215 sentenced to jail in Vachathi case

CPIM cadres under the leadership of Com. Dili Babu MLA held demonstration hailing the verdict

More than 19 years after forest and police officials descended on Vachathi, a tribal hamlet in western Tamil Nadu, and committed atrocities on hapless villagers in a raid said to be against sandalwood smuggling, a district and sessions court here on Thursday found 215 government officials and employees guilty and handed down prison terms ranging from two years to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. Seventeen persons were convicted of the charge of rape. 

Among the senior officials found guilty by Principal District and Sessions Judge S. Kumaraguru were a retired Conservator of Forests, two serving Conservators and an Additional Chief Conservator of Forests. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which was directed by the Madras High Court to investigate the case, arraigned 269 officials of the Forest, Police and Revenue Departments, but only 215 lived to receive the verdict in a court thronged by victims, their family members and activists who had supported them over the years. The remaining 54 officials are dead.

On June 20, 1992, a large contingent of officials entered Vachathi following information that sandalwood was being illegally felled and smuggled. The team claimed to have recovered a huge quantity of sandalwood from a riverbed. 

Later, the villagers complained that under the pretext of conducting a search, the raiding party had ransacked their property, destroyed houses and killed their cattle.

The most shocking charge was that the men in uniform had raped 18 women. The State government denied the charges. The then Forests Minister, K.A. Sengottaiayan, now Agriculture Minister, had accused the entire village of being involved in sandalwood smuggling, and when a team of officials went there for investigation, the villagers had attacked them. 

However, in 1995, on a writ petition filed by the then CPI (M) State secretary, A. Nallasivan, the Madras High Court handed over the probe to the CBI, which charge-sheeted the 269 officials. Later, compensation was paid to the victims.

The senior-most official convicted was the first accused, M. Harikrishnan, a retired Conservator of Forests, who was awarded a three-year prison term under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code for causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information to screen the offender, and another three years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs.1,000 in fine under Section 3(2)(1) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Accused number 2, Additional Chief Conservator of Forests P. Muthaiyan, was sentenced to jail for a year under Section 342 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC. Conservator of Forests, Dindigul, L.Nathan was given a one-year term. S. Balaji, Conservator of Forests, Chennai, was awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment on three counts, but the terms would run concurrently. He was also fined Rs.5,000.

A long, agonising wait for justice ends

The excruciating wait for justice was nearly two decades long for the people of Vachathi, a tribal hamlet in Pappireddipatti taluk, 50 km away from Dharmapuri and 16 km from Harur. Jubilation was writ large on the faces of the victims and their family members, as the final verdict of the trial court came. Some of them broke down on hearing the verdict.

‘I was just 13 then when dragged me by the hair, abused me in foul language and raped me on the bund of a lake,” recalled a victim, now 33 years old, who came to the court premises with her husband and children to watch justice being meted out.

“When I pleaded that I was a small girl studying eighth standard, the men in khaki responded saying ‘Being a girl is enough'. I was waiting with bated breath for the 19 years hoping that the long arm of justice will not spare the offenders,” he said. Her entire family was happy as the verdict, she said, came as a healing balm after barbaric acts had pushed them to the edge of their lives.

“Though it was done by men in the lower ranks, the officials were in the know of the whole incident and watched everything from a distance and it all happened with their sanction."

Paranthayi, a woman in her late 30s, said her 16-year-old daughter (name withheld) was dragged and stripped right in front of her. The men forced their way into the house showering choicest abuses. “My daughter who was taken away by 2.45 p.m. was brought back only at 9 p.m., only to be taken to the forest office at night. She has managed to survive the trauma and is in court today with her husband and three children. Our only mistake is that we hail from a suppressed community," she said.

Reacting to the judgement, P. Shamugam, State president of the Tamil Nadu Tribals Association, said in this case the verdict made up for the long and agonising wait. The delay was primarily due to the lack of co-operation and dilatory tactics adopted by those who held high offices in government. Mr.Shanmugam said though Rs 1.25 crore had been disbursed as compensation in two phases, it was disappointing.

