Derecognise schools that collect excess fees in Tamil nadu : CPI (M)

The State Government should withdraw recognition for schools that collected fees over and above the limit prescribed by the Govindarajan Committee. The fee structure should be posted in the internet for public view and individual schools should be asked to display their fee structure on notice boards, said the State secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist), G. Ramakrishnan, on Friday.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Ramakrishnan said that many private schools were collecting excess fees and some even resorted to ingenious ways, like asking the parents to deposit the difference of fee in a ‘hundi.' While receipts were issued for the prescribed fee the difference was accepted without any acknowledgement.

Some schools maintained that the fee collected now was for one term and some manipulated with transport and hostel fees. When parents questioned the collection of excess fees, some schools even threatened to close down, he said.

The CPI (M) leader wanted the government to ensure that only the fee prescribed by the Govindarajan Committee was collected by private schools.

“Take over”

Failure to do so should attract de-recognition and the government should take over such schools. The party, he said, opposed the decision to allow private schools to have their own textbooks under the ‘samacheer kalvi' scheme. This would only lead to disparities between aided and private schools and ultimately defeat the purpose of the scheme. The move to allow foreign universities in the country would have an adverse impact on the education system, he said.

Mr. Ramakrishnan appealed to the State Government to distribute 740 acres of government poromboke land reclaimed from encroachers in Tallavada village of Gummidipoondi taluk to the Dalits and landless people. A similar step should be taken in the case of 199 acres of land in Kaverirajapuram.

Explaining the stand of the State CPI (M) in the Mullaperiyar issue, Mr. Ramakrishnan said that it was for implementation of the Supreme Court order of raising the dam level to 142 feet from the present 136 feet.

Tamil Nadu, he said, should voice the aspirations of the people of southern districts in the five-member committee constituted by the apex court to review the issue.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

CPIM struggle for landless - 1400 activists court arrest

CPIM conducted a struggle for the landless poor in Kummidipundi village in Thiruvalluvar District, Tamil nadu. Around 1400 peooples including 800 women were arrested. Com. G Ramakrishnan, CPIM Tamil nadu State secretary led the protest demonstration. Around 700 acres of Goverment land is been alledgedly encroached by landlords in this village. The people in this village were amking continous struggle for the last 6 years for regaining this land. The people have been consistently complaining to the goverment authorities regarding this encroachment. The authorities never took any action. It is under this circumstance the people led by CPIM moved to direct action. Speaking at the occassion Com G Ramakrishnan urged the state goverment and asked the Chief Minister to pay special attention to regain the Government lands from the big encroachers and hand it over to the landless poor.

EMS study centre in Bangalore City

Bangalore will have an exclusive centre to study social movements of Karnataka.

Brainchild of Left activists in the State, the centre will be housed in a new building named after communist leader E M S Namboodiripad, that will be inaugurated on June 14 by Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan. The A K Gopalan Memorial Social Education Trust of Bangalore has raised nearly Rs one crore for construction of the Bhavan which has a 200-seat auditorium, in Mahalakshmi Layout.

The Trust will offer residential short-term training programmes for activists to promote social movements. G N Nagaraj, Trust’s Managing Trustee and CPM state secretariat member, said the aim of the centre is to realise the ideals of ‘E M S’ and Gopalan, whose efforts propelled Kerala to the top of the human development index in the country. a similar endeavour was needed in Karnataka, Nagaraj said. He said the Bhavan, which has built-up area of 5,600 sqft, has been constructed with contribution from the public, especially peasants and workers besides well-wishers. The Trust has developed four courses which can be attended by anyone who is interested in social issues - study on Karnataka’s social, economic and cultural development; study on dalits, on working class and on farmers of Karnataka. The course includes both lectures by subject experts and audio-visual presentations.

A full-time faculty has already been appointed. A good number of guest lecturers would be roped in. The course modules have been designed to provide information and knowledge on the happenings in developed world, and how it is affecting working class in developing countries. “The working class or farmers may not know about climate change or globalisation. Through our course, we will educate them. We are not offering formal education like in educational institutions. It is going to be social education to highlight how distraction of democracy is taking place,” Nagaraj said.

