HARYANA ROADWAYS WORKERS STRIKE

CITU congratulates 18000 Haryana Roadways Workers for their successful strike action on 31st March 2010 against the increase in the prices of diesel and petrol and also against privatization of state transport routes through issuance of 2699 permits to private operators.

The strike call was given by Haryana Roadways Workers (Affiliated to All India Road Workers’ Federation, CITU) and Haryana Transport Karmachari Union. The strike was hundred percent successful as not even a single state transport bus plied on the Haryana road since early morning of 31.03.2010. Administration tried to break the strike through terrorizing tactics and number of leading roadways workers were arrested in Faridabad, Sonepat and other centers.

CITU urges upon the Haryana government to take a lesson from this massive united strike action by the roadways workers and refrain from issuing permits to private operators on the Haryana roadways routes.

CITU also urges upon the Central Government to withdraw the increase in taxes and duties on crude oil and petrol/diesel leading to hike in prices of petrol and diesel.

CPIM demands Judicial inquiry into Hyderabad communal riots

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a judicial inquiry into the circumstances leading to the communal riots in Hyderabad.

CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu, addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, said that the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that a curfew had to be imposed in the old city. Though the situation was extremely grave, the police and the State government were playing the role of spectator, he alleged.

It had come out that the attacks were being made in a planned manner with the “conspirators” sending SMSs to different areas, he said.

The CPI (M) leader said no action was taken though there were early indications of trouble during Sriramanavami and Milad-un-nabi. He sought to know what the intelligence wing was doing.

Since there was a failure on the part of the police too, only a judicial inquiry would bring out the truth. It was the responsibility of the State government to make public the names of the conspirators. The Government was taking a ‘meditative and spiritual posture' towards all the problems the people were facing, he alleged.

Mr. Raghavulu made an appeal to the public to participate in large numbers in the picketing and jail bharo programmes of the Left parties and its allies on April 8 to register their protest against the indifference of the State and Central governments towards the issue of continuous rise in the prices of essential commodities.

Quoting figures, he said that the Central government came up with a budget to increase prices putting indirect burden to the tune of Rs. 45,000 crore on the people. On the other hand it reduced the subsidy on food and increased burden on the poor.

It became evident in the re-surveys conducted by the officials that ration cards were being weeded out to reduce the number of cards. A large portion of the cards that were weeded out were genuine. 

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

Extend PDS to all: CPI(M)

 State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) V.G.K. Nair has said that the party's State unit will participate in a ‘jail bharo' agitation along with other Left parties on April 8. It will coincide with similar protests across the country.

Addressing party workers here on Tuesday, Mr. Nair said that food for all citizens under the public distribution system was a major demand of the party. Stating that universal PDS was the only way to protect the people from the price rise and the global economic slowdown, he said, “If each and every Indian family avails itself of food through the PDS, the total annual cost will work out to only Rs. 3 lakh crore.” Pointing out that industry got tax exemptions worth Rs. 5 lakh crore during the last fiscal, Mr. Nair said that the Centre was unnecessarily favouring corporate interests.The state government funding mutts and temples in crores has no solution to problem of hungry common man in its agenda. There is need to alert the government to strive for hunger- free society, said V J K Nair.

Mr. Nair said that the food stocks with the Government were likely to touch 60 million tonnes by June this year. “It costs the Government Rs. 600 crore to maintain these reserve stocks,” he said. He said that the BJP-led State Government too had done very little in this regard. “What happened to the BJP's election promise that it would provide 35 kg of rice to every BPL family at Rs. 2 a kg?”

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

Kayyur Martyrs Day

Subbarayan, a police constable, who participated in police beating at Kayyur fell into the hands of protesters on the very next day. People were enthusiastic to handle him. But leaders discouraged them. The police man was asked to lead the protest march holding the flag. He did it since there was no other go, when he got a chance he jumped into the river and tried to escape. But he got drowned in the river.

