CPI(M) announces civil disobedience movement in Assam

Protesting against the Centre's failure to control inflation and to press for food security and minimum support price for farmers, CPI-M today announced a civil disobedience movement across Assam on December 14. "We demand universalisation of the PDS, ration cards for all families, minimum monthly wage of Rs 10,000 for workers in unorganised sector and government initiative for procurement of crops at MSP, besides strong action against corruption and loot of national resources," CPI-M state committee member Nayan Bhuyan said.

Bhuyan , who was speaking after the party's state-level convention here during the day, said both the Centre and Assam governments have failed to deal with price rise, food security, corruption and devastation cause by flood and erosion.     "All our district and local committees across the state will hold rallies, signature campaigns and dharnas across Assam beginning from now and this will culminate with the civil disobedience movement on December 14," he said. 

CPI(M)'s 'fraternal organisations' -- All India Kisan Sabha, All India Democratic Women's Association, Democratic Youth Federation of India and Students' Federation of India would also participate in the agitation, he said.  Party activists took out a march in the city after the convention today. The convention was attended by CPI(M) state secretary Uddhab Barman, former secretary and ex MLA Hemen Das and other leaders and 1000 delegates.

AIDWA DEMANDS STRICT ACTION AGAINST THE POLICE AND SHIV SAINIKS FOR ARBITRARY ARRESTS OF TWO YOUNG WOMEN

The Maharashtra State Committee of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana) expresses deep concern and outrage at the high handed arrest of two young women in Palghar, Thane for expressing on ‘Face book’ their discomfort at the complete shutdown in Mumbai following the death of Bal Thackeray. The local Shiv Sainiks, true to the intolerance practiced by their party, intimidated them into giving a forced apology and complained to the police. Shockingly, the Palghar police, instead of providing them with security and taking action against those harassing them, arrested the two young women on serious charges of outraging religious feelings and posting an offensive message. These were later changed to an arbitrary charge of ‘creating enmity’ after a public uproar. This is a complete travesty of the Constitutional right to democratic freedom of expression available to every citizen of India.  

The complicity of the Police emboldened the local Shiv Sainiks and their supporters to vandalise two hospitals of a relative of one of the women and intimidate their families. The police did not act against, nor arrest, those responsible for breaking law and order. These developments seriously compromise our democratic functioning and weaken the law and order in the state. The AIDWA in Thane has continuously being raising the problem of arbitrary and false cases and lack of action by the rural Thane police who side with political elements and criminal forces.

We demand that the Maharashtra Government takes strict action against those responsible for the arbitrary arrest and charges. The Shiv Sainiks responsible for the harassment and violence must be arrested immediately. The Government must ensure protection for the young women and their families, withdraw the false cases and compensate them for the high handedness of the police.

THE SHIV SENA: ACE PRACTITIONER OF REACTIONARY IDENTITY POLITICS

Statement Issued by CPIM Maharashtra State Commitee

The CPI(M) has always had sharp political differences with the Shiv Sena (SS) and its leader the late Mr Bal Keshav Thackeray. Under his leadership, the SS always played upon the reactionary politics of identity, which diverted attention from the grave problems facing the people of Maharashtra.

First, the CPI(M) has resolutely been opposed to the violent culture of regional chauvinism practiced by the Shiv Sena, and now also by its breakaway organisation, the MNS. Mr Thackeray began his politics by portraying the south Indian community of Mumbai as stealing the jobs of Maharashtrians, and later expanded the same logic to migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Enmity, thus, became the basis of his party's programme, which was in complete contradiction to the spirit of unity put forward by the Samyukta Maharashtra movement that was effectively led in the 1950s by the Left and secular forces, comprising the Communist Party, Praja Samajwadi Party, Peasants and Workers Party and Republican Party.