The duration of the courses may vary from 5 to 15 days, and nominal fees will be collected from participants. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, former prime minister Deve Gowda, Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and writer U R Ananthmurthy will be present during the inaugural programme.

(Courtesy : Deccan Herald)

Attacks on Dalits in Karnataka rising: CPI(M)

Atrocities against Dalits in the State have risen in the last two years and the Government is doing nothing about it, alleged Maruti Manpade, State Committee member, Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Speaking at a protest march organised here on Thursday, he accused the State Government of discriminating against the Dalits. “Problems like discrimination on the basis of caste in hotels, maths, increasing incidence of AIDS among devdasis and low wages for daily workers exist but the Government is not doing anything to solve them,” he said.

Accusing the Government of introducing policies which were against the interests of the Dalits, the protesters demanded the repealing of the Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010, as red meat formed the basic diet of the Dalits.

K. Varadarajan, polit bureau member, said even after 60 years of Independence, everyone was not treated equally, especially in States like Karnataka. “In more than 50 villages in the State, social boycott or untouchability is practised and action has not been taken by the authorities. In today's India, democracy is decided by caste or money,” he added. The march, originally planned to start at the City Railway Station and end at the Chief Minister's residence, was cut short as Minister for Social Welfare Sudhakar Rao visited them at Freedom Park. The Minister was presented with a letter to the Chief Minister urging him to look into the living conditions of Dalits.

Court verdict incomplete without trying Anderson

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat agreed. “If the justice system is so weak, as proven by this verdict, then it is horrifying to think what will happen if there is a nuclear accident,” she said. Probe infirmities in CBI, says Brinda The government should look into the infirmities in the CBI which led to such a diluted verdict, and appeal in the higher court, she added.

CPI (M) Madhya Pradesh State Secretary Saroj Badal said that the accused had been prosecuted with light sections of IPC and the CBI has failed to bring the foreign accused Warren Anderson - former Chairman of Union Carbide Corporationm, USA and two others - UCC, USA and Union Carbide Eastern, Hong Kong to face the trial. Badal said that the Centre had budged under the US pressure in dealing with the foreign accused.

CPI National Secretary D Raja said that the Prime Minister should take responsibility for the “failure” of the CBI to bring to justice the foreigners accused in the case. 

Bhopal Gas Case Verdict

 The Bhopal Gas case verdict, which after twenty-five years awards a sentence of just two years to the culprits, is a travesty of justice that shames India and insults the memory of the thousands killed. The verdict is the culmination of a deeply flawed process involving the culpability of Governments, investigative agencies and even the highest court of the land. These institutions compromised the interests of the country and the victims, diluting the charges, enabling the American CEO Warren Anderson to escape, and limiting liability to a paltry compensation of only 470 million dollars. These are acts of connivance to help the powerful US company and its Indian entity. 

The culprits are now all out on bail and will use the judicial process further to avoid serving even this inadequate sentence. The Government must immediately appeal against the verdict, press for enhancement of sentences and create a process by which justice can be speedily ensured. 

The Bhopal disaster and the utterly flawed legal framework shows how the American suppliers and owners have escaped any criminal liability. In this context the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill which excludes foreign suppliers from any liability may help more Warren Andersons. The Bill limits compensation to even less than the paltry Bhopal settlement. Pushing ahead with the Nuclear Liability Bill means playing with the safety and interests of the Indian people.

CPI(M) keen on including DMDK in joint struggle

CHENNAI: The CPI (M) is keen on including Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) led by actor Vijayakant in the joint-struggles to highlight the failures of the State and the Central governments, said G. Ramakrishnan, the State secretary of the party. However, any decision on an electoral understanding with the DMDK would be taken only at the time of elections.

“This need not be seen as a political front. The Left front exists only in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. In other States, we have seat adjustments during the election,” he told The Hindu on Sunday.

The Left parties in Tamil Nadu are working closely with the AIADMK and the MDMK. The two parties even supported the Left-sponsored hartal on April 27 to highlight the failure of the Centre to control the rise in the prices of essential commodities. But the DMDK was not included in these joint efforts, though the CPI (M) held parleys with actor Vijayakant before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

While the CPI (M) campaigned for the AIADMK candidate in the Pennagaram by-election separately, they were present when the AIADMK candidates filed their nominations for Rajya Sabha elections.