Then peasant movement and Congress were strong in Kayyur and suburbs. Police and vested interests took Kayyur incident as an opportunity to suppress revolutionary movement. They charged a case against 61 people in Kayyur and around. Of them the court decided five to be hanged into death. They were Madathil Appu, Koyithattil Chirukandan, Podora Kunhampu Nair, Pallikkal Abubacker and Churikkadan Krishnan Nair. Others were condemned to imprisonment for various periods. Since Churikkadan was a minor then, his hanging was reduced to imprisonment for life. All effort to save them from hanging failed. These four were hanged on 1943 March 29 crying out "Down with fascism! Down with imperialism! Long live the Communist Party of India!" Kayyur thus emerged as a glorious symbol of peasant militancy that was clearly anti-feudal and anti-imperialist at the same time, with the lowest rungs of the rural people playing a frontal role. They were the first martyrs of Indian peasant movement.

CPIM - CPI plan ‘jail bharo' on April 8

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India have criticised the government for serving the interests of traders and black-marketers at the expense of farmers and consumers.

The two Left parties alleged that traders and middlemen were creating artificial scarcity by hoarding huge quantities of essential commodities and this was resulting in steep hike in prices of essentials.

The government was, instead, registering cases against leaders and activists of the Left parties who unearthed these stocks.

Mounting pressure

CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu and his CPI counterpart K. Narayana said the Left parties had decided to intensify their agitations to mount pressure on the State and Central governments to take steps to check price rise. The two leaders released posters educating people on the Jail Bharo programme being organised by the Left parties on April 8 in line with a call given by their national leaderships.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Raghavulu said the two parties would mobilise thousands of people to conduct picketing in front of the government offices at mandal and district levels as part of the programme. It would be preceded by joint seminars and other programmes to create awareness among the people on the ‘detrimental' effects of the policies adopted by the governments.

Dr. Narayana Said that though there was an overall decline in prices of food commodities at field level, the benefit was not being passed on to either the consumers or farmers indicating the role of middlemen.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

Rejoinder to Home Minister

The CPI(M) has issued the following rejoinder to the remarks of Mr. P. Chidambaram, which appeared in The Hindu dated 28^th March 2010.

The Home Minister has termed the fact of 77 % of our population living below Rs.20/- per day as a “myth” propagated by the Left.

He has done so by misquoting the Left as saying that 77 per cent of the population has a per capita income of Rs.20 per day. What the Left has been citing is the figure provided by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector, which was set up by the previous UPA Government in 2004. The Report on Conditions of Work and Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector submitted to the Prime Minister by the NCEUS in August 2007, states in the first page of its first chapter:

“At the end of 2004-05, about 836 million or 77 per cent of the population were living below Rs.20 per day and constituted most of India’s informal economy.” This report is available in the public domain. (http://nceus.gov.in/)

The Home Minister would do well to study the Reports of his own Government more carefully in order to better his understanding of the prevailing socio-economic conditions of people in the country.

When hundreds of Bhagats come together...

Dakshina Kannada district committee of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students Federation of India (SFI) organised a programme ‘hundreds of Bhagat Singhs’, o to observe Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom day in front of the office of the district deputy commissioner on Monday March 22 to commemorate the 80th year of Bhagat Singhs martyrdom.

More than a 100 volunteers wearing Bhagat Singh masks participated in the demonstration.


Speaking on the occasion, Progressive thinker, Admar Sripati Acharya, advised the youths to build India as dreamt by Bhagat Singh, who lost his life, fighting for India’s liberation. “Freedom fighter and revolutionary leader, Bhagat Singh had rich dreams about building India. However, successive rulers have ruined his dreams. Therefore, we should pledge to build a country in tune with Bhagat Singh’s dreams,” he added. Bhagat Singh dreamt of a country that enjoyed real freedom, but India just had a change of power in 1947. This is the time we need another Bhagat Singh. It is our duty to realise the dream of that great revolutionary”, he added. 

"Bhagat Singh was neither a communalist, not did he propagate religious conversions. He was a pure patriot with a strong belief in secular principles. He wanted to build a society that is free from poverty and hunger. But, about 70% of the people of the country earn a pittance, which is grossly insufficient to run their families. Although four Indians have risen to be among the richest persons in the world, poor people continue to be so. Therefore, we should pledge to realize the dreams of Bhagat Singh, who lost his life fighting against the British rulers,” he advised.