Secondly, the Shiv Sena ideology was deeply communal and the CPI(M) has consistently fought this ideology. In 1992, Mr Thackeray welcomed the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The Shiv Sena was deeply complicit in the Mumbai riots and the violence against Muslims after the Babri demolition, and this role of the Shiv Sena and Mr Thackeray was detailed with evidence by the Justice Srikrishna Commission of Enquiry. Not surprisingly, the Srikrishna Commission Report was rejected out of hand by the then SS-BJP state government.

Thirdly, the Shiv Sena's politics was deeply anti-working class and anti-communist, and in this it received the full and consistent support of successive Congress governments and of the big capitalists of Mumbai. In the late 1960s, it were the Communists who were at the receiving end of Mr Thackeray's violent political practice. Offices of the Girni Kamgar Union were regularly attacked by Shiv Sainiks and Communist leaders were brutally assaulted. In June 1970, this violence against communists reached its peak when Comrade Krishna Desai, MLA, was murdered by Shiv Sainiks. But the communist movement in Maharashtra has survived in spite of these physical attacks and constant threats.

Fourthly, the Shiv Sena's politics was deeply anti-Dalit. This was made clear in the physical attacks by Shiv Sainiks on the Dalit Panthers in the early 1970s leading to the death of Panther activist Bhagwat Jadhav; in the SS stand opposing Dr Ambedkar's 'Riddles in Hinduism'; in the action of the SS-BJP state government withdrawing all the police cases of atrocities against SCs in Marathwada region; and most of all, in the shocking police firing by the SS-BJP regime at the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar in Mumbai, which led to the killing of 11 innocent Dalit people.

Finally, there was the Shiv Sena's opposition to democracy and support of dictatorship. This was made amply evident by Mr Thackeray's support to the Emergency; his open glorification of Hitler; and the constant SS attacks on journalists, cultural and literary figures and others who dared to be critical.

This last point has been repeated today with the arbitrary arrests of two young girls in Palghar and with the attacks on the hospital of the uncle of one of them. They were arrested because they, on social networking sites, expressed disapproval of the bandhs of the last couple of days.

The CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee condemns the arbitrary arrests of these young girls, demands that the cases against them be dropped forthwith and further demands strict action against the police officers who instituted these cases and also against the goons who attacked the hospital. The Congress-NCP state government must take immediate action and stop pandering to the whims and fancies of the SS, as it has often done in the past.

The CPI(M) has always, and will in the future, continue to fight the chauvinist, communal, casteist and anti-working class policies of the Shiv Sena.

Dr Ashok Dhawale
Secretary, Maharashtra State Committee,
Member, Central Committee,
Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M)

CPIM led Candle Light protest in Tamilnadu to highlight the power crisis in the state

Cadres of Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a demonstration  and held a candle light protest on Saturday across Tamilnadu condemning the State government for the prolonged power cuts.

CPIM Memo to President: Targetting of Muslim Youth

Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the CPI(M) led a delegation to meet President Shri Pranab Mukherjee regarding targeting and persecution of scores of Muslim youth in terrorism related cases.  The memorandum submitted to the President has demanded that:

1.Compensation and rehabilitation for the innocent persons implicated in such cases.

2.Provision of Special Courts with time bound procedures to settle cases within a year.

3.In cases where the court has held that evidence has been concocted or misrepresented by the investigating agencies to implicate innocents, action must be taken against those responsible.

4.The draconian provisions in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act must be reconsidered and removed.

The other members in the delegation were Subhashini Ali, member of the Central Committee of CPI(M), Mohd. Yusuf Tarigami, MLA, Jammu & Kashmir and member of the Central Committee of CPI(M), Sehba Farooqui, member of the Delhi state committee of CPI(M) and three young men who were jailed for long periods and then acquitted by the courts.  They are Mohammed Aamir from Delhi (in jail for 14 years), Maqbool Shah from Srinagar (jailed for 14 years), Syed Wasif Haider from Kanpur (in jail for 8 years).