But Mr. Ramakrishnan refused to attach any significance to these events.

“We wanted to defeat the DMK-Congress combine and supported the AIADMK, because it is the best bet now. But the question of entering into an understanding with the AIADMK or other political parties for the 2011 Assembly elections will be decided later,” he said.

The CPI (M) leader said the victory of the ruling combine in all the by-elections held in the State did not mean it was invincible. “There is a discontent beneath surface, which will manifest itself during the next Assembly election,” he said.

Mr. Ramakrishnan said while the economic policies of the Congress-led UPA government had rendered the lives of the poor miserable across the country, corruption in all level in Tamil Nadu and the deteriorating law and order situation had become a cause of concern.

“Power cut in the State has severely affected small scale industries. The textile industry is going through a crisis because of steep rise in the price of yarn, while agriculture has become unviable for the farmers and agricultural labourers,” he said.

Mr. Ramakrishnan said the CPI (M) would press for devolution of power and a political solution to the Sri Lankan Tamils issue when the President of the country Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India on June 8.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

On the Visit of Sri Lankan President to India

The visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India beginning on June 8 will be an occasion for the reaffirmation of the close and friendly ties between India and Sri Lanka. The visit should contribute towards strengthening these relations further.

On the occasion of the President’s visit, the Indian government should impress upon the Sri Lankan President the need for an expeditious political settlement of the Tamil question which would involve the devolution of powers and autonomy for the Tamil-speaking areas. Such a political solution will strengthen the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka.

With the end of the prolonged war, the rehabilitation of the displaced Tamil people is the other major concern. Out of the 3 lakh displaced people who were in relief camps, still around 80,000 have not returned to their homes. A speedy rehabilitation of the displaced people, ensuring their means of livelihood and their security should be a major priority. India, which is also providing assistance to this process, can discuss ways to speed up the rehabilitation. 

CITU General Secretary writes to Prime Minister on reports of deregulation of Petrol & Diesel pricing

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

There are disquieting reports that Empowered Group of Minister(EGOM) is scheduled to take up the issue of deregulating the pricing of petrol and diesel on 7th June 2010 as per Kirit Parikh Committee which is likely to increase price of these petroleum products by Rs. 3/- to Rs. 3.50 per litre. Such a decision apart from the cascading effect on the present unbearable inflation will also go against the following unanimous recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas placed in Parliament on 22.04.2010

“The Committee note that the Expert Group headed by Dr. Kirit Parekh Committee has made several recommendations on ‘viable and sustainable pricing of petroleum products’. In this regard, the Committee urge the Government not to consider the expert group recommendations in isolation but to give due weightage to the recommendations made by the Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas in their 6th and 10th Reports (14th Lok Sabha) on ‘Pricing of Petroleum Products’.”

You will kindly agree that Executive is accountable to Parliament and not vice-versa. Therefore the above recommendation read along with recommendations about made in 6th and 10th report (14th Lok Sabha) cannot be sidelined / ignored by Parikh committee appointed by the Executive. This in my humble opinion will to a large extent erode the credibility of Parliamentary Committees and Parliament. I therefore urge upon you to advise the EGOM not to take any decision before getting the same examined by the Parliamentary Committee constituted for this purpose.

DYFI cadres planted 4 lakh saplings on this Environmental Day

The Democratic Youth Front of India (DYFI) Kerala State Committee observed the World Environment Day as ‘Haritha dinam’. The DYFI members across the State planted as many as 4 lakh saplings. 10 saplings each were planted by DYFI cadres in its 25,000 units. The DYFI is also observing June as the environment conservation month. Poet Sughatakumari inaugurated DYFI’s Environment Day programmes on Saturday. Actor Mukesh, Dr. Biju participated. "One Man One Tree" was the slogan given by DYFI for this programme. Chief Minister Com. V S Achuthanandan inaugurated the programme in Eranakulam district by planting a sapling. In Kannur district DYFI state secretary Com. T V Rajesh inaugurated the event by planting 1000 mangrove sapplings. DYFI All India President Com. P Sreeramakrishnan inaugurated the programme in Malappuram

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