 DYFI District President Muneer Katipalla said that whatever problems India faced 80 years ago still exist. “The colonial forces are still strong, but in a different form”,He warned that imperialist forces have been planning to take the country into their control. “People are being driven to streets in the name of privatization and globalization. In Dakshina Kannada district, people are losing access to water, education, health and land because of the special economic zone,” he added

SFI District President Prashanth Achar, Secretary Jeevanraj Puttar, City President Imtiaz, DYFI District Convenor Dayanand Shetty and others were present on the occasion. A procession of hundreds of people wearing the masks of Bhagat Singh, was taken out from the clock Tower circle, before the programme.
(Courtesy : Mangalorean.com)

CPIM Polit Bureau Communique

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on March 25, 2010. It has issued the following statement:

The Polit Bureau took stock of the overall political situation in the country and discussed developments connected to the budget session of parliament.

The Polit Bureau was of the opinion that the Union Budget of 2010 is of a pro-big business, pro-rich orientation. This is evident from fact that Rs. 80,000 crore tax concessions have been given to the corporates and on the other hand there is a Rs 3000 crore cut in fertilizer subsidy and Rs. 400 crore cut in food subsidy. Direct taxes have been reduced and there is an across the board increase in indirect taxes which burden the common man. A particularly objectionable feature is the increase in the excise and customs duties for petrol and diesel which alone amounts to Rs. 26,000 crore. Instead of taking steps to curb price rise, these measures are going to fuel inflation.

The Polit Bureau demanded that the government rescind the increase in customs and excise duties for petrol and diesel. If this is not done, the Party will move a cut motion on the Finance Bill in this regard. The Party will hold consultations with all the secular opposition parties to coordinate the opposition to the Budget provisions.

RETROGRADE LEGISLATIONS

Nuclear Liability Bill: The Polit Bureau reiterated its firm and total opposition to the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill. The CPI(M) was the first to point out the harmful provisions in this Bill which have been devised in the interests of the American companies who wish to sell nuclear reactors to India. Neither the exemption of liability for the foreign suppliers of nuclear equipment nor the cap on the liability for the operator can be supported.

The Polit Bureau expressed satisfaction that a large number of parties cutting across the political spectrum have come out against the Bill which does not safeguard the lives and the interests of the people.

Food Security Legislation: The Polit Bureau expresses its strong opposition to the present version of the Food Security Bill as a travesty of food security. In its present form it will create food insecurity. Instead of enhancing entitlements it reduces them as follows: present quota of 35 kg is cut to 25 kg; Antodaya entitlement is not specified at all; APL cardholders, i.e. those earning more that Rs. 12 a day, are totally eliminated. Even the price of the reduced quota is not fixed. The proposal of cash transfer of subsidy is objectionable and will mean putting consumers at the mercy of the market at a time when food inflation is extraordinarily high. Worst of all, it accepts the totally flawed estimates of poverty by the Planning Commission as the basis of entitlement which excludes vast numbers of the poor from the subsidized food entitlements. In a disturbing addition, the draft Bill wants specific identification of BPL even in presently universalized programmes such as NREGA, ICDS, Mid-Day meal schemes which is unwarranted and unnecessary unless the government has a future plan of curbing universal access to these schemes. The CPI(M) demands that the government withdraw this anti-poor Bill and come up with a legislation for a universal PDS with entitlements of at least 35 kg of foodgrains at Rs. 2 a kilo. This will be below 2 per cent of the GDP, much less than the amount of tax forgone in each of the last few budgets.

Education Bills: The Polit Bureau strongly criticized the Foreign Education Providers Bill proposed to be introduced in parliament. Allowing foreign direct investment and foreign teaching shops into the country will distort the already elitist educational structure in the country. It will make education more commercial and there will be no regulation or control over such institutions. The CPI(M) will lend its full support to the struggle of the teachers, students and education community against this Bill.

In this connection, the Polit Bureau noted that the UPA government is seeking to centralize all powers within the educational sphere to the detriment of the states. The proposal to set up a Commission for Higher Education & Research is one major step in this direction. The UPA government is behaving as if education is not a concurrent subject. The Polit Bureau called upon the government not to move ahead with the setting up of this Commission till all the state governments and all those who have a vital stake in higher education are consulted and their views taken on board.

WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL

The Polit Bureau welcomed the adoption of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The Government should bring the Bill in the Lok Sabha in this session itself for adoption. The Party rejects some of the criticism and comments directed against the Bill which is coloured by sexist and male chauvinist attitudes.