CPI(M) MLA P. Dilli Babu said the case and the verdict were historic. “The verdict has assuaged the hurt feelings of the victims. The efforts taken by Tribals Association, AIDWA and CPI(M) have not been in vain. With regard to higher compensation for the victims of rape and those who lost their property and livelihood, CPI (M) will fight legally,” he said.

S. Chrisa Mary, president of the Dharmapuri District Unit of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), said: “It is a victory for the poor and the suppressed, and a befitting lesson to the bureaucracy and the Government.”

D.S. Kavitha, AIDWA Dharmapuri unit secretary, said the compensation of Rs 15,000 each to the 18 victims of rape is inadequate and AIDWA will fight for getting it enhanced. 

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

CPIM P.B. Communiqué

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on September 29 & 30, 2011. It has issued the following statement:

At the outset the Polit Bureau expressed its deep grief at the loss of lives suffered due to the earthquake in Sikkim, North Bengal and Bihar. The Polit Bureau urged the Central Government to assist the state government of Sikkim to take all necessary measures for the speedy rehabilitation work in the affected areas.

UPA Government & Corruption

The recent period has once again highlighted the high level corruption which had engulfed the UPA government since its inception in 2004. Apart from the unfolding 2G spectrum scandal, the CAG reports on the KG basin contract and the Air India mismanagement have reinforced the image of a totally corrupt government in the eyes of the people.

The Polit Bureau also discussed the latest exposure of the role played by the then Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, in the 2G Spectrum licence allotment. The note forwarded by the Finance Ministry to the Prime Minister’s Office has clearly delineated the role played by the Finance Minister at that time in going along with the policy and the implementation of it by the then Telecom Minister, A Raja. Despite the obfuscation by the Government, the issue is that P Chidambaram had given the green signal for a policy which led to a massive loss to the State exchequer. This is despite his ministry earlier objecting to the first come – first serve policy and the entry fee being retained at the 2001 rate.

Chidambaram Should Resign

The explanation provided by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that it is an inter-ministerial note prepared with inputs from various ministries and coordinated by the Cabinet Secretary only underlines the authoritative nature of the conclusions that have been drawn. It is not the work of any single officer or ministry. Therefore, P Chidambaram has to take responsibility for his action. The Polit Bureau demands that he resign from the Union Cabinet.

Attitude to Price Rise

The Polit Bureau strongly condemned the price hike of Rs. 3.14 per litre of petrol. This price hike has taken place when the inflation rate is hovering just below 10 per cent and there is no let up in the increase in food prices. By this act, the government has only stoked price rise and inflation.

The government’s callous attitude has also been made clear by the Planning Commission’s affidavit before the Supreme Court on the poverty line. By declaring that the poverty line for an adult is Rs. 26 in rural areas and Rs. 32 in urban areas, the government has imposed a starvation line.

The Polit Bureau demands that the cap imposed by such fraudulent basis for dividing the population into BPL and APL be abandoned. Further, the cap imposed on the number of people below the poverty line be scrapped.

The Polit Bureau demanded that the Food Security Act should be changed to ensure the universal right to food and not the targeted system.

The Polit Bureau expressed its concern at the rise in prices of DAP fertiliser and the shortage of urea in the market which is affecting the farmers.

Rath Yatra for What?

The announcement of a rath yatra against corruption by the BJP leader, L K Advani is surprising and ironical. The BJP has to answer for its record of corruption during the NDA government starting from the Tehelka tape expose of defence purchases to the sanction of petrol pumps and gas agencies.

The BJP is also accountable for the brazen corruption under its state government in Karnataka. The illegal mining and the nexus with the mining mafia which has resulted in tens of thousands of crores of rupees being looted is stark testimony to the BJP’s commitment to fight corruption. In this context, the rath yatra of the BJP leader will have no credibility whatsoever.

Ideological Resolution

The 19^th Congress of the Party held in 2008 had decided that the Central Committee should adopt a resolution on ideological issues. In this connection, the Polit Bureau discussed an outline for the draft resolution. On this basis, the draft resolution will be prepared for discussion in the Polit Bureau and the Central Committee and taken up at the Party Congress in April 2012.