Following is the Text of the Letter Addressed to the President                                     

                        November 17, 2012

The President of India

Rashtrapati Bhawan

New Delhi

Dear Rashtrapati ji,

I write to draw your attention to the grave miscarriage of justice to scores of Muslim youth who were and are being wrongly arrested and charged in cases related to terror attacks in different parts of the country. In some cases these young men have been incarcerated for ten to fourteen years as undertrials and then finally acquitted by the courts as being innocent. Several reliable groups of concerned citizens and organizations who have collected the details of these cases, have revealed how the court judgements themselves have strongly indicted the investigation agencies for the biased mentality against the Muslim youth and in several cases the manipulation and presentation of concocted evidence against innocent young men. It would appear that the investigation agencies are more driven by the requirement to show “results” in their investigation rather than to ensure that it is the actual culprits who are caught. 

Muslim youth are the most vulnerable targets today. The draconian provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act are used to deny the normal processes of justice, while there is no time bound procedure for the judicial processes. There is a growing feeling of fear and apprehension on the one hand and anger on the other that innocents are being implicated. Young lives have been destroyed, families stricken, forced into social isolation, driven into debt to pay the huge expenditures in legal fees—the terrible conditions caused by State led injustice.

As an illustration, the cases of the four young men Md. Aamir from Delhi, Syed Maqbool from Srinagar, Wasif Haider and Mumtaz Ahmed from Uttar Pradesh are presented before you. They were arrested arbitrarily when they were just eighteen or nineteen years of age, implicated in dozens of cases, incarcerated for over ten years and each one of them was, as held by the courts, innocent. They are today without jobs, considered unemployable, with dark and uncertain futures.

While no quarter can be given to any individual or group which is responsible for dastardly terror attacks, the arrest of innocent Muslim youth has reached serious dimensions which requires immediate attention. It is a blot on the principles of secular democracy. At the same time, the arrest of innocent people means that the actual culprits go free. There are three aspects, which require to be looked at:

1. Compensation to and rehabilitation of the innocents. While in some cases, with the intervention of the Minority Rights Commission and other agencies, some monetary compensation may have been given in a few cases, by and large most of the victims of State  injustice are in a terrible condition. It is essential to ensure justice by providing compensation as well as the means towards a livelihood through provision of employment or any other avenue suggested by the victim.

2. The provision of Special Courts with  time bound procedures is essential so as to end the sometimes deliberate prolonging of the cases. All such cases should be settled in a year.

3. In cases where the Court has held that evidence has been concocted or misrepresented by the investigating agencies to implicate innocents, action must be taken against those responsible. This will act as a deterrent in the deliberate implication of innocents.

We believe also that the draconian provisions in the UAPA must be reconsidered. At the time of the passage of the Bill in Parliament the CPI(M) had warned of the consequences of keeping such provisions on the Statute book akin to TADA and POTA. Experience has shown the legitimacy of the apprehensions expressed at that time.

We request you to take up these issues urgently with the Government of India. We also enclose relevant information and documents with further details.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

Sd/-

Prakash Karat

(General Secretary)

Annexure

Examples of some of the cases of acquittal and discharge of youth wrongfully charged and incarcerated

01 – Mohd Marouf Qaamar (Delhi), ….     Acquitted on 11.11.2008, Tis Hazari Court Delhi

02 – Tariq Ahmad Dar (Kashmir),           Discharge 2006    Case of Tis Hazari Court, Delhi

03 – Tasleem (Muradabad – UP), Discharge – Release on 1998, Tis Hazari Court No. 19, Delhi

04 – Najeem (Muradabad – UP) Discharge – Release on 1998, Tis Hazari  Court No. 19, Delhi

05 – Shamim Akhtar (Kolkata),  Discharge – Release on 1998, Tis Hazari Court No. 19, Delhi

06 – Syed Maqbool Shah (Kashmir) Acquitted on 08.04.2010, Patiala House Court, Delhi

07 – Mohd Aamir Khan (Delhi)  Acquitted  - 17 Cases (Delhi & NCR), Release on: 09.01.2012

08 – Haroon Rashid (Bihar),  Acquitted on Jan – 2010, Tis Hazari Court, Delhi Case

