CITU Uttarakhand 9th State Conference
Rajendra Negi
THE 9th two-day State Conference of CITU Uttarakhand was successfully held on November 29-30, 2025 at Comrade Dewanand Nautiyal Nagar and Comrade Dinesh Nautiyal Manch in Baurari,Tehri Garhwal.
On the occasion of the conference, a massive workers’ rally was organised in Tehri town in which a large number of project workers and scheme workers participated. The rally passed through various parts of the town and turned into a public meeting at Ganesh Chowk, Baurari. The meeting was presided over by Comrade Bishal Singh Rana, CITU Tehri President, and conducted by Comrade Chintamani Thapliyal, CITU Tehri General Secretary.
The meeting was addressed by the conference observers and national leaders Comrade K. N. Umesh (National Secretary, CITU) and Dr. Kashmira Singh Thakur (National Secretary, CITU), along with CITU State President Comrade Rajendra Negi and State General Secretary Comrade M.P. Jakhmola. The speakers strongly condemned the Modi-led central government’s decision to implement the four anti-worker Labour Codes across the country from December 21, 2025. They called upon all workers to unite and declared that the working class of the country will never accept these four Labour Codes and will force the Narendra Modi government through unity and struggle to withdraw them.
While concluding the meeting, Comrade Bishal Singh Rana thanked everyone for making the rally and public meeting successful.
The internal session of the conference began at 3 pm. Before it started, State President Comrade Rajendra Negi hoisted the CITU flag at the venue and paid floral tributes at the martyrs’ memorial. Observers and delegates also paid tributes at the martyrs’ memorial.
For the internal session, State General Secretary Comrade M. P. Jakhmola proposed a five-member presidium consisting of Comrades Rajendra Negi, P. D. Baluni, Madan Mishra, Shiva Dube and Bharti Rana, which was unanimously accepted. After the presidium took their seats, the conference observers Comrade K. N. Umesh and Dr. Kashmira Singh Thakur were invited to the stage, and the General Secretary announced the formation of various committees. Comrade Rajendra Negi placed a condolence resolution in memory of comrades who had passed away during the last three years, and all delegates observed two minutes’ silence. Comrade Chintamani Thapliyal, CITU Tehri General Secretary welcomed the 115 delegates.
Inaugurating the conference, Comrade K. N. Umesh said that capitalism across the world is passing through a deep crisis, and even a capitalist country like America is not untouched by it. The USA is imposing heavy tariffs on other countries to save itself. He said the government in our country is also selling off public sector enterprises at throwaway prices to escape this crisis, abolishing permanent jobs, fully implementing the contract system and outsourcing, and it has replaced labour laws with the four Labour Codes so that workers are forced to work at low wages and live like slaves.
He further said that in Uttarakhand the number of industries is continuously declining, leading to a rise in unemployment. Even in the existing industries, labour laws are not implemented, workers are employed through contractors, and they face severe mental and economic exploitation. There is a huge shortfall in union membership in these industries, which needs to be increased urgently, and it is extremely necessary to strengthen the CITU in the state. Finally, Comrade Umesh expressed hope that the new state committee of CITU Uttarakhand will mobilise workers and build a strong CITU in the state.
State General Secretary Comrade M. P. Jakhmola presented the political, organisational and activity report for the past three years, while the Treasurer Comrade Manmohan Singh presented the income-expenditure report. Time was given to groups for discussion on the report. Fourteen delegates participated in the discussion. During the session, five important resolutions were passed for future struggles:
- Against price rise
- Against implementation of the four Labour Codes
- Granting worker status to scheme workers
- Regularisation of workers engaged through contract and outsourcing
- Against unemployment
After the discussion, the General Secretary incorporated important suggestions in his reply. The conference unanimously passed both the General Secretary’s report and the Treasurer’s financial report.
Former General Secretary Comrade M. P. Jakhmola proposed a new 41-member state committee, which was unanimously accepted. Out of these, a 15-member state secretariat was formed with the Comrade M. P. Jakhmola as President, Comrade Rajendra Negi as General Secretary, Comrade Manmohan Singh as Treasurer, Comrades P. D. Baluni, Bhagwant Payal, Chintamani Thapliyal, Dube, and Rajendra Singh Negi as Vice-Presidents, and Comrades Lekhraj, Birendra Negi, Jitendra Singh Mal, Kuldeep Singh Rana, and Imrat Singh as Secretaries (one post was kept vacant).
In the concluding address, state in-charge and conference observer Dr. Kashmira Singh Thakur strongly emphasised the fact that in a sensitive hill state like Uttarakhand, the problems of workers, farmers, employees and scheme workers are deeply interlinked. Therefore, the workers’ movement must take initiative to build joint fronts with other mass movements and democratic organisations. He pointed out that under MGNREGA, the law provides for 100 days of employment in a year, but in reality most workers get only 20–30 days of work, wages are not paid on time, and massive corruption prevails in the schemes. As a result, the unemployed in rural areas — especially Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes and poor peasant-workers — are in deep crisis. CITU must build its organisation among MGNREGA workers.
Comrade Kashmira Thakur said the thousands of scheme workers (including Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, mid-day meal workers) in the state must be granted worker status, their exploitation must be fought, and CITU organisations must be expanded among them.
Attacking the BJP government’s communal policies, he said that, in order to escape its own crisis, the capitalist system pursues communal agendas among workers to break working-class unity so that exploitation can continue.
While concluding the conference, former President Comrade Rajendra Negi thanked all delegates on behalf of the presidium and announced that in the coming days intense workers’ struggles will be waged in the state. With this resolve the conference was concluded.