Call for Campaign & Protests: November 1-7

The Polit Bureau decided that the Party should take up a countrywide campaign and protest movements on the following issues immediately:

i. Curb price rise and ensure universal right to food.

ii. Take firm action on all corruption cases and adopt an effective Lokpal Act.

iii. Ensure supply of fertilizer at subsidised prices to farmers and stop black marketing of urea.

iv. Steps to curb unemployment and fill up all vacancies in government posts.

v. Stop FDI in the retail sector; protect the interests of small shopkeepers and traders.

The Polit Bureau called upon all its Party units to conduct a campaign and to launch protest actions, including picketing and demonstrations on these issues from November 1 to 7. The state committees will chalk out the concrete programmes.

The Polit Bureau extended its full support to the call given by the Central trade unions and national federations for a `Jail Bharo’ movement on November 8. The Party will mobilise the working class to participate in this programme.

Com E Balanandan Research Foundation Website inaugurated

CPIM State Secreteriate Member and Eranakulam District Secretary Com. M V Govindan Master inaugurated the website of Com. E Balanandan Research Foundation on 22 september 2011. Com. Chandrasekhara Pillai Secretaray EBRF, Com M M Lawrance , Chairman EBRF were present during the occassion.

E Balanandan Research Foundation is a Research Institution established in memory of veteran communist leader Com E Balanandan. Com. E Balanandan, former President of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) was a pioneer in the working class movement in the country. As an uncompromising Communist and a thorough trade unionist he contributed immensely in the political spheres and in building up the working class movement in the country. The Research Foundation is basically planned do study and research on Working Class Ideology and Organisations, World Socialist/Communist Movement, Trade Union organisation and Trade related issues, Socio-economic development, Urban Planning, Rural development, energy efficient systems and practices and Information Technology with special relevance to advancement of Free software movement and enriching the Free Software such other socially owned knowledge assets. The long term perspective is to develop EBRF into a resource centre and a University for educating the workers and empowering their organisations for the advancement of the society into socialism.

State Sponsored Police Terror against protesting youth across the nation

SFI Kerala State Vice President Com. Rahim brutally attacked by police in Trivandrum while protesting against Petrol Price Hike

DYFI Trivandrum District Secretary Com Biju beaten by police

DYFI Cadres Lathicharged in Salem, Tamil Nadu

Where Opression is a Reality,,, Revolt is a Right...And we will do that...

Left activists occupy Gali Janardhan Reddy family's lands

The activists of CPI and CPI (M) symbolically occupied mango groves, purported to have been owned by the family of former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, near Kalva village under Orvakal mandal in Kurnool district on Tuesday.

CPI State secretariat member K. Ramakrishna, district secretary K. Ramanjaneyulu, city secretary S.N. Rasool, CPI (M) district secretary T. Shadrak and Raithu Sangham leader K. Jagannatham led the protest.

Redistribution sought

The leaders and activists planted party flags after going round the plot shouting slogans. The leaders urged the Revenue authorities and the government to immediately retrieve the lands from the family of Gali Janardhan Reddy and redistribute it among the poor of the village.

According to them, the land located under survey no 438 F of Kalva village was classified as Assessed Waste Dry and distributed among the poor. However, the family of Mr. Janardhan Reddy purchased the lands from the poor scheduled caste and scheduled tribe farmers at throwaway price. They said ten acre land was registered in the name of Laxmi Aruna, wife of Mr. Janardhan Reddy and another large chunk in the name of Venugopal Reddy. They alleged that the entire block of 70 acre was owned by the family of Mr. Gali Janardhan Reddy and its benami holders.

