems, which is why they stayed away from the event. Some also stated that the protest was more an attempt to establish political presence than to address local issues. This limited public trust and participation.
There was also discussion at the local level that the discrepancy between the information provided by party officials and workers and the actual situation also undermined the preparation and public support for the protest. A large number of police and security personnel were deployed to ensure security. At times, the number of police and security personnel appeared to outnumber the protesters.
