Historic victory for CPIM in Shimla Municipal Corporation Elections

Communist Party of India (Marxists) has created history in hill town of Shimla by winning the posts of Mayor and deputy mayor by huge margins. Results announced on Monday has left Congress and BJP shocked as both parties were claiming to win the elections comfortably.

CPI-M’s mayoral candidate Sanjay Chauhan won the election by defeating his nearest BJP rival SS Minhas, a former surgeon, by 7,868 votes. Chauhan got 21,903 votes. Congress candidate and sitting mayor Madhu Sood finished third with 13,278 votes. 

The state assembly elections are due in December, 2012 but is likely to take place in October.

For the post of deputy mayor, Tikender Panwar of the CPI-M won the post by defeating his nearest rival Digvijay Chauhan of the BJP by a margin of 4,778 votes. Panwar polled 21,196 votes. Congress candidate Devinder Chauhan finished third (13,205 votes).

Since the creation of Shimla municipal corporation in 1851, this is for the first time when CPI(M) has clinched the top two political posts of the civic body. Congress for last 26 years was enjoying majority but this time voters in Queen of Hills decided for a change.

BJP has emerged as the single largest party by winning 12 councillors seat while Congress won 10 seats. CPI (M) besides winning two mayoral posts also won three councilors seat.

Election to the Shimla municipal corporation are considered as mini assembly polls as it seats the voting trend for assembly polls which is due late this year. Considering the fact that people from all 12 districts of state residing in Shimla participate in the corporation election political parties consider the results crucial to understand voter's nerve.

But today's election have shown that people are in favour of change as they have rejected the Congress and BJP candidates by favouring CPIM) for mayor and deputy mayors post. Union minister Virbhadra Singh while campaigned for Congress candidates, chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his entire cabinet had thrown their weight behind BJP candidates. CPI (M) candidates besides relying on their state leadership had invited Sitaram Yechury as star campaigner.

Whitewashing Black Money

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

 

The Finance Ministry’s White Paper on Black Money presented in parliament reflects a trite exercise devoid of any political will. Neither has any credible estimate of black money stashed abroad been provided by the white paper nor any concrete measures suggested to retrieve the illicit funds.

 

The paper states that the total amount held in the Indian deposits of Swiss Banks fell from Rs. 23373 crore in 2006 to Rs. 9295 in 2010. The government seems to have no clue as to where this amount has gone. There is no assessment of Indian deposits in other offshore financial centres. The paper suggests that much of illicit financial outflows are round-tripped into India through FDI via the Mauritius route or via FII investments through Participatory Notes. Yet there is no specific recommendation to ban Participatory Notes or to scrap the DTAA with Mauritius. 

 

The paper cites the Global Financial Integrity study which estimated the current value of illicit financial flows from India between 1948 and 2008 to be around $462 billion (Rs. 25 lakh crore approximately). The fact that these are not gross overestimates can be seen from the information provided by the white paper: over the last two financial years (2010-2012) alone the Directorate of Transfer Pricing has detected mispricing (such as over-invoicing and under-invoicing of imports and exports) to the tune of a whopping Rs. 67768 crore in 1343 cases. Rs. 48951 crore has also been collected by the Directorate of International Taxation in just two years, between 2010 and 2012. It is clear that these amounts detected or collected over the past two years still comprise the tip of the iceberg. 

 

The white paper reveals that the amounts of undisclosed income of Indians, who figure in the lists of secret bank account holders received from the German and French governments respectively, are Rs. 40 crore and Rs. 565 crore only. These are minor parties. The Indian individuals and entities, who are holding bulk of the illicit wealth in offshore accounts, are yet to be identified. The white paper disappointingly reiterates the myriad technical difficulties involved in retrieving these huge amounts stashed abroad.

 

The lack of progress in this direction raises doubts over the sincerity of the UPA government on this crucial issue. The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) demands that a serious effort be made to quantify illicit funds stashed abroad by Indians and identify the culprits. Undisclosed assets of Indians located abroad should be confiscated by the government as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act. 

CPIM lauches padayatra against communal violence in Kasargod District

CPIM Kasargod district committte has lauched its 3 day padayatra named ‘ Maanava Souhruda Sandesha Yatra' to campaign against the recurring violence and communal clashes in the district in recent months. Two padayatras were flagged off on suday. One is led by party central committee member P. Karunakaran, MP and the second march is led by party district unit secretary K.P. Sathish Chandran. The Padayatra led by Com P Karunakaran was flagged off by Party state secretary Pinarayi vijayan at Thrikkarippur and the second one was flagged off by party leader A.K. Narayanan at Kunjathur at Manjeswaram. Both the marches will culminate at Kanhangad on Tuesday evening.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State unit secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) of sheltering communal and extremist forces. Mr. Vijayan said the UDF was appeasing the communal forces, which were bent on vitiating the religious harmony in the State. The recurring communal violence in parts of Kasaragod district should be attributed to the appeasement policy pursued by the ruling front, he said. The reforms witnessed in the State as a result of the progressive ideals espoused by social leaders and the Communist movement had vanished. The IUML was full of communal and divisive forces and the party was sheltering perpetrators of communal clashes, he alleged. The M.A. Nisar Commission appointed by the previous Left Democratic Front government to probe the November 2009 violence in Kasaragod was dismantled owing to pressure from the IUML leadership after the UDF came to power, he said. It was time that the IUML did an introspection on its role in the 2009 violence in which two IUML activists lost their lives. He said that the IUML was protecting those committing atrocities in the name of ‘moral policing,' and the UDF was making every attempt to shield such persons from the clutches of law. He alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was also guilty of similar actions.