APRIL 8 PROTEST ACTION

The Polit Bureau heard reports of the preparations for the Left parties mass picketing and court arrest programme on April 8 on the issues of price rise, land and employment. Given the big response to the call, the Polit Bureau is confident that the mass participation will far exceed the target of 25 lakh people. The Polit Bureau called upon all Party units to make the April 8 action a big success.

The PB decided to hold consultations with other secular opposition parties to intensify the anti-price rise movement.

FOREIGN POLICY

The latest development vis-à-vis the “Afpak” policy of the United States has exposed the blind spot in India’s foreign policy and the counterproductive nature of the Manmohan Singh government’s strategic alliance with the United States. Contrary to the repeated assertions of the Indian government that the United States should stay the course in the fight against the Taliban, both the United Stats and President Hamid Karzai are moving for negotiations with sections of the Taliban to ensure an early exit for the US-Nato forces. Pakistan, whose ISI has close links with the Taliban, has come into the picture for any future negotiated settlement. India has been virtually left out in the cold. The US-Pakistan partnership is being strengthened. A high level US-Pakistan strategic talks has just been concluded in Washington.

The United States is stepping up its military assistance to Pakistan while at the same time it has got the UPA government to buy large scale weaponry worth billions of dollars from it. Even on the vital issue of terrorism, the United States is refusing to have any reciprocity as evident in the manner in which it has denied Indian authorities access to David Headley so far.

The illusion perpetuated by the Manmohan Singh government, since the first tenure of the UPA government, that the United States considers India as its primary strategic ally in the region now stands exposed. The Government must answer why it is embarking on buying billions of dollars of US equipment and getting further tied to the United States when it is amply clear that the Afpak strategy is central for the United States in this region.

RECTIFICATION REPORT

The Polit Bureau had a preliminary discussion on the draft Rectification Report of the Central Committee. It decided to place this report in the next meeting of the Central Committee.

EXTENDED C.C. MEETING

The Polit Bureau discussed the preparations and the time table for holding the extended meeting of the Central Committee in the beginning of August. These proposals will be placed before the next meeting of the Central Committee.

NEXT CC MEETING

The Polit Bureau decided to hold the next meeting of the Central Committee on May 5, 6 & 7, 2010 at New Delhi.

Teach DMK-Congress alliance a lesson: CPI (M)

CHENNAI: The State unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has appealed to voters in Pennagaram to teach the DMK-Congress alliance a lesson for its alleged misuse of power and money, in the March 27 Assembly by-election.

In a statement here on Wednesday, CPI (M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan alleged that the ruling party was luring voters with money and gifts besides preventing opposition parties from campaigning in a democratic manner.

It was regrettable that the Chief Electoral Officer had openly admitted that it was difficult for the Election Commission to prevent parties from distributing money to voters.

Condemning the attitude of the ruling party combine, the State executive of the CPI (M) said as agriculture had failed in Pennagaram constituency, people were forced to migrate to neighbouring States for jobs.

No worthwhile schemes had been implemented in the constituency to stop the migration, solve acute drinking water shortage, drought situation and unemployment problem. No step had been taken for speedy execution of the Hogenakkal drinking water supply scheme for Dharmpauri district.

The ruling party, with the 2011 Assembly elections in its mind, was “violating” poll laws and trying to “purchase” voters. The CPI (M) urged voters to thwart the misuse of power and utilisation of money being made by the DMK-Congress combine by voting for the AIADMK candidate, the statement added.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

CPI(M) activists donate bodies to hospital

In a significant humanitarian gesture made on the occasion of the anniversary of martyrdom of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, as many as 56 activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and 30 others donated their bodies to the Dr. Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation, Chinnavutapalli.

The CPI (M) leaders who joined the cause included CPI (M) city secretary R. Raghu, State committee members Ch. Babu Rao and S. Venkata Rao. They said they were inspired by the example set by their veteran leader and former chief minister Jyoti Basu, whose body was handed over to a hospital for research.

At a function organised at Sundaraiah Bhavan, all the donors handed over the affidavits authorising the medical institute to use their bodies after their death for medical research, to the Director-General of the institute Chadalawada Nageswara Rao. Dr. Rao said the institute would perform the last rites to the mortal remains of the body after they outlasted their usefulness as per the likes of family members.

