Gender and legal studies centre at Kozhikode inaugurated

The Centre for Gender and Legal Studies, set up by the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) in Kozhikode distritct, Kerala, was inaugurated on Sunday by AIDWA national general secretary Sudha Sunder Raman. The centre is being set up in memory of late communist leader Susheela Gopalan. 

The idea of a man paying his wife for the household work she does is an insult to womanhood, Sudha Sunder Raman said. “The proposal devalues women,” she said, referring to a Bill proposed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development that men give their homemaker wives a salary. “Women should realise that these thoughts are influenced by globalisation. Today’s legal system is controlled by the interests of the ruling parties,” she added. She said ruling parties were trying to make the life of common man miserable by joining hands with capitalist forces. It was mainly women who suffered because of the cap on LPG use, she said.

State secretary of AIDWA and president of the Society for Gender and Legal Studies K.K. Shailaja presided. AIDWA national vice-president T.N. Seema; State treasurer P.K. Sainaba, Society secretary P. Satheedevi; and AIDWA district secretary M.K. Nalini were present.

CITU condemns the highest ever increase in prices of Diesel

The Secretariat of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has issued the following statement to the media:

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) strongly condemns the highest ever increase in prices of Diesel and also putting a cap with the most insufficient quantity of only Six subsidized Cylinders of cooking gas for a family in a year. This means people will have to purchase the remaining requirement at exorbitant price from the open market. Now the same Government is giving subsidy in the name of bailing out the capitalist class and heavily burdening the working class by withdrawing subsidy on such item of most essential mass domestic necessity. 

This hike in price of Diesel will have serious cascading impact on prices of every commodity and will result in increase in the economic burdens on the masses in the country. In a situation of unprecedented back-breaking level of continuing rise in prices of all commodities including food items, this hike in prices of Diesel and LPG cylinders shall act as fuel in burning fire and will further increase the sufferings on the people at unbearable level. 

The reasons attributed to the increase are a fraud on the people of the country. All the oil companies, both public and private, have reported huge incremental profits. The claims of losses and so called huge ‘under-recoveries’ and resultant financial crisis are based on imaginary false calculations which have been totally exposed by CITU with facts and figures in the past.
CITU calls upon all the trade unions and workers to unitedly protest against this flagrant class offensive of the government and conduct mass agitation demanding withdrawal of the price increase of Diesel and removal of the imposition of the limit on subsidised cooking gas cylinders.

Tripura LF calls for bandh on Sept: 20 against Diesel price Hike

The Left Front in Tripura has called for a dawn-to-dusk general strike on Thursday against FDI in multi-brand retail sector, media and aviation, hike of diesel and allocation of cooking gas cylinders, as part of the agitation announced by eight regional parties including CPI-M. CPI-M state secretary Bijan Dhar said on Sunday that they would compel the government to roll back the decision for common people.

He, however, pointed out that India has a retail market of 535 billion US dollar but allowing 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail and 100 percent in single brand retail would leave as many as a crore people jobless. Moreover, 49 percent foreign investment in aviation sector and 74 percent in media would collapse Indian sovereignty, integrity and interest. This reflects that Indian independence is now at stake, Dhar observed.

Expressing concern over the future of unemployed youths, he said, "Left parties have been opposing the so-called strategic alliance in defence, investment sector and aviation but the Centre has surrendered to the US by allowing investment in all vital sectors."

He alleged that Congress-led UPA government is working at the behest of industrialists and foreign capitalists and this is quite evident from their arguments in favour of FDI. "To make up Rs 520 lakh core of deficit in current fiscal and ensure 8.2 percent growth in 12th five year plan, the Manmohan Singh government opened disinvestment for four profit making PSUs including two Navratna and allowed FDI in retail sector that is expected to manage Rs 15,000 cr, which is fabricated and anti-people."

The UPA II had announced tax holiday of Rs 528 lakh crore in its last budget for a few capitalists and made the budget deficit of Rs 520 lakh crore and now Indians are facing an uncertainty only because of the anti-people stand of the government.

Earlier, Tripura Chief minister Manik Sarkar had said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has succumbed to the pressure of US and the decisions of the Union cabinet bear testimony to this.

He also said, "Two leading media organisations who are propagating globalisation have strongly criticized Singh and that virtually compelled him to take the decision ignoring the people of the country."