CPIM calls for Fight for rights of Vittala Malekudiya

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday urged the people to fight for the democratic rights of Vittala Malekudiya, a postgraduation student of Mass Communication at Mangalore University, who has been arrested on charges of having links with Maoists. He said a delegation of CPI(M) MP's will meet chief minister of Karnataka D V Sadananda Gowda on May 28 and discuss the release of tribal's, Vittala Malekudiya and his father Linganna. He was speaking after meeting Vittala and Linganna Malekudiya at the district sub-jail. He said that the charges made against Vittala and Linganna Malekudiya of waging war against the state was 'totally absurd' and said that they would challenge it in High Court and even Supreme Court if necessary.

Vittala Malekudiya complained about the problems faced by Malekudiyas in their village Kuthloor and said that they had faced harassment from the Anti Naxal Force. He said that the medical report of Linganna Malekudiya, who was admitted to Wenlock hospital was not yet provided, to determine the cause of Linganna's injury. Meanwhile, doubts on whether Vittala will be allowed to attend his second semester examinations starting from Monday, May 21 was cleared as the district fast track court allowed him to attend examinations. Prakash Karat hoped that the University would allow him to write his examinations without bowing to pressure.

CITU state leader and CPIM Dakshin Kannada District Secretary Com B Madhava, DYFI district president Muneer Katipalla and others were present.

Later Speaking at a seminar on the menace of naxalism and the Government's atrocities on human rights of adivasis and tribal people here, Com Prakash Karat said that draconian laws were being invoked against him in the name of controlling Maoism. “If we do not fight and defend the basic democratic rights of Vittala and his father, then we will eventually suffer … repression of our own democratic rights … of all of us.” He vowed to fight his case till the issue was quashed and urged people to support him ignoring their party affiliation.

Clarifying that the CPI(M) opposed Maoist ideas of waging war against the State, Mr. Karat said it was the exploitation of adivasi people by the Government that led to naxalism.

The real focus should be on ending the all-round attack on adivasis.

He said that Maoists who exploited tribal people ran away when the police came looking for them leaving the tribal people to fend themselves. Mr. Karat, who met the student and his father earlier in Mangalore sub-jail, expressed his happiness that the committees had been constituted in Mangalore and Bangalore to fight the case of the arrested student. A district defence committee was also formed during the occasion, to fight for the release of Vittala and Linganna Malekudiya. President of Maanavatha Vedike Yashwanth Maroli was elected president of the committee. Noted author Sara Aboobaker is vice-president, with Muneer Katipalla as the general secretary. The defence committee consists of lawyers, journalists, writers and thinkers of the region.The Mangalore Committee includes Yashawanth Maroli of Manavathavadi Vedike,  advocate Dinesh Hegde Ulepady, activists T.R. Bhat and Vasudev Uchila, student leader Jeevan Kuttar, and Konkani cultural leader Eric Ozario.

Honnamma, mother of Vittala Malekudiya, said that Rs. 22,000 was taken away when the house was searched. She said that they earned that money through sale of minor forest produce. Mr. Karat asked her and her daughter Rajeevi not to be scared and that his party had taken up their cause. Mr. Ulepady, who has taken the case of Vittala, said that he would bring this fact to the notice of the court. Ms. Honnamma said they did not have a bank account to keep the money.

Courtesy : The Hindu

Photo Courtesy : Mangalorean.com

West Bengal: A Year of Violence and Crime

This is not something the people of Bengal had bargained for when they bought the slogan of “paribortan” advanced by the TMC-Congress combine and decided to end 34 years of uninterrupted reign of the Left Front. Killings, arson, rape, molestation, physical assaults on women, forcible collection of money and eviction from land - have all become a daily occurrence. It does not surprise them anymore. Slowly but surely, people have started comparing the current dispensation with the dreaded period of the seventies, when the state witnessed semi-fascist terror. Will the state fall back to those days is an apprehension being shared by more and more people. Between the period May 14, 2011 when the TMC combine assumed office to May 12, 2012, as many as 65 Left Front leaders, activists and supporters have been brutally killed by TMC goons. 4,904 persons had to be hospitalized on account of the injuries sustained in such attacks. The steep rise in the overall crime graph points to the general deterioration in the law and order situation during the past one year, since the TMC combine assumed office. 40,124 people have been evicted from their homes. It is estimated that an amount of around Rs. 28 crores has been forcibly collected from 9,529 persons. There has been an alarming increasing in the number of rape cases. 23 cases of rape have been reported from different parts of the state during the past one year. Apart from this, there has also been an overall rise in the incidents of atrocities against women. During the first year of the TMC regime, and shamefully with a lady at the helm, 517 cases of molestation of women and 790 cases of physical assault on women have been reported. One of these cases pertains to the rape of a speech and hearing impaired girl in Bankura by a resident doctor within the hospital premises. In an overwhelming majority of these cases the culprits owe their allegiance to the ruling TMC. Unfortunately, however, in many cases, the complainants have been discredited, their character assassinated and motives assigned. In cases were police officers have investigated independently and proceeded against the culprits, they have been promptly transferred. The CM has had the cheek to call these cases “politically motivated” or “fabricated”, even if it meant tarnishing the image of the victim and defending the perpetrators of these crimes. There has been a planned and systematic attack on land reforms implemented during the Left Front rule. Apart from 26,838 patta holders and bargardars (who had received tenancy rights during the tenure of Left Front Government) who have been evicted from their lands, 3,418 peasants are not being allowed to cultivate their own land. The attack has now spread to democratic institutions and the electoral process, besides the massive attack on the political opponents of the TMC. Even the levels of intolerance have seen a steady growth. The innocuous act of forwarding an email containing a caricature of the Chief Minister saw a university professor, Ambikesh Mahapatra landing behind bars. Newspapers and periodicals that a library could subscribe to have all been listed and sent in an order to libraries across the state. Boards put up by the Ganashakti daily have been made a special target for attack. 250 of such boards on which the daily was pasted for reading by the public who could not afford purchasing the paper, have been destroyed. The democratic right to protest is also sought to be curtailed. Another renowned professor, Partho Sarothi Ray was arrested and jailed for taking part in a peaceful demonstration against eviction of slum dwellers. Since October 2011, 38 incidents of attacks on the election process in different institutions in the state have been reported. 84 student union offices have been captured by the student wing owing allegiance to the TMC. Assault on students, teachers and staff in educational institutions are increasing. It is but natural that the brunt has been borne by the CPI(M), the mass organisations under its leadership and its partners in the Left Front. Apart from the 65 leaders and cadres of the Left who have been mercilessly killed, 611 offices of the CPI(M) have been ransacked and captured. 217 offices of the mass organisations have been captured in different parts of the state. 14 Party conferences at various levels were attacked. 3293 persons have been arrested on the basis of false and fabricated cases being foisted on them. Arms are being planted in houses and offices of the Party and in subsequent raids “recoveries” are reported. The reported number of such cases is 169. Besides, there has been a sharp increase in the number of kidnappings, looting of shops, dismantling of elected three tier panchayat bodies or forcible resignation of elected representatives. But this is not all. In the seven month period between October 12, 2011 and May 12, 2011, agricultural distress has led 53 peasants to commit suicide, which the Government is not ready to admit. Post poll violence perpetrated by AITC and INC miscreants against CPI(M) and Left Front activists in West Bengal as reported from May 14, 2011 to May 12, 2012 at a glance.

