G. Ramakrishnan chosen CPI(M) Tamil Nadu State Secretary

The State Committee of the CPI(M) elected G. Ramakrishnan as the party’s new State Secretary on Sunday.

A press release from the party said Mr. Varadarajan, current State Secretary, had requested the State committee to relieve him as he was unable to function effectively due to old age and health conditions.

The three day meeting of the State committee held in Chennai on February 12, 13 and 14, accepted Varadarajan’s request and unanimously elected Mr. Ramakrishnan as the new secretary.

Mr. Ramakrishnan (60), a native of Villupuram district, is a member of the party’s central committee and State Secretariat.

A lawyer by training, Mr. Ramakrishnan joined the party in 1969, actively working for the Students Federation of India (SFI). He practised for eight years as a lawyer in Cuddalore before becoming a full-time party member in 1981. He has been active in its various organisations including the DYFI and CITU.

He was elected to the State Secretariat in 1989 and to the Central Committee in 2008 at the all India Conference held at Coimbatore.

The State Secretary is usually elected at the State conference of the party. The Conference, scheduled for early next year was postponed following the Central Committee’s decision to hold the 20th Congress of the Party after the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala due in May 2011. The schedule of the Party conferences will begin thereafter.

With the elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly and Local bodies expected to be held in late 2011, the State leadership had indicated the State conference could be postponed to 2012.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

CPIM on Terror stike in Pune

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

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the terror bomb blast in Pune which has claimed the lives of nine people and grievously injured another 40 or so.

Media reports on the prior warnings concerning a possible terror attack in Pune are indeed disturbing as these attacks have taken place despite this. It is imperative in the interests of the country’s internal security that such lapses be identified and rectified urgently.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) calls upon the Central Government to provide all necessary assistance to the Maharashtra state law and order machinery to jointly identify the culprits who perpetrated this heinous attack and bring the guilty to book.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this attack and wishes those injured a speedy recovery.

It's a repeat of Mumbai in Mangalore: Brinda Karat

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday condemned the illegal detention of a Muslim journalist in Mangalore for saying 'My Name is Rahim." Addressing journalists here, Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat demanded action against the police official responsible for it.

It was ironic that such a thing happened when the country saw the resistance and response of Mumbaikars to the Shiv Sena's stand against the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer. "We are seeing a repeat of the controversy surrounding My Name is Khan in Mangalore wherein a Muslim journalist has been detained by a police official," said Ms. Karat, who later submitted a memorandum to Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa.

Rama Sene violence

Referring to the violence indulged in by the Sri Rama Sene, Ms. Karat said, "We protest, disapprove of and condemn the Karnataka government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's deafening silence against the violence. This approach actually legitimises the communal and retrograde outlook of the Sri Rama Sene and, in particular, the organisation's crude approach towards women and their rights."

The CPI(M) expected that the government would take strong action against the Sri Rama Sene and those who indulged in such activities. "We also condemn the uncivilised behaviour of an office-bearer of the organisation, who abused and spat on a woman activist [AIDWA general secretary K.S. Vimala], during the same incident wherein his chief, Pramod Muthalik's face was blackened."

Double standards

"We disapprove of both these acts. But while the government has arrested the persons who blackened Mr. Muthalik's face, why has the person who abused and spat on a leading woman activist not been arrested?"

(Courtesy : The Hindu)