‘Punish officials'

Mr. Ramakrishna demanded that the government initiate action against officials who cooperated with the violators by delaying action. He said the Central Empowered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court quantified the mining firms' fraud at Rs. 16,000 crore.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

CPIM demands judicial enquiry into police firing in Paramkudi

CPI(M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan said a sitting judge of the Madras High Court should conduct the inquiry. G Ramakrishnan said the. In a statement, Com G. Ramakrishnan termed the arrest of John Pandian as an act of immaturity. “Two dalit boys were killed by some casteist forces in order to scare the dalits. In this tense situation, thousands of people were gathering to visit the memorial of Imanuel Sekaran in Paramakudi. The arrest of John Pandian only shows the immaturity of the police”, he said. He asked the government to take steps that would restore the people's confidence and arrest those who were behind the murder of Palanikumar.

Mr Ramakrishnan demanded an inquiry commission and sought action against the errant police officials. He also sought a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased.

TNUEF Flayed police firing on dalits

Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front strongly condemns the police firing on Dalits at Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district and Chintamani in Madurai on Sunday who went to attend the guru puja of Dalit leader Immanuel Sekaran.

In a statement issued its president P. Sampath said that it is a usual event where tens and thousands of Dalits gather to pay homage to Immanuel Sekaran who died fighting for the rights of Dalits. This year just a day before the anniversary a Dalit school student was murdered by a group belonging to the dominant caste and this murder had sparked tension in Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar districts. 

When the situation is tense and at a time when people gather in such huge numbers, it was not at all wise on the part of police to have arrested the Dalit leader John Pandian which had indeed resulted in protests at various places. TNUEF demanded that the Tamil Nadu government should institute a judicial enquiry and conduct a thorough enquiry on the whole incident of police firing. The government should announce a compensation of Rs.5 lakh as compensation and provide better treatment for the injured. The front also said that the government should take immediate steps to prevent atrocities and violence against Dalits in the State.

Protect transport workers: CITU

Secretary of All India Road Transport Workers Federation affiliated to CITU and former Kerala State Minister Elamaram Karim called for a comprehensive legislation for the welfare of transport workers at national level.

Addressing a meeting after inaugurating the Kurnool district Motor Workers Union office (which was named after comrade Basheer)  on Sunday, he described motors workers as unprotected class and highly vulnerable section in the country. He said the Central government failed to look into the problems and working conditions of the people working in the transport sector while only a few States made some Acts for the welfare of transport workers.

Mr. Karim called upon the CITU activists to start their work taking up street as a unit rather than concentrating at macro level. He said the CPI (M) had strong base in Kerala and the party lost the previous election with only a razor thin majority.

Left Front Urges People to Warn Government Through the By-Elections

Dr. Nandini Mukherjee is the Left Front nominated CPI(M) candidate at the Bhawanipore assembly constituency. Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of Jadavpur University, Dr. Nandini Mukherjee has been in the teaching profession for 20 years. She did her BE from Shibpur B. E. College in 1987, her ME from JU in 1991, and her PhD from the University of Manchester with a Commonwealth Scholarship. Afterwards she returned to India and continued teaching at Jadavpur University. She is a state and national level leader of the Free Software Movement against imperialist monopoly in the digital world. She is associated to Left politics since her student days. She is associated with FOSET, AIPSO and the Teacher's movement in Bengal. She is an elected representative of the teachers in the Executive Council of Jadavpur University.

Subid Ali Gazi is the Left Front nominated CPI(M) candidate at the Basirhat (North) assembly constituency. The seat was won by Mustafa Ben Kashem of the CPI(M) during the May Assembly elections, but became vacant following unnatural death of Kashem. Subid Ali Gazi, a retired school teacher, has been closely associated with peasant movement and biri workers’ movement.

He was elected in all three tiers of Panchayat. He was first elected in Gram Panchayat in 1978 and shouldered the responsibility of upopradhan till 1983. Then he was elected as the Sabhapoti of Hasnabad Panchayat Samity for two consecutive terms. He is a member of North 24 Parganas district committee of CPI(M). The by-election in both the constituencies will be held on 25 September. The counting of votes will be done on 28 September. The election certainly has no impact on change of Government but for the common people who are in a terrible condition due to price rise surely it is a golden chance to warn the Government. The first hundred plus days of this new Government has given birth of some fundamental questions. Though it is a very short period but the direction is amply clear. The period has already showing flashback of semi fascist terror of 1970s. Even the Mamata worship of mainstream media could not suppress that the reality and demand of Mamata Banerjee are absolutely asymmetrical. Singur case, Gorkhaland issue, Maoist problem in the state and issues related to the minorities - everywhere the untruthful stand of TMC is being unmasked.