Andhra Pradesh : Left Parties announce joint protests against Congress policies

CPI and CPI(M) today announced joint protests against the anti-people policies of the Congress governments at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh and also burning issues like price rise.The state secretaries of CPI and CPI(M) K Narayana and BV Raghavulu met in hyderabad and give call for organising joint protests on people's issues.

They called for a 'jail bharo' on April 9 in protest against the "anti-people" decisions of the Congress governments.

"The power woes were due to faulty policies of the state government which has allowed private companies to sell electricity to other states. Instead of allowing government-owned power companies to produce power, the state has allowed private players to come in under BOT mode. Similarly, irrigation projects, ports and mines are being handed over to private players," Narayana said.

Raghavulu demanded that the government take action against the AP-based private firms who refused to sell power within the state.

The two leaders came down heavily on the state government for trying to bringing in a bill that sought to collect damages for destruction of public property during agitations from political parties who organised them.

The government's aim was to curb protests by opposition parties on people's issues, Raghavulu alleged.

STOP COMMERCIALISATION AND PRIVATISATION OF EDUCATION

In yet another attempt to further the agenda of commercialization and privatization of education, the MHRD has come with a proposal to encourage renting out of infrastructural facilities of government educational institutions to private sector players. As per reports in the media the government is planning to bring legislation in this regard. This legislation would be applicable for central government institutions and be forced on the state government institutions as well. The logic which has been forwarded for this is that after classes most of the infrastructure in these institutions is unused.

The SFI strongly condemns this move. This will only encourage the moves to commercialize and privatize our educational institutions. A similar directive was sent to educational institutions earlier under the garb of the austerity drive of the UPA government. Glimpses of such moves can also be seen in the Yashpal Committee Report which has stressed on the need for finding new ways to resource generation. Such subletting of infrastructural facilities would create commercial enclaves within educational campuses.

The most alarming part about this move is that the government is planning to wash off its hands from the need to expand our educational sector. Instead what it is trying to do is encourage private players to come and reap huge profits by charging hefty fees from students by setting up these new institutions and get away with paying some rental for facilities and infrastructure created by the taxpayer’s money. The argument that such moves would increase the access to education is completely spurious, as only the rich would be able to pay the huge amount of fees which these institutions would charge.

The government must realize that the way to increase access to education is through increasing spending on the education sector and not allowing foreign universities or public private partnerships of this kind. It has been a long standing demand of the SFI in places like Delhi that all colleges in Delhi University must start evening shifts so that more students can come and study there. Rather than increasing its expenditure to open more such colleges MR Sibal has decided on renting our government’s infrastructure to private entities. This only reaffirms the pro-rich and anti-student and neo-liberal vision of the government.

The SFI appeals to the student community to unite against any such moves which would create rented enclaves in institutions and help a selected few reap profits. We also warn Mr Sibal to desist from bulldozing his neo-liberal agenda on the student community in this country or else be should be ready to face the wrath of the students.

CITU All India Conference elects new Office Bearers

A K PADMANABHAN TAPAN SEN

The 13th All India conference of CITU, the biggest trade union in the country elected new office Bearers. Com. AK Padmanaban is elected All india President. Currently he is working as Tamil Nadu Unit President. Com. Tapan Sen is elected All India Secretary. He is currently working as national vice president. He hails from West Bengal. Com. M K Pandhe and Com. Muhammed Amin, the present President and General Secretary will continue in the positions of Vice Presidents of the organisation. Com Ranjana Nirula is elected Treasure. It is for the first time that a women become an office bearer of the organisation. A total of 16 vice presidents and 16 Secretaries are also elected at the conference. The conference will conclude tommorow with mass rally and public meeting.

Stop Pussyfooting on Headley Case

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

It is six months since David Headley was arrested by the US authorities for his role in terrorist related activities. The plea bargain struck by David Headley in a US Court has seen him pleading guilty to all twelve charges which include complicity in the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.

Despite all these, the Indian authorities have been denied access to him. On the other hand, the Indian government allowed the FBI to interrogate Ajmal Kasab in Mumbai.

