Women got new impetus in 34 Years of Left Front rule in West Bengal

Women got new lease of life when left front government decided to give women her due respect. This is the government, despite limited powers, who empowered women, protected her dignity, opened up educational and working opportunity. There is a historical change in their life.

The government enacted a law to empower women, which gave women one third reservation in corporation and three-tier panchayets. West Bengal is the first state in the country to do so. And the result of the law is such, that now, if we consider the three-tier panchayet’s all seats, there are 38.48% of elected women, which is even higher than the reservation quota. The gram panchayets have 41.73% women. The panchayetsamiti have 39.69% women president. On the other hand, there were many states, which let alone women reservation in panchayets, did not even hold the very election at all for many years. By holding panchayet elections regularly, the state is the role model in this sphere. Except West Bengal, there is no other state which provides 50% subsidy to minority women to form self-help group. The left front government has constructed some corporations to help them get loan and make them economically independent. This is indeed an alternate policy, vision to empower women.

West Bengal established state women commission in 1993. This is the leading state to form the women commission. Still there are many state at large, who have not yet formed the women commission, after repeated request from the National Women’s Commission. Like, Gujarat still has no such commission.

The state also takes the pledge of educating women as its foremost important task. The result of this effort is evidential today. More than 65% women are literate. Now 99% children are going to school. More than 40% girl students are enrolling themselves in higher studies.Mid-day meal helped a lot to achieve this.

Even the women from minority section of the society also became educated in huge number. 65% of the Madrasah students are girl children. To encourage the minority families to let their girl children educated, state government is providing Rs1200 per month for their studies. Even the minority girl student is getting aid for this. The state has also build hostels for them. Even to make the daily grueling household work easier for the minority women and make them ecofriendly, the state government has provided gas oven to 4thousand of them under Rokeya Gas Oven project.

On one hand the central government has started to cartel the provisions on social security. But on the other hand the left front government in this state, with its limited power and scope, has tried to provide the down trodden people. Old age aid is given, specially keeping in mind the women. There are 1lakh 10thousand 7hundred anganwadi centres in west Bengal. Under janani suraksha jojana, the attempt is to make the every birth institutionalized. There is now 69.5% institutionalized birth in our state. One of the most important aspects of state’s social security is that, our state has marched way ahead of national rate in the sphere of longevity, maternal mortality rate, child death rate etc. the ratio between male, female is also higher in state than the national ratio.

The women of this state get co-ownership of their house with their counterpart.Not only this, they are also the co-owner of their land. The empowerment of women not only restricted to economy, it is also spearheaded towards their social empowerment. So 30% of women of this state got land through land reforms. More than 1lakh 61thousand women got pattas only in their name and more than 6lakh 14thousand are joint holders of pattas in this state.

To make the women economically solvent on their own right, there are more than 14lakh self-help groups. Those groups consists 90%0f women. There are number of projects for women under SC, ST and OBC category.

Enactment of laws to protect women from all kinds of untoward incidents, make them feel secure. Yes, there are cases of rape, trafficking, kidnaping of women are happening. In spite of that, there is a sense of protection is prevalent in women. They are working till very late in the nights, going out for entertainment.

CPI candidates for Tamilnadu Assembly elections

Left to launch campaign against Power tariff hike in Andhra pradesh

The nine Left parties have decided to launch Statewide campaign to educate people about the increase in power tariff announced by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Representatives of the nine Left parties, who held discussions on the implications of the power tariff increase decided to call on Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy suggesting him about the alternatives steps that could be taken rather than increasing the power tariff.

This would be followed by seminars in areas under the jurisdiction of the four distribution companies besides a pamphlet campaign to educate people on the impact of the increase in tariff.

CPI State secretary K. Narayana chaired the meeting which was attended by CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu and representatives of the CPI (ML) New Democracy, All India Forward Block, Revolutionary Socialist Party, SUCI, CPI (ML) and MCPI (U).

Briefing reporters, Mr. Raghavulu and Dr. Narayana said the Left parties have decided to launch a campaign against the increase in power tariff and moves to privatise power utilities.

The parties would launch the campaign from the grassroots levels to expose the ‘hidden agenda' in the revised tariff structure.

Scams have prevented growth: Sitharam Yechury

People should elect the AIADMK-led front resoundingly not only to wipe out corruption but also bring a desirable change at the Centre by sending corrupt partners DMK and the Congress home and gear up economic growth and development, said CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury.

He was campaigning for AIADMK candidate R Viswanathan in Natham and CPI (M) candidate K. Balabarathi in Dindigul here on Sunday.

“Despite massive human and natural resources, we could not achieve what we desire and bring a change owing to unprecedented corruption,” he said.

Briefing on the impact of 2G spectrum scam, Mr Yechuri said the Central Government did not have Rs.80,000 crore for providing 35 kg rice to all people below and above poverty line and Rs.35,000 crore a year to provide quality education to all children aged between 5 and 14 years. If the 2G spectrum loot was prevented, all children would have got quality education by now and more schools could be constructed. “We could eliminate hunger from the country.”

“We have sufficient funds. But scams and looters prevented our growth and development. So throwing the DMK out of power was one way to stop mega corruption to make our nation powerful and strong,” he insisted.