Democratic rights of the people are under severe threat. The martyrs’ list is becoming longerevery day. The new Government could not even prepare a budget. Callousness of the new Government became naked in their inability to help the people during recent flood. The new Government is also trying to bypass all the legislative rules and conventions. The CM has openly declared that she would give preference to the students’ front cadres of her party who will participate in her forthcoming students’ brigade. In such a backdrop the by-election is extremely important. CPI(M) has urged the people to utilize the opportunity to warn the Government that they did not approve these misdirected activities in the name of change.

CPIM Note to NIC Meeting

We are herewith releasing the note submitted by Prakash Karat, General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the National Integration Council Meeting held in New Delhi today.

1. It is nearly three years since the last meeting of the National Integration Council was held in October 2008. At the outset it should be stated that the NIC has not been an effective body to tackle issues of national integration and the problem of communalism. Today we are once again going to discuss issues related to communalism and the steps to curb communal violence. The other issues on the agenda are discrimination against minorities, handling of civil disturbances and the radicalization of youth on the basis of religion and caste.

2. Communalism has social, political and economic dimensions. I do not think anyone here would argue that communalism has abated or has been significantly reduced. One of the main indicators of the malaise is the number of communal incidents that are taking place. In 2009, there were 791 communal incidents reported, resulting in 119 deaths and injuries to 2342 persons. In 2010, there were 658 incidents resulting in 111 deaths and injuries to 1971. These are figures provided by the Home Ministry. Between 2005 and 2009 on an average, 130 people have died and 2200 injured in communal violence each year. Though there is a slight reduction in the number of communal incidents in the last three years, there is no cause for satisfaction or complacency.

3. Continuance of communalism which erodes national unity and weakens the secular basis of the Republic is the result of communal ideology and the practice of communal politics; it is fuelled by religious fundamentalism and the social and economic grievances being given a communal colour. To combat communalism, it is necessary, therefore:

(i) To combat all forms of communal ideology and politics. The secular nature of the polity is getting eroded by resort to communal mobilisation. We saw the disastrous effects of such politics in 1992 on the Ayodhya issue. This politics which is sought to be given the garb of nationalism is nothing but majority communalism. Minority communalism also mirrors this approach and weakens secularism. Till political parties eschew all forms of communal politics, the problem of communalism will remain.

(ii) The espousal of communal ideology through the educational system and other State-supported institutions is a feature in some states. All such manifestations of anti-secular and communal ideology need to be curbed. Hate speech and demonisation of the minorities should be illegalised and action taken whenever required.

(iii) Terrorism: In India, a major source of terrorism is religious extremism and communal hatred. It is not enough to say “terrorists have no religion” when we know that religious extremism and communalism are the breeding grounds for terrorism. There is a direct link between communalism and terrorism in India.

In the recent years, we have seen religious extremism fuelling terrorist violence. This has been the motivation for some of the Muslim extremist groups. They continue to pose a threat as seen by the gruesome attacks recently like the blasts in Mumbai in July and the bomb blast at the Delhi High Court this week. It would be wrong to ascribe terrorism to any one community alone and make them a target of communal mobilisation. The investigations into the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Sharief and the Samjhauta Express terrorist attacks have found them to be the handiwork of certain extreme Hindutva groups. The task of combating terrorism can be successfully taken forward only when communalism and religious extremism are firmly checked.

4. Communal Violence Bill: There is a need for legislation on communal violence which can give teeth to the administrative and legal measures that have to be taken to curb communal violence and to ensure speedy punishment for the perpetrators of such violence. The law should provide for compensation and rehabilitation of the victims of such violence. It should make the administration and the police accountable for firmly putting down incidents of violence.