1.	Killed	65
2.	Abetted to commit suicide	12
3.	Peasant suicides (from October 12, 2011)	53
4.	Rape	23
5.	Molestation	517
6.	Physical assault on women	790
7.	Injured and hospitalized	4,904
8.	Evicted from house	40,124
9.	Ransacked, looted and burnt	2,867
10.	CPI(M) office ransacked and captured	611
11.	Attack on party conferences	14 (from November 2011)
12.	Mass organisations and trade union offices captured	217
13.	Attack on the election process in different institutions	38 (from October 2011)
14.	Student union offices captured	84
15.	Ganashakti board destroyed	250
16.	Pre-planned so called "arms recovery"	169
17.	Arrest on false and fabricated cases	3,293
18.	Forcefully collection of money No. - Amount	- 9,529 (+) Nos. - Rs. 27 crore 87 lac 8 thousand
19.	Not allowed to cultivate own land No. - Acre	- 3,418 (+) Nos. - 9,222.73 Acre
20.	Eviction of patta holder and bargader No. - Acre	- 26,838 (+) Nos. - 9,404.13 Acre
-	-	-

* Apart from the above statement, the incidents like kidnapping, assault on students-teachers-staffs, ransacking educational institutions, looting of shops, dismantling of elected three tier panchayat, forcing to resign from the elected bodies are not enlisted.

Courtesy : CPIM Westbengal website

Resist the Heinous Conspiracy against CPIM in Kerala Unitedly

Statement issued by the CPI(M)’s  Kerala state secretariat on May 15, 2012.

THE Kerala state secretariat of the CPI(M) appeals to the CPI(M) activists and masses for whom the Party is precious than their life, to be vigilant against onslaughts intended to disrupt the Party. Venomous, erroneous campaigns unleashed against the Party are part of a conspiracy that is hatched against the CPI(M) which is kept by lakhs of workers, peasants and other masses close to their hearts. This is the right moment that the Party workers and its well-wishers come forward vigilantly, as on earlier occasions when they had surged forward to protect the Party in critical junctures. Party workers and sympathisers have to come out unitedly to expose and resist the vicious campaigns unleashed incessantly by the UDF, other anti-Communists and a section of the media.

The present attack against the LDF and the CPI(M), the major party of the front, is unleashed in a unique situation. The UDF government is facing a deep crisis today. Their rule for a year has made the people of Kerala absolutely discontented. A steep price rise has made the lives of the poor unbearable. Rationing and public distribution systems were completely disrupted. Severe cut in kerosene distribution has landed the fishermen in coastal areas in a deep crisis. Black market price of one litre of kerosene is Rs 100 and it makes the fishing impossible by purchasing kerosene at this price. Load shedding and power cut have made all families extremely angry. In addition, increase in power tariff rate has also been announced. Power cut has landed the industrial sector of the state in a big crisis. All are reminded of the days of reign of the LDF government. Not even one project announced by chief minister Oommen Chandy has been started till date.

Repeated price increases of petrol and diesel by the central government led by the Congress has inflicted a huge economic burden on the people. It has made price rise more severe.

Moreover, severe discontent was growing in the Congress party and the UDF constituents against chief minister Oommen Chandy who succumbed before the pressures of the Muslim League which ultimately resulted in an embarrassment to the whole state. Some Congress leaders openly reacted against this. Awarding the fifth ministership to Muslim League has caused damage to the secular foundation of the state. Portfolios were distributed again on the basis of caste and community of ministers. Caste organisations supporting the UDF came out openly opposing this step. The face of the UDF has got more tarnished due to these developments.

Selvaraj was influenced to resign his legislature membership by luring him with money and promises. The decision of the UDF to make the defector as its candidate in the bye-election has created big anguish among the voters of Neyyattinkara constituency. Oommen Chandy led UDF was in quandary as they are compelled to carry the very same person who had earlier announced that it would be better to commit suicide than to join UDF.

Differences have erupted in the state cabinet over the Mullaperiyar issue. While the Congress and the chief minister justify the Expert Committee Report, ministers K M Mani and P J Joseph belonging to Kerala Congress are opposing it. The popular anger unleashed all over the state against the UDF government and the central government for adopting a stand protecting the Italian Navy men who murdered fishermen at sea by shooting them, is not small. That the Supreme Court had to ask the government whether they have forgotten the fact that Italian Navy men had shot down Indian citizens is an obvious evidence of their treacherous game. UDF is facing a very severe challenge presently.