They (Congress) made money in sports, communication and arms purchases. But I have learnt that the DMK was perfect even in making money in sand and stone.

They amassed wealth by destroying natural resources, he said.

Stating that petrol prices were increased seven times and gas price four times, Mr Sitaram said that sharp price rice of essential commodities owing to speculative and futures trading pushed four crore people to below poverty line.

At present, nine per cent of total youth who got higher education in the country has made a big change in global man power. If we take higher education to 25 per cent of youth, India would become the leader.

But massive corruption prevented India from becoming leader in the world, he said. “The country has more potential and power to achieve. We can achieve only by defeating DMK in this election. Establishing a good government led by AIADMK is important to achieve what we can and what we are capable of. Such a change will be a catalyst,” he said.

Mr. Yechuri also thanked Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for giving colour televisions to people. With that, people could understand about 2G Spectrum.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

CPIM to contest in two seats in Puducherry Assembly election

T K Gangadharan

C H Balamohanan

The CPIM will contest two seats in the April 13 Assembly elections in the union territory while it withdrew its other candidates in support of NR Congress and AIADMK.

  State CPI(M) Secretary V Perumal said the party would contest from Mahe and Lawspet. Party candidate C H Balamohanan would contest from Lawspet, even though the NR Congress candidate is there in the fray. In Mahe Com. T K Gangadharan will be the party candidate.

CPIM protest agianst hike in water tariff and privatization of water management in Himachal Pradesh

 The Shimla town committee of the Communist Party of India Marxist  strongly condemned and held protest dharna in front of  Shima Muncipal Corporation office on April 2 against the recent  unilateral decision of the Shimla MC to increase the water charges and for outsourcing the pumping and distribution of water to private entrepreneurs. They have strongly objected to this in the house and along-with the people has decided to oppose this decision on the streets as well. The CPIM demands immediate roll back of the hike in water tariff. This is 2^nd successive hike by 30% and 10% in the year 2010 and 2011 respectively.

 

The party also demands that the decision of outsourcing of water pumping and distribution be recalled. They are also of this view that MC should not fall into the footsteps of the state government and reverse the neo liberal offensive on the people. It is to understand that state and the common people are reeling under heavy pressure of double digit inflation, price rise and there is a growing demand of constrain in the economy because of the neo liberal policies. Further mounting pressure in the form of hike in water tariff and clandestine privatization of pumping and distribution would eventually mean further hike in the prices of such an essential item.

The CPIM has asked the MC Shimla to learn lessons from those Municipal Corporations and state governments who have implemented the agenda earlier. There has been a total collapse of such moves and the MCs and governments were forced to revert back to the earlier method of public supply and distribution of water. Com. Tikendar Panwar, Com. Sanjay Chauhan, CPIM District Secretary Vijendra Mehara spoke on the occassion

LF govt first implemented reservation for Muslims: Mohammed Salim

CPI-M Leader Mohammed Salim said that the ruling Left Front government in West Bengal was the first to implement recommendation of the Ranganath Mishra Commission. 

We were the first to declare ten per cent reservation for Muslims in education and government jobs whereas Congress-led UPA government and its ally Trinamool Congress are silent on the implementation of the recommendations," senior CPI-M leader Md Selim told at a press conference. 

"There was seven per cent reservation for Muslims and we made it 17 per cent. On the basis of their economic and social backwardness, we divided them into two parts," he said. "Starting from land reforms upto education which led to the increase of purchasing power of Muslims we have worked hard for the overall development of Muslims," the CPI-M MP said. "When the other states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Assam shied away from establishing Aligarh Muslim University, it was West Bengal and Kerala who took the initiative of developing the university campuses," Selim said. 

(Source : Indian Express )

Winds of change sweeping Tamil Nadu: Brinda Karat

The Election Commission should ensure that the “Thirumangalam formula,” exposed through the WikiLeaks (and published in The Hindu), does not get replicated in the Assembly elections, according to Brinda Karat, MP and Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

“It is not just sufficient that the poll observers keep a close watch on the public meetings of the parties but they should go to the bastis (slums) to check the distribution of money and liquor after 10 p.m.,” she said while canvassing support for the party candidate K. Balakrishnan at a public rally held here on Saturday. Ms. Karat further said that even if the ruling party cadres flood the State with money and liquor, as ordained in the Thirumangalam formula, the people were determined to end the DMK regime in the next 10 days.

She said that a vote was not a licence to loot, and, with a mission to end the plundering of public money by the current dispensation nine parties had come together in the AIADMK-led front. She discerned winds of change sweeping Tamil Nadu as the people had come to realise that the elections provided an opportunity to dislodge the corrupt rulers and to convey a distinct message to the Centre to change its anti-people policies.

She alleged that the Congress and the DMK were indulging in doublespeak, striking a totally different posture on the election platform (promising to contain inflation) from their docile acceptance of the Cabinet decision (to enhance taxes and prices of petroleum products).

Ms. Karat said that like the peels of the onion, scams relating to 2G spectrum, Common Wealth Games, Adarsh housing project in Maharashtra and the real estate deals in Chennai were surfacing one after another.

U. Vasuki, Central Committee member, translated her speech. Arunmozhi Thevan, sitting AIADMK MLA, K. Balakrishnan and others participated. She also addressed an election rally at Keezhvelur in Nagapattinam district.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)