It has been established that Headley has been an agent for the Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA) of the United States. It is also a fact that he had visited Mumbai both before and after the terrorist attack in 2008. The attitude of the US authorities suggests that he has been a double-agent. It is inexplicable therefore why the UPA government is pussyfooting around the issue with the US administration.

The UPA government is more concerned about justifying the US stance. If access cannot be given to Headley as the issue has already gone to court, why was access not granted earlier when the Indian team was sent to the United States?

The Home Minister knows very well that extradition is ruled out by the plea bargain. Yet, he declares, he is prepared to be patient. The Manmohan Singh government has once again shown how unequal the US-India relationship is. The US is only concerned about its AfPak Strategy. It is not willing to cooperate in an investigation concerning a prime accused of the Mumbai terror attack. Yet the FBI and the CIA have access to all our intelligence and security related material and personnel. The least that the Government of India can do is to demand immediate access to Headley. The US needs to be told that cooperation has to be reciprocal.

Price Rise: Govt Now Has No Remorse Either

EVEN the pretext of showing remorse at the unprecedented burdens being imposed on the vast majority of Indian people due to relentless rise in the prices, particularly of essential commodities, has now been officially given up by the UPA 2 government. Summing up the budget discussions in the parliament, just before it was adopted in Rajya Sabha (having been adopted a week earlier in Lok Sabha), the finance minister brazenly informed, “I will not be surprised if it (inflation) reaches double digits in March itself.” He then went on to justify that India has lived with higher rates of inflation in the past and therefore this is no big deal. The finance minister is only echoing the president of India who, in her address to the joint session of parliament, had said that price rise was only “inevitable.” By pleading helplessness, the government is not just abdicating its responsibility of providing some relief to the people. Worse, it is blatantly declaring that in order to provide further gains and super profits to its social base of the ruling classes the common people or the aam aadmi has to suffer by bearing the burden for providing such gains to the rich. Therefore, for the shining India to shine brighter, suffering India will have to endure greater suffering.

Through these columns we have shown how the current budget shamelessly transfers huge amount of resources to the rich in terms of direct tax concessions and various other tax concessions for the corporates and high end income tax payers. The aam admi, on the other hand, has been burdened by an increase in indirect taxes. A burden which amounts to double the quantity of direct tax gains given to the rich. Combined with the hike in the prices of fuel and fertilisers the misery of the vast majority of our people has only been compounded further. Incidentally, the boom in the Sensex, among other factors, is mainly due to these gains that have been offered and are accruing to the rich.

As a result of the budgetary proposals that are inflationary in nature, the wholesale price index has already touched a sixteen month high of 9.89 per cent at the end of February. This rise was primarily driven by the hike in the fuel prices and is bound to accelerate when the realisations of the increase in excise duties will come in March. The inflation rate for primary commodities has dropped from its high of nearly 20 per cent to nearly 16 per cent in February as against the 7 per cent during the corresponding month in 2009. Fuel prices have shown a significant increase of 10.19 per cent. Inflation for cereals and pulses (the mainstay of nutrition for a vast majority of Indians) on a year to year basis stood at 11.69 per cent and 35.58 per cent. Sugar prices have shown the highest rise with the year on year inflation rate being 55.45 per cent.

Therefore, far from considering any of the concrete measures that the Left had suggested both in the parliament and in the massive protest rally outside the parliament on March 12, to contain this price rise, the UPA II government is brazenly going about consolidating its class basis by providing greater gains to the rich. The Left had sought a ban on all speculative trading in essential commodities, particularly futures and forward trading. This, however, is not done since it directly dampens massive profit generation for speculative traders. On a year to year basis, the total value of trade in agricultural commodities in the commodity exchanges during the fortnight ending January 31, increased by a huge 64.14 per cent. The cumulative value of trade in agricultural commodities during the year from April 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010 grew by a whopping 102.59 per cent, in absolute terms valuing over Rs 10,13,379.97 crore. Now, any forward trading can make profits only when the prices of these commodities are higher than what they were when the trading initially took place. Such huge volumes and value of trade can only happen if the prices continuously rise generating super profits. The people are paying higher prices to feed such profits.