09 – Dilawar Khan (Orissa), Acquit on Jan – 2010, Tis Hazari Court, Delhi Case

10 – Salman Khurshid Kori (Manipur)Acquitted on 14.12.2011, Tis Hazari Court, Delhi Case

11 – Syed Mubarak (Sitapuri – UP)         Acquitted ………….Case of Bareli Dist Court – UP

12 – Abdul Mubeen (Sidhard Nagar)       Acquitted ……………Case of Agra Dist Court – UP

13 – Ghulam Mohd (Kanpur),                 Acquitted on 12.08.2009, Case of Kanpur City – UP

14 – Sajjad-ul-Thman, (Kishtuwar)         Discharge on 14.04.2011, Case of Lucknow – UP.

15 – Mumtaz Ahmad (Sopur)                 Acquitted on 06.08.2003 Case of GRP – Kanpur, UP.

16 – Faheem Ansari (Maharashtra)         Acquitted case of Mumbai, 26.11.2008, Session Court & Supreme Court

17 – Saba uddin (UP),  Acquitted Case of Mumbai, 26.11.2008, Session Court to Supreme Court!

18 – Jogeshvari Rly st Case,                 2 Persons Acquitted Mumbai Maharashtra Case

19 – Tilak Nagar Rly st Case,  2 Persons discharge & 2 Acquitted. Case of Mumbai,

20 – Ghaat – Kopar 2003 Case  9 Persons Acquitted, Case of Mumbai, Maharashtra

21 – Gateway of India Case,                 2 Persons Acquitted, Case of Mumbai, Maharashtra

22 – Rehmana Farooqui    Acquitted by Delhi High Court in 2007 in 2000 Red Fort Case.

Left Front will Spread Movement on Attack Against Women All Over The State: Biman Basu

The West Bengal Left Front Committee issued its absolute dissent over the rampant of anti-women crime in the State of West Bengal at Rashmani Road in Kolkata near Dharmatala. Thousands of protesters gathered today at Dharmatala to strengthen the call of the Left Front to protect women from growing social disasters that curb out social security and democratic space in West Bengal. The Left Front vowed its discontent over the passive and continual sponsorship of the State Government to the growing felony and criminalization against women. Rapes, physical harassments, incidents of abuse are getting surfaced in this state every now and then. The State Government is doing away with this towering criminalization with their hypothetical ‘created incident’ or ‘done by CPI(M)’ theories, which are not getting welcomed by common people. The West Bengal Government has created so much of ground level chaos through its autocratic attitude that the people of West Bengal are much angry than frustrated that they have no other way but to launch protest on the streets. On the 17th of November 2012 the state witnessed just one of a kind protest led by Left Front which was going to get followed by waves of protests voicing the rejection of TMC Government. The meeting was presided over by the Left Front Chairman Biman Basu; it was women of this state on the front-foot this afternoon.

Left Front Chairman Biman Basu while addressing the crowd pointed out that there are plenty of cases where TMC leaders are allegedly associated with such incidents. He also made it clear how the State Government’s responses with ‘created incident’ theory that either way deciphers their attitude towards criminalization against women. Sharply criticizing the role of state police Basu mentioned how the police have been acting indifferently or in some cases counter-productively to the victims of those brutal incidents. Innocent college girls are not even spared these days from the wild intensions of the offenders who are mostly TMC supporters, said Basu. He also mentioned that the State Government’s passive endorsement had caused the towering high on this sort of anti-women crime which we are tolerating every day. It is not only the subject of anti-women crime that the Chief Minister is endorsing, same way she is doing away with the disasters of police firing either at Loba Village, Birbhum or at Tehatta, Nadia. The way she is trying to cover up the incidents translates either to a direct endorsement of anarchy which may be in some way or other helping her or her party to do whatever she is targeting for, or on her gross incompetence to maintain social rest, law and order. It is the people of this state who are facing series of attacks, molestation and killing every day. Basu asked people of the state of West Bengal to unify and fight against the role of the Government. He then issued ultimatum to the State Government that this specific meeting is not the ending; it marks the start of continuous protest movements against their anti-people installations. 