While doing so, two factors need to be kept in mind. The law should focus only on “Communal Violence” and not broaden itself to other forms of conflicts and violence. Secondly, the legislation should be in keeping with the federal principle wherein the state governments have the primary responsibility for maintenance of law and order and policing.

5. Discrimination: The largest minority in India, the Muslim community, suffers from deprivation and discrimination. The Sachar Committee report has brought this out comprehensively. The status of Muslims in education, employment and access to the benefits of development lags well behind the mainstream. Most of the measures suggested by the Sachar Committee remain unimplemented including the setting up of the Equal Opportunities Commission. The CPI(M) has been advocating a sub-plan for the minorities to ensure a fair share in development and social sector expenditure.

As far as the scheduled tribes are concerned, gross injustice is being done to them. We would like to point out only one issue which poses a serious threat. It emanates from the Government’s own policy. The mining policy of the government is leading to large-scale alienation of tribal land and displacement of the tribal people. The throwing open of mining to the corporates has unleashed a ferocious onslaught on the basic rights and livelihood of the tribal people.

6. Civil Disturbances: The methods to deal with civil disturbances are mired in the colonial framework. This was seen graphically in the civil unrest witnessed in the Kashmir valley in 2010. During the summer months of that year, more than 120 young people were shot dead by the police and security forces all across the valley. `Shoot to kill and maim’ was the method adopted to deal with stone-pelting youth. Tackling civil mass unrest like an insurgency is at the root of this inhumane approach. Urgent measures are required to train the police to deal with mass protests and civil unrest.

We also find increasing intolerance of mass protests and demonstrations. The right to assembly is being drastically curtailed. In city after city there are no places for people to assemble to protest and to demand their rights. These democratic rights are being curtailed by permanent bans on such assemblies in public places by the administration and often by judicial fiats. We have seen recently how in the Capital too peaceful protests against corruption were sought to be suppressed. Curtailing democratic rights and blocking avenues of peaceful protests will only fuel unrest and civil disturbances.

7. Radicalisation of Youth: Youth being radicalized would be a positive phenomenon if it results in the youth embracing a radical vision for social, economic and political change. In the absence of such a phenomenon, the radicalization of youth on religious, communal and sectarian agendas will be harmful and damage the development of a secular and harmonious society. First of all, it is necessary to understand the roots of the alienation and why there is an appeal of some extremist platforms for the youth. This stems from a system which produces glaring socio-economic inequalities and the deprivation of the basic needs of young people. Unemployment is a blight on the future of the youth. The latest National Sample Survey data (2009-10) shows a dramatic deceleration in the total employment growth from an annual rate of around 2.7 per cent during 2000-2005 to only 0.8 per cent during 2005-2010. The policy of the Central Government is to cut employment in the State sector. There are 10,81,336 vacancies lying unfilled in the central government. The government’s philosophy seems to be that `let jobs be created by the market’ and the State has no role to play in generating employment. Unemployed and deprived of social justice, some of the frustrated youth get inveigled by divisive slogans based on communalism, sectarianism, caste and regional chauvinism.

The challenge is to provide the youth of our country with a stake and commitment to social and economic transformation; to be able to give them scope for productive employment and a belief that they can lead their lives with social justice and dignity. This requires a change from the present economic order and policies which promote greed, crony capitalism, loot of national resources and corruption. The youth will definitely respond to such a change and a radical vision.

CITU demand amendment in J&K Accountability Act

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) demanded amendment of the Jammu and Kashmir Accountability Commission Act and Rules to give more teeth to the anti-graft State Accountability Commission (SAC) to curb the menace of corruption in the state.

The state committee of the Jammu and Kashmir CITU, which met under the chairmanship of Kulgam MLA M Y Tarigami, passed four resolutions at its meeting here, which included amendment of the Accountability Commission Act, construction of hydel power projects on the Chenab river and protection of trade union rights and labour laws in the state.

In a statement issued in Jammu, the first resolution, demanded amendment of the Act and Rules governing the State Accountability Commission (SAC) to make it more effective in weeding out rampant corruption in public office. ‘’The resolutions also demanded protection of the rights of trade union workers engaged in various construction projects in the state to pursue their genuine and just demands besides strict adherence and implementation of labour laws in the state in the interest of a congenial working atmosphere at work places,’’ the statement said.