It is in this background that the conspiracy against the CPI(M) emerges. It will not be wrong to suspect that the dastardly murder of T P Chandrasekharan was part of this conspiracy. The undue haste shown by the ministers and the Congress leaders, immediately after the murder by accusing the CPI(M) for the murder, increases this suspicion.

This horrendous murder is despicable, mean and pathetic. The state secretariat condemned this murder and expressed deep protest of the Party over this. The Party demanded that there has to be a diligent enquiry to find out the culprits. The Party also declared beyond any doubt that it had no connection with this murder as propagated by the enemies of the Party. Authorities have to adopt immediate measures to apprehend the murderers and those who instigated the murder as early as possible and present them before the judiciary so as to mete out deserving punishment to them.

It is not the policy of the Party to dispose off physically those who have disagreement. The Party has not endeavored to murder anyone who had left the Party for political or organisational reasons. It is by covering up all these truths that allegations are being spread against the Party.

Soon after the murder, the first person to come out levelling the charge against the CPI(M) was none other than Mullappally Ramachandran, MP from Vadakara and union state minister for home. Soon after, he was followed by chief minister Oommen Chandy, home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala in repeating this lie. What was the basis on which these responsible persons alleged such a crime on the CPI(M) even before an FIR was prepared on the incident of murder? It is clear that this was part of a political conspiracy. When the state DGP stated that the murder of Chandrasekharan was committed for private profit and that it is not being given a political status, home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan corrected the DGP hurriedly, stating that it was a ‘political murder’. Who is not able to see the ill-intention behind such a statement by the home minister? Such an open comment by the home minister who is the political head of the home department against the DGP who is the official head of the police department exposes the breakdown of the government functioning. This is extremely serious.

It is to be presumed that a conspiracy is taking shape in order to hunt the CPI(M). In 1972, the semi-fascist terror started in West Bengal, using the murder of Hemant Basu, leader of the Forward Bloc as a pretext to unleash an attack against the Party. The Congress government under Siddharth Sankar Ray had murdered about 1500 Party workers in West Bengal. The current attack by the anti-communist forces reminds us of that historical fact. In order to prepare a backdrop for the same, the rightist print and electronic media are lashing out with a propaganda barrage, with specially prepared news items which are coloured with lies. Political interventions are taking place which make it impossible to carry out an impartial enquiry. Public statements made by the home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, clearly make out such a dubious game plan.

It was in 2008 that T P Chandrasekharan, an area committee member and a number of Party workers left the Party. The LDF decision was that panchayat presidentships in Onchiyam area of Eramala and Azhiyoor are to be exchanged between the CPI(M) and Janata Dal after a period of two and a half years. President of Eramala panchayat from 2005 onwards was Venu who later left the Party. They kept a group of comrades with them expressing opposition to withdraw from the post of Eramala president, displaying a naked desire for position, parliamentary greed and absence of communist values. These people formed Revolutionary Marxist Party protesting against the district Party leadership for not agreeing to violate united front norms. This does not involve any issue of communist ideology. If there is any, it is the evident departure of those who left the Party, from Marxist ideology. That these people address themselves as Revolutionary Marxists, is ridiculous.

During that occasion they had never raised any objection to the political and ideological positions of the Party. Nobody can argue that the Party had any resentment towards Chandrasekharan as the Party had given opportunity to rectify himself by inducting him in the area committee after his one year suspension from the Party in 2001. Challenging the Party decision to give Eramala panchayath president position to the LDF constituent Janata Dal for two and half years during the last phase, as part of the decision to avert damaging the Left Democratic Front (LDF), they left the Party by misleading some comrades and had never raised any ideological question at that point of time. They utilised the differences and disputes that existed in Eramala panchayath on various issues between the CPI(M) and Janata Dal activists as an opportunity at that time.

These sections to some extent were successful in splitting the LDF vote during the 2009 parliament elections which helped the UDF candidate Mullappalli Ramachandran to get elected. It further aided the Veerendra Kumar Janata Dal combined UDF to win in the 2010 local bodies election in the Eramala panchayath. At the same time, in Onchiyam panchayath, the RMP was able to win only in the seats where they aligned with the UDF. In those wards, the LDF candidates were defeated with meager margins.  In 2011 assembly elections, despite the divisive role of these sections, the LDF emerged victorious in the Vadakara constituency by defeating the Veerendra Kumar Janata Dal combined UDF. The Eramala panchayath in Vadakara is considered as the strongest hold of the Veerendra Kumar Janata Dal in the state. It was in that constituency the Janata Dal, a constituent of the LDF, defeated the Veerendra Kumar Janata Dal candidate, a constituent of the UDF.

Hence, it is obvious that the ‘Revolutionary Marxist Party’ balloon bloated by the UDF and the right wing media, flattened out rapidly. As a result of the patient and vigilant efforts of the Party, a major section among the misguided comrades came back to the Party. The huge participation of the masses in the 20th Congress of the Party astonished even the opponents. Given these facts, it was vividly clear that the anti-Party section could no longer survive. At this juncture can there be any motive for the CPI(M) to murder Chandrashekharan? Who is the real beneficiary of the murder? These questions establish the dubious motivation behind the murder.

Unlike the past days, the Party enemies are currently using new tactics to attack the Party. Instead of attacking the Party as a whole, they tactically showcase a section in the Party as symbols of vice and some others as role models and symbols of virtue. The anti-Party section of Shoranur had enunciated these propaganda tactics that were subsequently used by the Onchiyam anti-CPI(M) camp. This bourgeois media aided propaganda was intended to generate confusion among the Party ranks.  After the killing of Chandrasekharan, these sections intensified the same propaganda. The RMP openly took a position that some people in the CPI(M) can visit Chandrasekharan’s house and others are not allowed to do so. It is definite that the thoughtful people of Kerala will reject this malicious campaign that intends to divide the Party and malign its leadership.