Yet another measure that we had suggested was to release the excess of foodgrains lying in government godowns for sale through the public distribution system. The Economic Survey this year informs us that as against a buffer norm of 200 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat, the government had in its godowns 474.45 lakh tones. If this excess which is rotting in the godowns and for which the government is diverting a sizeable portion of the food subsidy for its storage and handling costs, is released through a strengthened PDS then this in itself could have acted as a major dampener for rising prices.

By refusing to undertake any of these measures and by brazenly justifying the hike in fuel and fertiliser prices, the government has unambiguously signaled that the vast majority of the Indian people will have to shoulder the burden of pampering the rich so that UPA 2 could politically consolidate itself.

Inflation is the classic economic instrument that shifts income distribution in favour of the producer while burdening the consumer. This is the case under capitalism. However, in instances where crony capitalism dominates, like in our country, it is not the producer but the middleman who rake in these profits. The prime minister has repeatedly bemoaned the hold of crony capitalism in our country. Yet, typically, it is this very crony capitalism that his government’s policy feeds and strengthens. The Indian farmer who produces to feed the country continues to commit distress suicides unable to bear the burden of debt. The consumer, on the other hand, is increasingly being pushed into destitution and penury with these rising prices. It is this middleman --- the perpetrator and the beneficiary of crony capitalism --- who rake in massive profits.

Clearly, it is only through the strength of a popular mass movement that the UPA 2 must be forced to reverse this policy direction that continues to impose unbearable burdens on the people. The massive protest led by the Left parties on March 12 will now have to be followed by an unprecedented Jail Bharo in every district of our country on the 12th of April. It is only the powerful militant expression of popular mass protests that can force the UPA 2 government to change this disastrous direction of economic policy which is making the vast majority of the Indian people incapable of having any decent human existence.

(peoples democracy)

MARCH 19 - EMS MEMORIAL DAY

(1904-1998)

Comrade E.M.S. Namboodiripad was one of the foremost leaders of the Communist movement in India and one of the founding leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

In his nearly seven decades of public life and revolutionary activities, E.M.S. Namboodiripad left an indelible imprint on the progressive and working class movement of the country. As a young man, he became active in the social reform movement against caste. He left college in 1931 to join the freedom struggle and was jailed in the satyagraha movement. From then onwards, he played an important role in the Congress movement and was one of the founders of the Congress Socialist Party in Kerala. In 1934 he became the all India joint secretary of the Congress Socialist Party. It is in this period that E.M.S. while leading the Congress Party as General Secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Party became acquainted with Marxism. He was one of the five members who formed the founding group of the Communist Party in Kerala in 1936. E.M.S. Namboodiripad represented the coming together of the two streams, the anti-imperialist and the anti-feudal struggles, which laid the foundations for the development of a powerful communist movement in Kerala. He was one of the key proponents of Aikya Kerala which led to the formation of Kerala as a unified linguistic state.

E.M.S. Namboodiripad was first elected to the Madras Provincial Legislative Assembly in 1939. As an important leader of the fledgling Communist Party he donated the proceeds of his landed property to the Party. He went underground building the Party in crucial periods between 1939-42 and 1948-50. He was elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India in 1941. He became a member of the Polit Bureau of the CPI in December 1950 and later its Secretariat. He became General Secretary of the united CPI in 1962.

In 1957, after the state of Kerala was formed in the first elections in 1957, the Communist Party won a majority and E.M.S. Namboodiripad became Chief Minister of the first elected Communist ministry in India. It was the EMS ministry which initiated the path breaking land reform legislation and other democratic measures, till the ministry was dismissed undemocratically in 1959. E.M.S. Namboodiripad became Chief Minister of Kerala again in 1967 heading a United Front ministry till 1969.

E.M.S. joined the leading group from the united Party who formed the CPI(M) and was elected to the Central Committee and the Polit Bureau of the Party at the Seventh Congress of the Party in 1964 and he continued to serve in these positions till his death.

E.M.S. Namboodiripad was elected the General Secretary of Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1977 and he led the Party in this capacity till the 14^th Congress in 1992 when he stepped down due to ill-health. His leadership in rallying all the Left, democratic and secular forces was invaluable.