The CITU members, however, further demanded that the hydel power projects identified for construction on the Chenab river, including Kiru, Pakul Dool, Rattle and Swalakote should be taken up for execution at the earliest and local unemployed youth must be engaged in the construction of these power projects. ‘’Payment of a regular honorarium to workers of the non-profit Association for Social and Health Advancement (ASHA) and Mid-Day Meal workers was among other demands of the CITU members,’’ the statement added.

High-level of corruption a byproduct of Liberalisation : Prakash Karat

The high-level corruption in the country is because of the economic regime that has been instituted in the last 20 years in the name of liberalisation and privatisation, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said in Tiruchi (Tamil Nadu) on Monday.

Unless we break the nexus of big capitalists, ruling politicians and bureaucrats that was looting public resources, and change the policies, we cannot end high-level corruption in the country, Mr. Karat said, speaking at the Golden Rock Martyrs Day function organised in the sprawling Golden Rock railway colony in the city.

Alleging that the economic policies was helping large-scale corruption and allowing big corporates to loot scarce resources, Mr. Karat said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government had no intention to change any policies breeding corruption in the country.

On the other hand, it planned to carry forward policies that would increase corporate loot and large-scale corruption, he said referring to the Centre's proposed move to allow industrial houses to start private banks in the country.

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had nationalised all banks owned by industrial houses in 1969, but the Manmohan Singh government was doing a turnaround by permitting big industrial houses to start banks. This move would transfer large-scale corruption to the banking sector, Mr. Karat said.

He said the large-scale corruption in the mining sector came about after it was thrown open to the private sector in the 1990s, while calling for changing the mining policy. Mining should be allowed only by State-run and public sector companies as it was in vogue in the 1980s, he added.

Along with an effective Lok Pal to look into cases of corruption, the country needed a separate judicial legislation to check corruption in higher judiciary and electoral reforms besides change in economic policies, he observed.

The Left parties would carry on its struggle against high-level corruption and the harmful economic policies to stop the loot of public resources. It was essential to build a powerful movement of working class, women and students to fight corruption.

He said the Left parties could only claim to fight corruption in public life as nobody in the Left parties could be accused of being corrupt, Mr. Karat said. Earlier, he released a book on the life of veteran CPI (M) leader N. Sankaraiah authored by his younger brother N. Ramakrishnan.

Veteran CPI (M) leaders R. Umanath and N. Sankaraiah were honoured by the Party General Secretary on the occasion. CPI (M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan and party's central committee member U. Vasuki spoke on the occasion.

(Courtesy : The Hindu, Gavaskar Theekathir)

DYFI protest in front of job exchanges in Kerala against government move to raise retirement age

Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists laid siege to employment exchanges and other government offices across the Kerala on Monday to protest against the government move to raise the retirement age of State government employees.The activists raised slogans accusing the United Democratic Front (UDF) government of denying jobs to thousands of unemployed youth in the State and warning it of grave consequences if it went ahead with the move to peg the age of superannuation higher.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the DYFI activists marched to the Secretariat and held a sit-in. The march was inaugurated by DYFI State secretariat member I.B. Satheesh. At Kattakkada in the district, DYFI central committee member K.S. Sunil Kumar inaugurated the march to the local employment exchange.

In Ernakulam, DYFI State secretary T.V. Rajesh, MLA, inaugurated the march to the Kanayannur taluk office. State joint secretary S. Sathyapalan inaugurated a march to the Payyannur employment exchange in Kannur. In Thrissur, the march was inaugurated by secretariat member T.K. Vasu, in Pathanamthitta by State vice-president N. Sajikumar, and in Malappuram by secretariat member V.P. Rajeena.

In a statement DYFI State President M.B. Rajesh, MP, and T V Rajesh called upon the government to give up the move to increase the retirement age and warned it of strong agitation if it did not do so.