It is unfortunate that a section of the writers joined the malicious campaign unleashed by the Congress party, the UDF and some reactionary media intended to tarnish the Party. Any criticism is appreciated if there is any substantial base behind such criticism. But it is unjustifiable to denounce the Party on the basis of fabricated speculations.

The Congress Party’s enthusiasm to create the smokescreen of CPI(M) violence is absurd. It is the Congress men who had burnt alive five comrades at Cheemeni in Kasaragod. It was the same Congress party who had brutally beaten and killed Moyarath Sankaran, a former Congress leader who had written the history of the Congress, as he left the Congress party and joined the Communist movement. The ultra Left and the Congress party had joined together to assassinate Comrade Azheekkodan Raghavan. It is ironical that the Congress Party organises Shanthi Yatra (peace march) led by its state president using the Onchiyam incident, as the same Congress party is tainted with the bloodstains of the numerous comrades like Kunhali, the Communist leader of Eranad.   It is to be noted that Onchiyam is remembered in history because of the heroic martyrs, where eight comrades were shot dead and two comrades were killed in the police lockup, thanks to the repressive and notorious the then Congress government.

The last Party state conference carried out all the proceedings unanimously. It shows the growing unity in the state Party. The conference culminated with greater confidence and enthusiasm. The 20th Party Congress unitedly adopted its political tactical line and ideological document. The united understanding of the Party on political tactical line and ideological question inspired the entire Party. The massive people’s participation in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikkode related with the state conference and the Party Congress annoyed the Party enemies. They were in search of new weapons against the CPI(M).  

In Onchiyam area during the last four years, a section of people under the banner of ‘Revolutionary Marxist Party’ were engaged in damaging the Party.  The Onchiyam Party which carries the legacy of the heroic martyrs successfully prevailed over the challenges and dynamically led the Party. Till date the anti-communists and their media maliciously broadcast that the Party splitters are indulging in ideological struggle and they are continuing with the same propaganda even today. It is certain that those who are for the moment influenced by the deceptive propaganda of the class enemies will realise their mistake and rectify it. The state secretariat called upon all the Party cadres, sympathisers and friends to come together to resist the offensive of the Party enemies so as to defend the Party.

CPI M to go on stir against Assam government

The state committee of CPI-M on Thursday announced a month-long agitation from June 15 against the ruling Congress. The party said that Congress-led government in Assam has failed to curb spiralling prices and maintain law and order. The decision to launch the agitation comes a couple of days after CPI-M's state committee meeting in Guwahati, which was also attended by Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar and party politburo member S R Pillai.

CPI-M state secretary and former MLA Uddhab Barman on Thursday accused the Tarun Gogoi government of harassing people in the pretext of preparing photo electoral rolls and distributing ration cards. "The brunt of soaring prices of essential commodities, anomalies in public distribution system, rampant corruption, poverty and unemployment in rural areas, demand for adequate rehabilitation package for flood and erosion victims and deteriorating law and order situation are the key reasons we decided to launch a campaign," said Barman.

Barman said the Assam government's plans to carry out second-generation reforms in the power sector, as announced by state power minister Pradyut Bordoloi, is aimed at privatizing the power sector. "After consensus was met on deporting all illegal migrants who have sneaked into Indian territory since March 24, 1971, the CPI-M is surprised that Tarun Gogoi as is advocating citizenship for all such migrants. This is a tactic to divide the people of Assam," the CPI-M state secretary said.

He also criticized the BJP, saying the saffron party is trying to give communal colours to the influx issue. "The state government continues to show apathy to flood and erosion victims at Mandia in Barpeta district even as their protest continues after 22 days," the CPI-M state secretary added. Barman said the recent killing of Gadapani Pathak, superintending engineer of agriculture department, not only reveals the deteriorating law and order scenario in the state, but has also brought to light rampant corruption in government departments once again.

CPM releases manifesto for Shimla Municipal Corporation election

Being way ahead in its campaigning than the Congress and the BJP, the CPIM once again took the lead by becoming the first party to release its election manifesto with the focus being on making the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) Mayor-centric and people-friendly by holding ward sabhas every three months and finding a solution to the problems of water, traffic and housing. 

Releasing the vision document and agenda for action, Chairman of the Election Manifesto Committee Kuldeep Singh Tanwar said if the CPIM found favour with the electorate as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP, the party would try to bring about a change. “We appeal to people to vote for the CPIM to have a vibrant, dynamic, pro-people and progressive Shimla MC,” he said in the presence of CPIM’s Mayoral candidate Sanjay Chauhan, Deputy nominee Tikender Panwar and CPIM state secretary Rakesh Singha. 

He said despite several amendments, the MC continued to be commissioner-centric with the Mayor and councillors having practically no say. “On the pattern of gram sabhas, we intend to hold ward sabhas every three months and constitute ward panchayats with the participation of professionals and experts from various fields to bring about an effective change,” said Tanwar. 

The polling for the 25 wards of the Shimla MC will be held on May 27 with almost 82,000 people casting their vote. CPIM is contesting in 20 wards and is supporting independent candidates in 3 wards

While focusing on the problems of the three emerged areas of Totu, Dhalli and New Shimla, Tanwar said injustice was being done to people of these areas who had till date been deprived of basic civic amenities. “Till date they continue to pay commercial water charges whereas one can explore the possibility of it being declared a special category area as it has a population of over 70,000,” he said.

