CPI(M) declares mayor, deputy mayor candidates for Shimla municipal poll

Tikender Panwar

Sanjay Chauhan

First of the mark, Communist Party of India (Marxists) have announced their candidates for mayors and deputy mayors election for Shimla municipal poll to be held in May. 

District committee secretary Onkar Shad in a communiqué named Sanjay Chauhan as the CPI (M) candidate for mayor and Tikender Panwar for the deputy mayor’s position.The party also declared two other candidates for the ward elections. While Diksha Thakur has been named the party candidate for the Summer Hill ward, Saksham Verma would be contesting from the Nabha ward.

Much importance is being attached to the civic polls as it comes up a few months before the general assembly elections and is being contested on party symbols for the first time.

Breaking from the past, the election for the mayor and deputy mayor post is being held by way of a direct election in the municipality. The municipality has been divided into 23 wards for which councilors would be elected separately.
Courtesy : Hillpost

Victory for Tribal Agitation in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu state government  on Tuesday agreed to launch a special recruitment drive to appoint teachers for tribal residential schools in the wake of the protest organised by the Tamil Nadu Tribals Association in Chennai. Com. Brinda Karat, CPIM P B member who led the protest, said she and the tribals would not leave the city until the government agreed to their demands.

She alleged that the Centre and the State governments, with a few exceptions, deprived tribals of the funds allotted to them under the tribal Sub-Plan. “The governments are not ready to recognise tribes and it is being used as an instrument to deny tribals their resource,” she said, participating in a protest organised by the tribals here. She said tribals in Erode were being denied community certificates after the district was carved out of Coimbatore. She said minerals such as bauxite and iron ore were available aplenty in tribal areas, but the country's mineral wealth was being looted with the resources going to corporate houses, domestic and multi-national.

“In many parts of the world, tribals are stakeholders not only in the surface land, but also sub-surface minerals. But [in India] a Bill pending before a Parliamentary Standing Committee seeks to give funds to the District Mineral Foundation and not to the tribals who are direct stakeholders.”

Even as she was sitting with the protesters, a team of CPI(M) leaders, including Legislature Party leader A. Soundararajan, whip K. Balakrishnan, another MLA Dillibabu, and association president P. Shanmugam held talks with the government. The government side was represented by Speaker D. Jayakumar and Adi Dravidar Welfare Minister N. Subramanian. As the first round of talks failed to make any progress, Revenue Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan held another round of meeting and ended the stalemate.

“The government has agreed to fulfil many of our demands, including special recruitment to select teachers for tribal residential schools,” said Mr. Shanmugam, pointing out that 50 per cent posts were remaining vacant.

When the leaders raised the issue of 21,000 applications, pending with the government, for rights to pattas and use of forest produce vested on the tribals under the Forest Rights Act, the government said over 3,000 applications had been processed and finalised. But the CPI(M) leader wanted the government to consider all the applications. Mr. Shanmugam said the government would take a decision on providing compensation to the Vachathi victims in two days after getting a report from the Dharmapuri Collector. (On June 20, 1992, forest and police officials descended on Vachathi, a tribal hamlet, and committed atrocities on villagers in a raid said to be against sandalwood smuggling.) After the protest, the government agreed to issue community certificates to children if the parents produced genuine certificates. 

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

CPI(M) calls for united struggle against reforms in Andhra Pradesh

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has given a call for a united struggle by farmers and workers against the policies pursued by the Central and State governments. The party city unit organised a meeting at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram in Vijayawada on Tuesday.

CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu said that the reforms were pushing the country into crisis. The government's tall assurances that investments would flood the country with reforms turned out be a blatant lie. Across the globe and in US, the people were up in arms against the capitalism, he said. The steep hike in power tariff was a result of the reforms carried out the by the government.

The government dismantled the electricity board into three companies only to encourage private power companies like Lanco, GVK, and Konaseema. The private power companies were looting the State. If the government succeeded in its endeavour to set up private thermal stations from Srikakulam to Nellore, the power would be a dearer commodity. Then, it was not possible to predict how the power tariff would be, he said.

Sompeta, Kakarapalli, and Krishnapatnam agitations were a result of the dissatisfaction of artisans, farmers and tenant farmers who lost their livelihood. The farmers invaded market yard in Warangal to express their anguish and dissatisfaction to the government. The Congress and BJP were sailing on same boat with regard to reforms, he said.