The leader of opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra started addressing the huge gathering by expressing his concern over growing rate of crime against women throughout India. He discussed about the situation of Hariyana, Karnataka and Delhi regarding this issue. Then coming back to West Bengal he drew everyone’s attention by saying that the larger share of anti-women crimes are being committed in the rural areas of the state. So it was his understanding that protest movements must have to be organized in rural areas, village specific mobilization discarding those criminal tendencies against women is a must to do task for every leftist of the state. Speaking on the state sponsorship to the criminal offenders he said that if the people are aware of the attitude of the Government then they must translate their discontent in to massive protests. It is the misfortune of the people of West Bengal that Left Front Government is not in power; when women are attacked, molested, that means democracy is under attack. The draconian TMC Government has turned this state to an endangered state in just 19 months, said Mishra. He also said that it is the utmost priority of the leftists to stand beside the oppressed people; the duty of Left Front workers start with helping people out there. He thoroughly discussed the cases of the developed countries where women are playing key role, women are accounted for 2/3rd of net labour worldwide where they are consuming only a half of net production and wealth generated. If leftists are sworn to fight for the peasant’s rights and labour interests, if the leftists are foot soldiers of class struggle, Mishra mentioned that then fighting for the rights of women is no split phenomenon than that. All the issues of social disorder, capitalist oppression and the issues of caste division must be addressed uniquely but the protests must be united in order to deliver the gravest blow to the anti-people ruler to ensure the emancipation of the oppressed, said Mishra. CPI State Secretary Manjukumar Majumder, RSP leader Mihir Byne and Manoj Bhattacharya were among the left leaders, who spoke to the gathering regarding the issue of growing attack against women.

SFI All India Protest Day on 19th November

The Central executive committee of the Students’ federation of India in strongest possible words condemns the recent spate of Imperialist aggression spearheaded by Israel leading to an unrelenting military attack on the Gaza city killing as many as twenty one people including a number of children in the last three days.

More than 280 strikes have been launched against Gaza in the last 72 hours, killing 21 Palestinians and injuring almost 200 people. Those killed include Hamas military chief Ahmad Jaabari and a number of innocent children.

The US backed Zionist aggression has been the root cause of current crisis in Gaza. In the meeting of the UN Security Council USA has again shamelessly advocated for Israel clearly reflecting its own strategic designs.

The UPA government in the centre has again chosen to remain silent on this issue debunking the historic position of our country, which has always stood with the liberation struggle of Palestinian people.

 
We demand that the central government must immediately denounce the Israeli aggression and work with other countries to push for immediate truce in Gaza.
The CEC of SFI stands in complete solidarity with the people of Palestin

e and calls upon all its units to rise in protest against the heinous and barbaric Israeli aggression. The CEC of SFI calls upon all its units to observe an All India Protest Day on 19th of November throughout the country in this regard.

AIKS Condemns the firing on Sangli farmers in Maharashtra

The All India Kisan Sabha strongly condemns the heinous police firing on protesting farmers at Sangli in Maharashtra on 12th November. One farmer died in the incident. Another farmer who was part of the protest was run-over by a truck. AIKS offers its condolences to the families of the bereaved. Kisan Sabha demands Rs.10 lakh compensation and a Government job to one member of each of the families of the deceased. 

The sugarcane farmers in different parts of Maharashtra have been on a consistent organised struggle demanding not less than Rs.3000/tonne as the first advance and Rs.3600/tonne as the final price for sugarcane in the State. The AIKS has been part of this struggle and have been carrying on a united struggle for remunerative prices. In the run-up to these struggles on 21st October 2012, a 500-strong Convention had been organised jointly by the AIKS, CITU and AIAWU at Ambajogai in the Beed District of Marathwada region comprising of sugarcane farmers, sugarcane cutters and sugar factory workers which took up demands of all three toiling sections.