The CPIM has listed the framing of a City Development Plan to provide services like regular water supply, housing for poor, better roads, sewerage network, solid waste management, parking lots, heritage conservation, enhancing green area and tourists spots and tackling monkey and stray dog menace. The CPIM also promised to provide better public transport, especially for school, college and university students.

Reinvestigate Narendra Modi's Role

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

 

The report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the communal violence and killings in Gujarat in 2002 is flawed and seeks to cover-up the heinous role played by the Chief Minister Narendra Modi. 

 

The SIT report concludes that Narendra Modi saying that the Hindus should be allowed to vent their anger does not constitute an offence because it was said “within the four walls of a room”.  According to the SIT’s strange logic, a Chief Minister  instructing senior police officers not to intervene and act against the violence is not a culpable action nor dereliction of duty.  Further, the report shockingly provides a justification for the mob violence which led to the ghastly killing of Ehsan Jafri and others in the Gulberg society housing attack by giving credence to the report that Jafri provoked the mob by firing at them.  This again is stated by citing Narendra Modi’s statement that “action” had led to “reaction”.

 

The SIT investigation and report has been vitiated by the lack of application of mind and by the inability to comprehend the premeditated actions of the executive in Gujarat.  The SIT findings exonerating Narendra Modi have been questioned by the report submitted to the Supreme Court by the Amicus Curiae.  A fresh investigation into the role and actions of Narendra Modi should be conducted, so that the truth comes out and accountability is fixed.  

Leftword Launches May Day Book Store and Cafe

  
S K Pande (Peoples Democracy)

It was indeed a May Day evening with a difference. At a remote corner in west Delhi, what was opened was the country’s first May Day Bookstore and Café amidst a cosmopolitan gathering where the intellectuals rubbed shoulder with the workers, students, activists and the general public.

At one corner,  a wide amalgam of leftist books ready for the take- at bargain prices, at another corner an innovative calendar listing , in brief, some important labour struggles from colonisation to globalisation, giving statistics and some historic facts like the fact that India had officially 478 million workforce that contributed to its economic growth which in itself was a curious mixture of illiterate workers unfamiliar with machines and tools and a sizable pool of experts in the fields of medicine, science, technology and computers. Add to all this May Day badges, cups, tee shirts, jute bags and paperweights.

Centre stage in another room , it was music, poetry, songs and narration–all on the theme of May Day with a cup or two of coffee and a historic booklet by Prof Vijay Prashad giving a brief on May Day through the years. For over three hours , with the limited space jam packed, there were songs of freedom , struggle, spirit of inquiry ranging from Kabir , Faiz, Tagore to Bob Dylan sprinkled with folk and rock flavour. The performers included the Laal Band from Pakistan, Sumangala Damodaran, Rahul Ram, Harpreet Singh, Purushottm, Shriparna Nandi, Mohsin Ali Khan, and some students from Delhi University.

Sustaining the May day activities at various corners was coffee and more coffee with homemade biscuits and cakes. The coffee corner was managed by the theatre activist (JANAM) Sudhanva Deshpande and historian Mukul Manglik. The coffee House spirit was revived in the manner of the co-operative coffee house movement of the late sixties and seventies.

Significantly, the meeting remembered P Sundaryya , the veteran Marxist leader whose birth centenary is being  celebrated throughout the country. Small wonder too that reminding us of the revolutionary leader from Andhra Pradesh was a Telugu song sung by Sumangala on the theme of the Telangana Movement.

In the gathering there was a constant flow of people from different walks of life. They included CPI(M) leaders Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, PushpinderGrewal, economists Prabhat Patnaik, Utsa Patnaik, historian Aijaz Ahmed, writers M M P Singh, Javed Malik and activists of Jana Natya Manch, Parcham and some mass organisations. In the age of increasing commercialisation and Bollywoodisation of culture, a place like the May Day Bookstore and Café is a real whiff of fresh air in reviving the spirit of struggle, inquiry and constant discussion - all over a cup of coffee.

 

Postscript:  In  overview- what was visible before us were some really good performances by Laal Band (from Pakistan), Rahul Ram (from Indian Ocean Band), Sumangala Damodaran, Misha and Surdhani, Young singers like Harpreet Singh  in contemporary Punjabi,  and touches of Kabir and Nazrul!  Add to it Rabinder Sangeet and more than three songs of Faiz. All this in the backdrop of Studio Safdar, and flashes of the Janam experiment, through photos in black and white. In a befitting ending, it was Internationale preceded by Janam songs. Of course, a clear message too. As the organisers put it, space is being created “where the committed can hang out, read, discuss culture and politics, and have great coffee, of course! Attached to it is Jana Natya Manch's new space, Studio Safdar. The theatre space and the bookstore will have a series of events every month, performances, readings, discussions, film screenings. ”  

Studio Safdar and May Day Bookstore and Café

2254/2A Shadi Khampur, New Ranjit Nagar, New Delhi 110008

For directions, mail cafemayday@gmail.com or studiosafdar@gmail.com,

 or call (only on event days) 011 2570 9456.

Pravda Centenary Celebrations Begin

 Centenary celebrations of Pravda, first Russian working class daily, started by Lenin on 5th may  in 1912, are more about rededication than nostalgia and celebrating. Not surprisingly two day celebrations began in Moscow on a distinctly solemn note with representatives from fraternal communist press visiting and paying tributes at Unknown Soldiers tomb. Here they were joined by hundred's of Red flag carrying people, both young and old, led by Zuganov, the President of Communist party of Russian Federation (CPRF). Communist members in Duma were also present in dozens. Zuganov led paying tribute at memorial of legendry Marshal Zukanov, who is considered to be military architect of the then Soviet Union's victory in great patriotic war. Subsequently delegations of communist press paid tribute at Unknown Soldiers tomb. These memorials are situated in heart of Moscow, very close to Red Square and Lenin's mausoleum. Unknown Soldiers tomb salutes sacrifices of those soldiers in Great Patriotic War, whose names may remain unrecorded otherwise.