Don't Allow Business Houses to Run Banks

 

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

 

The UPA government has decided to allow corporates to set-up banks. By this, the policy of bank nationalization undertaken by the Indira Gandhi government in 1969 will stand completely overturned.  In the light of the global financial crisis sparked off in 2008 by the profligacy of banks and financial speculation, this is an irrational decision.

 

The Finance Minister had made an announcement regarding new bank licenses for private players in his 2010 budget speech. Following up on that announcement the Reserve Bank of India has released Draft Guidelines for Licensing of New Banks in the Private Sector on August 29, 2011, which makes industrial and big business houses eligible for opening new banks.

Prior to bank nationalization, the big business houses of India used their control over banks to divert bulk of the bank advances to large and medium-scale industries. Bank nationalization had helped in the expansion of bank branches in the rural and semi-urban areas and ensured credit flow to the priority sectors, i.e. agriculture, small-scale industries and exports. Even when licenses to private banks were issued in the post-liberalization period (in 1993 and 2001), big business houses were prohibited from getting licenses. The UPA-II government wants to abandon this long-standing policy.

Allowing industrial houses to own banks would allow them to corner bulk of the credit for their own businesses through connected lending. It will be impossible to assess risks and regulate the banking sector in such a scenario. Moreover, it will further the concentration of financial power and political influence. It is for these reasons that many countries, including the United States, prohibit industrial houses from operating banks. South Korea prohibited industrial houses from promoting new banks following the financial crisis in 1997.

 

Banks run by big business houses will increase the scope for large-scale financial malpractices. The recent scams involving big business highlight the danger of financial swindles in such banks that will deprive the people who deposit in such banks of their hard-earned savings. 

 

The public sector banks have the best record as far as meeting priority sector lending norms and branch expansion in rural and semi-urban areas are concerned. 67 per cent of bank branches of the SBI are located in the rural and semi-urban areas. Moreover, the SBI currently has reserves amounting to nearly Rs. 65000 crore. The other public sector banks also have high reserves. This huge capital lying with the public sector banks can be used to expand bank branches and ensure financial inclusion.

The draft RBI guidelines also allow initial foreign shareholding in the new private banks upto 49 per cent, which can be increased to 74 per cent after five years. This will open the way for the entry of more foreign banks into India. Many of these foreign banks have been responsible for highly imprudent and speculative practices which led to the financial crisis in 2008. In contrast, the Indian banking sector – dominated by the public sector banks – has robustly withstood the global financial crisis. Despite this experience, the government is trying to open up the banking sector and seeking to amend the provision of the Banking Regulation Act which caps voting rights in the bank boards at 10 per cent. The CPI (M) strongly opposes these moves.

 

The UPA government should not proceed with this measure which will have incalculable harmful consequences for the economy and the country. The Polit Bureau calls upon all political parties, trade unions, mass organisations and concerned citizens to oppose this retrograde move.

Parliament March Of Left Parties Against Corruption

Asserting that enactment of the Lokpal Bill is not enought to check graft, Left leaders on September 2 said the country needs laws for poll and land reforms and tackling corruption by corporates.

Addressing a protest rally in Delhi , CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat accused the UPA government of being the "most corrupt" in independent India with "a scam is being unearthed every single day" and found fault with the economic policies pursued by it.

He said that the country needs legislations to tackle corruption in judiciary and on land and electoral reforms.

"We need a strong Lokpal. But one single Lokpal will not help us in the fight against corruption," he told protesters, a view echoed by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leaders A B Bardhan and D Raja and Forward Bloc''s Debabrata Biswas.

Karat said the government bill does not have provision for bringing the corrupt practices of corporates under the ambit of Lokpal or bringing the whole bureaucracy under the ombudsman.

"Thousands of acres of land are being acquired by government. Lokpal alone is not helpful in tackling the issue of land acquisition. For that what we need is a strong (land acquisition) law," he said.

He said right to recall is not the main issue on electoral reforms but how to tackle the influence of money in election process. "It is not the right to recall but first, it should be ending corrupt practices in elections that should be our aim," he said.