Meanwhile, in the Kolhapur District of South Maharashtra, four Left and secular parties had come together to form a Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti and have held large demonstrations for remunerative price to sugarcane farmers. The AIKS has been a part of the struggle in Kolhapur including other organisations of the peasantry like the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana. The struggle has now spread to other cane growing areas and sugarcane farmers in Beed, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Pune and Sholapur Districts have been agitating with the demand that Rs.3000/tonne be fixed as the first advance on sugarcane purchase this season. In Ahmadnagar and Parbani Districts the Kisan Sabha has been independently carrying out this struggle from the last few months. On 9th November 2012 there was a miltant demonstration by over a thousand farmers at Pune under the banner of the Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti. It was in the course of the continuing struggle of sugarcane farmers, cutters and sugar factory workers that this brutal police firing took place.

Yet again police fired on protestors on 14th November also. Police have arrested 152 protestors while no action has been taken on the police officials guilty of firing causing injury and death. This exposes the fact that the Congress-NCP led State Government is taking a confrontationist stand openly in favour of the sugar lobby and is least bothered about resolving the issue through negotiations. It is to be noted that the Congress-NCP State Government in line with the Congress-led Central Government and the Agriculture Ministry’s proposal to decontrol sugar industry, decided not to intervene in sugarcane pricing this year even before the Rangarajan Committee recommendations have got Parliamentary sanction. The Government is shirking its responsibility and wants the peasantry to settle the issue directly with the sugar mills and cooperatives. The private millers and cooperative sugar factories have refused to pay Rs.3000/tonne and were offering only between Rs.2100/tonne to Rs.2300/tonne.

Notably the private sugar mills in different parts of India owe arrears of over Rs.10,500 crores to sugarcane farmers. The ruling class has not made any sincere effort to recover this amount and give it back to the farmers. In Maharashtra a vast majority of the cooperatives and sugar mills are directly owned or controlled by the leaders of the Congress-NCP combine or the BJP-Shiv Sena combine. Hence none of these parties are interested in resolving the issue or paying remunerative prices to the sugarcane growers.

The AIKS along with the different Farmers’ organisations that are part of the Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti is organising a massive protest Dharna on 16th November in Kolhapur against the police firing. This will be followed by a massive protest rally in Mumbai on 26th November 2012.  We warn that protests will be intensified if the Government continues with its insensitive stand.

CPI(M) to contest from six seats in Gujarat Assembly Elections

CPI(M) announced to contest next month's Gujarat Assembly polls from atleast ten constituencies  and also brought out its election manifesto at Ahemdedabad on Friday. 

"In Gujarat, our party is going to contest total ten seats. Today we are releasing a list of six candidates and we will later announce other names," former MP and central CPI(M) leader Sukomal Sen said while releasing the party manifesto.  Sen said that the party promises to take up issues related to food security and providing 35 kg of grain at Rs 2 per kg to poor people. 

Criticising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government, he alleged that there was no difference between the economic policies of the Congress-led UPA government and Modi-led Gujarat government and described them as being "anti-people."

Talking about Modi's recent Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra, Sen said, "During his yatra, Modi very conveniently omitted what Vivekananda had said about the Hindu-Muslim unity." 

CPI(M) is in talks with rebel BJP MLA Kanubhai Kalsaria to extend support to each other's candidate in the coming elections. Kalsaria has decided to field seven candidates of his recently-formed Swabhiman Manch.

State CPI(M) secretary Arun Mehta said that the party would field candidates from Visavadar (Junagadh), Rajkot (East), Umargam (Valsad), Jamnagar Rural, Khedbrahma (Sabarkantha) and Santrampur (Panchmahal). "At present, there is a crisis of morality and honesty in both the major political parties of the state. And CPM is the only political party which stood the test of honesty and right now Gujarat is in need of honest and moral leadership," Mehta added. 

CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat will address a public rally in Bhavnagar during the election campaign. Other national leaders, like party general secretary Prakash Karat, MP Sitaram Yechuri, former MPs Suhasini Ali, Mohammad Salim, Nilotpal Basu and MLA from Rajasthan Amara Ram are also likely tocampaign.