 Delegates from around 30 major communist publications from different countries, including some of erstwhile Soviet republics that gained independence with collapse of the then Soviet Union and socialist China, Vietnam, Cuba and D P R K as well as Laos, are also participating. CPI(M) central committee organs, People's Democracy and Loklahar (Hindi) are represented by Rajendra Sharma, Associate Editor of Loklahar. Shameem Faizee is representing CPI organs. Second day of two day celebrations is dedicated entirely to discussion on current challenges before communist media through a round table discussion on "Party Press and struggle of communists in present day situation."

An interactive meeting with Pravda editorial board, before the first day's main celebratory event, at House of Unions (also called House of Pillars) brought out significant aspects of situation of Russia today and role that Pravda is trying to play as an instrument of communist movement, to change these circumstances. Boris O Komotskiy, Editor in Chief of Pravda welcoming the delegations said, 'it appears that days of 20yrs back have arrived again.' reasercher and known author, Yuiry Yemelianov also contributed to the interaction lasting two and half hours. Programme ended with cutting of a special cake with Pravda hundred years inscribed on it.

CPI(M) Greets Pravda & CPRF

The following is the text of the greetings sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russian Federation and to the Editorial Board of the Pravda on May 2, 2012. CC member, Associate editor, Loklehar, Rajendra Sharma is representing CPI(M) in these celebrations.

DEAR Comrades,

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the Editorial Board of the Pravda and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russian Federation (CPRF) on the centenary of the Pravda.

As Lenin had defined, a communist newspaper along with its 'exposure' of the ills and limitations of the present social system, should be a collective agitator, collective propagandist and a collective organiser. Pravda, a newspaper started by the outstanding communist leader Lenin, was run by him on these lines and became a model for all the other newspapers started for the socialist cause.

Indian Communists too, learning from the Russian experience, had started and ran many newspapers in the vernacular languages to expose the British rule, rouse the people into popular movements and also propagate the ideals of social justice.

Apart from the many vernacular dailies, that are continuing in the post-independent era, the CPI (M) is bringing out the weekly People’s Democracy, the official organ of the Party and Loklehar in Hindi, since the last 40 years. These organs are helping the Party to resist the ideological offensive of the ruling classes and to strengthen the Party.

In the background of the global economic crisis, the most severest since the Great Depression of the 1930s, there is all the more a necessity for the newspapers of the type envisioned by Lenin. The increasing struggles worldwide show the  growing discontent among the people. They are searching for alternatives. It is thus imperative upon us, the Communists and the media run by us to place before the people the correct path for bringing an end to their travails and exploitation. The newspapers help us in strengthening the 'subjective factor', as Lenin called it, to utilise the condusive objective factors for transforming the society – establishing a socialist system.

Once again, we extend our warm greetings to all of you, and also thank you for inviting our representative to be present with you and share thoughts on this august occasion.

Bid to frame CPI(M) in murder case: Pinarayi Vijayan

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has alleged a high level conspiracy to frame his party in the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrasekharan late Friday night. 

Addressing a news conference on Saturday, the CPI(M) State secretary alleged that the conspiracy had been hatched by the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership to malign the CPI(M) on the eve of the Neyyattinkara by-election. The CPI(M), he said, did not believe in finishing off its enemies, he said.

Mr. Vijayan, who spoke to the media after a meeting of the CPI(M) State secretariat, said the statements by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Union Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran, State Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala and other UDF leaders blaming the CPI(M) clearly pointed to the UDF conspiracy to frame the party, which had nothing to do with Chandrasekharan's murder, he said. 

The statements by the Chief Minister and other UDF leaders, he contended, would result in the real culprits escaping the arms of the law. There were reports that Chandrasekharan himself had complained about threat to his life. If that was so, the government should answer the question why he was not given adequate protection. When the failure of the government and the police to provide him protection and the attempt to blame the CPI(M) for the murder were read together, the only conclusion was that there was a conspiracy to unleash a witch hunt against the CPI(M) in the name of the murder. 

At the time of the Piravom by-election, the UDF had engineered CPI(M) MLA R. Selvaraj's resignation from the party. Now that it was clear that others like him were not easy to come by, the attempt was to defame the CPI(M) and the LDF in the name of Chandrasekharan's murder. Going by reports, the murder was committed by a ‘quotation gang.' The CPI(M) believed in opposing its enemies politically and not with the help of ‘quotation gangs.' The guilty should be brought before the law. For that, there should be a free and fair investigation. Instead of ensuring that, the Chief Minister and Ministers were trying to set the agenda for the investigation. The real culprits should not be allowed to escape amidst all the false campaign, Mr. Vijayan said.

(Source : The Hindu)

The Attack on Democracy is Even More Intense in the Rural Areas: Surjya Kanta Mishra

Interview with Surjya Kanta Mishra, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.

Surjya Kanta Mishra: “The Attack on Democracy is Even More Intense in the Rural Areas.”

“It is as though criminals have started thinking that it is their Government.” Surjya Kanta Mishra, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), feels that West Bengal is heading towards becoming an “anarchic State”.

In an interview to Frontline, Mishra spoke about issues ranging from the rise in violence in the State, the Mamata Banerjee Government's policies and its claims of achievements made in the past one year. “Instead of taking the State forward from where it stood a year ago, they are reversing the process of progress and development, undoing all that had been achieved. The future really looks gloomy,” he said. Excerpts:

The CPI(M) has adopted a policy of wait and watch before making any proper assessment of the Trinamool Government. But what is your preliminary assessment a year after it came to power? In which direction do you think the State is heading?