E.M.S. was a brilliant Marxist theoretician. He made outstanding contributions to the application of Marxism-Leninism to Indian society and in working out the strategy and tactics of the Indian revolution. His vast body of writings bear the mark of an original and creative mind which mastered the dialectics of Marxist theory. His writings on land relations, Kerala, society and politics and his writings on Marxist philosophy, literature and history -- mark him out to be one of the most influential communist thinkers of the country and the world.

E.M.S. Namboodiripad was a rare example of a Communist leader who hailing from a traditional landlord family graduated to become the foremost leader of the proletarian revolutionary movement. He spent three years in jail and six years underground. His was a life of sacrifice and simplicity. He set an example which has inspired tens of thousands of communists all over the country. In Kerala he was a legend in his lifetime who was adored and respected by all sections of the people. Till the last day of his life, despite failing health, E.M.S kept to his daily routine of writing articles and providing guidance to the Party.

He died on March 19, 1998 at the age of 89

13TH All India Conference of CITU Begins in Chandigarh

THE 13th all India conference of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions began on March 17 in Chandigarh, Punjab. The five day conference is attended by 2500 delegates from all over the country.

The conference started with the flag hoisting by the all India president of CITU, M K Pandhe, followed by homage to the martyrs. The president of the reception committee, Dr Joginder Singh Paur, ex Vice Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala, delivered the welcome address. The inaugural session was greeted by Gurudas Dasgupta of AITUC, Sarbesh Dwivedi of BMS, A D Nagpal of HMS, S P Tiwari of TUCC, Abani Roy of UTUC, AICCTU and Subhash Sharma of INTUC. George Mavrikose, secretary general, WFTU and Andre Bogui, director of ILO South Asia also greeted the conference.

M K Pandhe delivered the presidential address. Speaking about the national and international situation, he said the conference is taking place at a time when the world is at crossroads and the working class has to make a positive contribution in shaping the destiny of the world. The recent global capitalist crisis has brought to the forefront the inevitability of the periodic crisis in a capitalist system.

As a result of globalization, speculative trade got a powerful boost whose real beneficiaries were the multi national corporations who operate through worldwide financial institutions. During 2007 for example, speculative trade in commodity market was five times bigger than the total trade in stock market.  It has reached a scandalous proportions when it was revealed that it was ten times larger than the world GDP.

The drive towards privatisation and market economy always leads to speculative tendencies and capitalist mode of production is bound to create such a crisis. The US economic bubble busted when the topmost investment banks became bankrupt. Those who opposed government intervention in economic matters had to ask for nationalisation of toxic assets of the bankrupt companies.  US government had to shell out $ 700 billion from tax payers’ money to save those companies from collapsing.

Pandhe emphasised that the tax burden of the bail out packages ultimately fell on the working class and the common people.  The collapse of the share markets in leading capitalist countries resulted in workers losing trillions of dollars of their pension funds, which were invested by the pension authorities in speculative activities. In our country, the workers were saved from this from this horror due to the Left’s strong opposition to the UPA government’s move to pump the pension funds into speculative activities. In several countries wage cuts were imposed on the workers, adversely affecting their living standards.

Pandhe observed that Indian banking industry did not collapse because the banks were owned by the government.  Even the Life Insurance Corporation was not affected since it was in the public sector.  If the UPA government. would have succeeded in privatising these sectors, the impact of the crisis in India would have been more severe, he maintained.

In line with other advanced capitalist countries, the UPA government announced liberal ‘Stimulus package’ estimating Rs 5 lakh crore to save the Indian industry.  However, no relief was given to the workers who were the worst victims of the crisis.  The experience of bail out package has shown that the amount pumped in, only fattened the big business houses, both Indian and foreign. Imposition of 12 hours day work, enhancement of workload on the workers, closing down industrial units without following the legal procedure, retrenchment of workforce without paying statutory compensation became the order of the day.  The government of India callously connived at these depredations to save the big business houses and their profitability.

Pandhe said, a remarkable trade union unity has been built in India against the privatisation moves of the union government, against contractorisation and casualisation of labour and many joint programmes were held in the recent past.

He said, Indian struggle against globalisation cannot assume a powerful shape unless the vast masses of peasant and agricultural workers are drawn into it and the CITU would continue to work towards building this solidarity.

35 Foreign delegates from 15 countries are also participating in this conference. They were introduced and felicitated in the inaugural session.