"The decision of the Manmohan Singh government over the past two days has given a clear indication that he doesn't have any other option but to surrender to the US to ensure the protection of interest of the international finance capital and Walmart," Sarkar said.

(Courtesy : Times Of India)

LDF to conduct protest march in every Assembly constituencies in Kerala

The Left Democratic Front in Kerala will conduct protest demonstrations against the recent hike in diesel price and the decision to allow FDI in retail trade. The protest in all assembly constituencies will be held on 20th September in tune with the protest demo across the country announced by the left parties.  LDF convenor Com. Vaikom Viswan asked each and every Keralite to be part of this protest demo. He added that Kerala will be the worst to hit by the increase in Diesel price as Kerala is considered to be a consumer state.

Left parties call 12-hour strike in West Bengal on September 20

Left parties today announced a 12-hour general strike in West Bengal on September 20 to protest against government's decision on diesel price, LPG cylinders and FDI in multi-brand retail.  CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat told to press person That left and other non-BJP parties to continue protests in various forms against these measures, saying "as far as the Left is concerned, the battle will not be over on September 20" . He warned that they will not allow retail chains to function whereever they open shops in the country.

Earlier, Left Front chairman in West Bengal Biman Bose said the strike would be enforced in the state from 6.00 AM to protest against the "anti-people decisions of the UPA government," and called upon the people to respond to it.

"Everybody is opposed to it (FDI in muti-brand retail, except Manmohan Singh, who is more sensitive to criticism in foreign land," he said referring to some articles in US publications that have alleged that "he is not performing, not allowing FDI in retail." "What is said in Washington and London is more important for the Prime Minister than the interest of the people of the country," he alleged. "The UPA government has announced a series of measures which will harm the interests of people of the country, starting with diesel price hike and limiting of subsidized cooking gas cylinders to six per year while expecting a family to buy six more in the market price which will be double the amount," Karat said.

Stressing that the Left has always opposed the continuous process of hiking of prices of pretroleum products and demanded restructuring of tax structure on petro products, Karat said, "In the current increase, we have pointed out that you are making a false statement on losses by petroleum companies, whether it is IOC, ONGC or Hindustan Petroleum.
  

"None has reported any loss and many of these companies are making huge profits and paid dividends to the government," he said. "The notion of under-recoveries by oil companies is false," he said. The increase of diesel prices by Rs five per litre in retail would immediately increase the inflation rate, the CPI(M) general secretary warned.
 

Criticising the government for allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, Karat said, "Since 2005, the Prime Minister has been trying to get this through. I don't know why this interest in getting Walmart in India." "Ours is a country where shops employ four crore people. After agriculture, this is the largest employment provider in India.... Into this scenario, you want to bring these supermarket chains, which will destroy the retail shops."

"In western countries this has happened. No retail shop exists where there are these large multi-brand chains," he said. Claiming that all political parties, except the Congress were against FDI in multi-brand retail, Karat said, "I would like to challenge the Congress to show even two or three parties which have changed their stand and favoured it." "The entire Opposition is opposed to it, from the right to the left," he said.

 "Regional parties which are in power have opposed it -- chief ministers Jayalalitha, Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, Nitish Kumar or even their own allies, the Trinamool Congress and the DMK are opposed to it," he said.  "Already we have said that this Prime Minister should be investigated for his role in coal block allocation scandal. He was the minister-in-charge for four years," Karat said.

"Today, if he thinks his government can get away with such anti-nation, anti-people policies, he is mistaken," he said. Asked about the Trinamool Congress' deadline of 72 hours to withdraw the measures announced, Karat wondered, "I don't know why the Trinamool Congress cannot stop it despite being in the Cabinet. During UPA I, we were not in the government, we were providing outside support.

 "If we could stop it for four years, why couldn't they stop it now?" he wanted to know Karat said, "This is for the first time we are hearing of concern expressed by the Congress for the states. When we ask for PDS to the people or not to reduce fertiliser subsidy, they don't listen. Suddenly they are saying that they are not enforcing it, it is up to the states to allow foreign multi-brand retail chains. "Only the Congress-ruled states like Haryana and Delhi have accepted it," he said.

"We will continue to struggle to ensure that none of these chains, whether Walmart or any other, will set up shop," he said. "We have discussed with other parties (in) the short time we had, we have announced this all-India protest action on September 20. We shall meet again and if the government continues to go ahead with its policies, we will have to intensify action," Karat said.