We had never said that we would not be critical. We said we would play the role of a responsible Opposition. We will not oppose for the sake of opposing as they [the Trinamool] did. There is a fundamental difference between our opposition and theirs. When Mamata Banerjee was announcing her achievements after 100 days or after 200 days [since assuming power], we pointed out that one could not make a proper assessment in such a short time. The problem is that she started claiming that she had completed 90 per cent of the work. We did not want any report card from her, nor did we want to grade her.

But one thing that has become clear after almost a year is that the Government does not have any vision. It is directionless. They have neither any concrete programme, nor any sense of priority. They are trying to rush things through, which is proving counterproductive, be it in the area of industry, land, or problems in the Darjeeling hills. Every time they try to resolve an issue, they complicate matters further.

But one thing that the Chief Minister should not have done – a promise she has not kept – is the assault on democratic institutions and democracy in general. This is dangerous, and we had earlier warned that this assault would not be confined to us, the CPI(M). It will spread.

As to where the State is headed, nobody really knows. All that was done before is now being undone – like land reforms, the establishment of a democratic, decentralised panchayat system and other institutions of participatory democracy. Our successes in the agrarian sector, based on which we were setting up industries – all such processes are being reversed. This is endangering the overall growth of the State. I will not yet say that an anarchic situation is prevalent here, but I fear it is heading in that direction.

Over the last several months political violence and crime have been on the increase. Do you think the Government is doing enough to curb them?

The violence against us has increased a lot. Since May 2011 [when the Trinamool-led Government came to power], around 4,800 Left workers and supporters have had to be hospitalised – most of them in serious condition. A large number of them have, in fact, been crippled by acts of violence. After coming to power, the Trinamool forcefully occupied more than 700 CPI(M) offices.

The situation is particularly bad for Left workers and supporters in the eight districts of West Medinipur, Bardhaman, Bankura, Hooghly, East Medinipur, Cooch Behar and the North and South 24 Parganas. In the first four districts that I mentioned, it is no longer possible to carry out even simple democratic functions; more than 40,000 Left workers have been driven out of their homes, party offices have been forcefully occupied, hefty fines have been imposed upon them. We have a detailed list of these figures.

It is not possible to understand the situation by the number of killings alone. In the 1970s, under the Congress Government, there were more killings of Left workers. But the situation of silent terror that is prevalent today is more effective in demoblilising any political opposition. It is not that they are perpetrating such terror in places where the Left is weak; in fact, it is worst where we have a reasonably strong support base – like the first four districts that I just mentioned. You can see how we were proved right when we said that this violence would be directed not only against us; today, Congress workers are being attacked. Even sections within the Trinamool camp are fighting each other.

Apart from political violence, general crime has also increased greatly. It is as though criminals have started thinking that it is their Government; and the police and the administration are just not handling the situation in a proper manner.

With all these things happening around us, the Chief Minister remains in denial mode, insisting that nothing has really happened. In none of the incidents of violence and crime – be it the Park Street rape case, the murder of two CPI(M) leaders in broad daylight in Bardhaman, or the rape on a train in Katwa – has the Chief Minister condemned the acts or apologised for them. Instead, she said they were orchestrated incidents.

What is your opinion on the Government's policy relating to land acquisition for industries?

First, I would like to say, regarding land, that thousands of people in rural Bengal have been ousted in the last one year. Even Trinamool supporters have not been spared.

Now, regarding the State Government's land acquisition policy. The Government claims that it is against acquiring land on behalf of industries. So how can land be acquired for industrial purposes? Their solution has been to lift the land ceiling, so investors can directly buy land – but the Government will have no role in acquiring land from the farmers. Unfortunately, this will empower the land mafia and the land sharks, and as a result, farmers will be denied their rightful compensation and rehabilitation packages, which will not happen if the Government acquires the land.

Moreover, big manufacturing industries will be reluctant to come, as they know how difficult it will be for them, without the intervention of the Government, to get the kind of land required to set up large plants. The situation is not conducive to big industries.

Not just in the case of land. The present Government does not really have a proper industrial policy. Take the case of power. When we were in Government, we left behind for the State a surplus; the present Government is now in such a state that it has to reduce power generation to minimise losses. Moreover, the way the resource mobilisation plan has been done, nobody knows where funds for infrastructure development will come from. The process of industrialisation is not just about giving land. It is important that the atmosphere is also conducive to industrial growth.

What is the Government's major achievement in its first year in power?

Apparently, the Darjeeling hills are peaceful – which everyone can see is not the case – and peace has returned to Jangalmahal. But this is just an illusion of peace. It cannot be considered an achievement, as it is paving the way for another wave of problems. Then, of course, there are a whole lot of promises that are yet to be kept. The only positive work that I feel the Government has done is to have decided not to set up the Legislative Council as it had decided earlier. We opposed this decision, and they finally dropped the idea.

Instead of taking the State forward from where it stood a year ago, we are seeing that they are reversing the process of progress and development, undoing all that had been achieved. The future really does look gloomy.

There has been some disenchantment with the Government among the urban middle class. Do you think this has spread to rural voters? Will it have an impact on the upcoming panchayat elections?

We have seen disillusionment among the urban middle class, even among those who voted for a change. But the attack on democracy that we talked about is even more intense in the rural areas. On top of all that, there is major distress in the agrarian sector, as is evident in the spate of suicides by farmers and agricultural workers groaning under the burden of debt.

Whether this will influence the results of the upcoming panchayat elections is very difficult to say. The ruling party has been threatening to prevent the Opposition from fielding candidates. It all depends on whether our candidates will be allowed to file their nominations. But I will say that when people start understanding the implications of what is happening around them, they will get disillusioned. But to go into the mode of active resistance takes some time.


[The interview was published in www.frontlineonnet.com on volume 29 - issue 09 - May 18, 2012]