LDF to intensify stir Indefinite Secretariat Picketing from Aug 12

N S Sajith

 AS the day and night sit-in gains massive support, the Left Democratic Front has decided to intensify the struggle demanding the resignation of chief minister Oommen Chandy and setting up  of an impartial judicial probe into the multi-crore solar scam. LDF convener Vaikom Vishwan announced that day and night sit-in at secretariat and district collectorates will culminate on August 4 and indefinite secretariat picketing will begin on August 12. The mode of struggle will be novel and unseen in the history of Kerala, he said in a press conference at AKG centre, in Thiruvananthapuram on July 31.

The LDF volunteers will reach at the premises of secretariat on August 12th morning in large numbers. Volunteers from various parts of the state will add to the people already gathered. The functioning of secretariat will be stalled. As part of the preparations, district level campaign jathas will be organise from August 4. There will be no jathas on August 8th and 9th due to Eid-ul-Fitr. LDF district committees will meet soon to finalise the preparations for the jathas.

The LDF will form a massive organising committee in Thiruvananthapuram district to manage the indefinite picketing. The ongoing day and night struggle in the district centers and capital is gaining huge support of people from all walks of life. The new struggle will also receive such support from the people, Vaikom Vishwan said.

CPI(M) Kerala state secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that the  written complaint by an accused in the Solar Panel Scam, which was handed over to additional chief judicial magistrate, Ernakulam by the superintendent of the women's jail on July 31 has been manipulated. Addressing the media at Thiruvananthapuram, Pinarayi alleged that this was done with the knowledge of chief minister Oommen Chandy. This has underscored the necessity for a judicial enquiry, he added.

The magistrate before whom Saritha Nair was produced earlier on July 20 was unwilling to record her statement. Vijayan urged higher judicial bodies to take cognizance of this matter. Only a day earlier, the chief minister had predicted that good news would come. This prediction was a clear hint about the manipulation of the statement.

Earlier, Saritha had sought an opportunity to record her secret confession before the magistrate under the section of 164 CrPC. However, when she appeared before the magistrate he did not record her confession. The court later asked her to give a written complaint. After this incident, police took Saritha from the prison at Pathanamthitta where she was lodged, to Thiruvananthapuram. During transit the police had managed to influence her. Both appeasement and threats were used. Saritha’s mother had also visited her in jail.

Saritha’s counsel’s statement on the names contained in her statement becomes more significant in this context. Her counsel, Feni Balakrishnan, also warned that it would be a big shock if the names are made public. No Congress party leader has come forward opposing this statement.

Some leaders including central ministers have come out from hiding, which confirms that a manipulation has taken place, which reduced the pages of original complaint to 4 from 22, Pinarayi said.

Rescind FDI In Retail

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

 

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly opposes the dilution of the norms for FDI in retail trade approved by the Union Cabinet. Consequent to the harmful decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, the government has diluted even the limited norms set out for foreign retail investment. Under the pressure of the United States, the requirement of 30 per cent sourcing from domestic small and medium industries, the requirement for back up investment and the condition that FDI in retail be allowed in cities of over 10 lakh population have been eased.

 

The government has further surrendered to the pressure from the United States and its giant retail companies to do this.

 

The CPI(M) reiterates its opposition to the entry of FDI in multi-brand retail and demands that the government rescind this policy.

No Collaboration In Snooping

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

 

The latest disclosures in the documents provided by American whistleblower, Edward Snowden, show that the Indian government is collaborating with the United States of America in its electronic surveillance in India.

 

The US has installed some 700 servers in 150 locations around the world, one of which is near New Delhi, as part of a hitherto undisclosed programme called “Xkeyscore”, under which electronic snooping is undertaken by the US’s National Security Agency. The programme is meant for searching through the vast database containing emails, online chats and browsing histories of millions of individuals.

 

Earlier, the Government of India had justified the “snooping” in the name of tracking terrorist activity, with External Affairs minister going so far as to say that it is not snooping but only an analysis of the pattern of calls.

 

Now it is clear that this justificatory statement was made because the Government of India itself is a collaborating partner in the global spy network of the US, which undermines the sovereignty of India. The CPI(M) deplores this action of the government. 

 

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands that the Manmohan Singh government forthwith stop collaborating with the United States in its snooping on Indian citizens and close down the electronic surveillance facilities provided to it in India.