Left Front will Launch Campaign Against Price Rise: Biman Basu

The West Bengal Left Front Committee has decided to launch campaign and movement against price rise in its meeting on 27th August, 2013. Biman Basu, Chairman of West Bengal Left Front Committee, informed the reporters after the meeting that Left Front will launch intense campaign against price rise in all 19 districts of the state from 9th September to 14th September. The Left activists will organize mass meetings and will also organize sit-in and agitation programs. He further said that the price of essential commodities is abnormally high. He demanded Government intervention to check such price hike.

Biman Basu also informed the reporters about the new inclusion in the West Bengal Left Front Committee. Bolshevik Party of India became the new ally of Left Front. They were participating in the different programs of Left Front for last one year and expressed intention to be part of Left Front. Bolshevik Party of India became 11th party in the Left Front.

Biman Basu said that the Left Front and other Left Parties have already called for a rally on 1st September to observe anti-imperialist day. Lakhs of people will take part in that rally to raise voice against imperialist aggression over the world, domination of imperialism in Asia Pacific region and increasing US intervention in India. The central rally of South Bengal will be organized in Kolkata and Siliguri will host the central rally of North Bengal. Basu informed the reporters that the Left Front committee has written to the police for granting permission for the rally but till date has not received any reply.

Biman Basu further said that the West Bengal Left Front Committee has expressed deep concern for the communal threat appearing in different part of the country. Basu extended his appeal to all peace-loving, democratic people of the state to be conscious about the threat and take initiative so that the harmony and peace be maintained.

Demanding the resolution of the stalemate situation in Darjeeling, Basu said the Central and the state Governments and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) should immediately sit together to find out an amicable avenue. The Left Front has already demanded to hold an all party meeting to address the situation. Any rigid attitude will not be congenial for the situation, he added.

The Left Front has also demanded amendment in the date allotted for correction of voter list in the twelve municipal areas which will have election on 21st September. The correction of voter list will be held in the state during 2nd to 23rd September. The Left Front has demanded that this activity should not be conducted in those twelve municipal areas during 19th to 24th September and instead be specially conducted during 25th to 30th September for those areas.

The Left Front has also protested against the sudden withdrawal of political prisoner allowance by the state. Basu demanded that it should be reinitiated immediately. He also said that Left Front has protested against bill moved in the state assembly to amend jail-code. Such change is uncalled for, added Biman Basu.

The Left Front will observe the martyrs’ day of mass movement on 31st August to pay homage to the martyrs of the food movement of 1959 in West Bengal -

Maharashtra denounces murder of Narendra Dabholkar

Ashok Dhawale ( Secretary, CPIM Maharashtra State Committee)

Maharashtra reacted with shock, indignation and outrage at the dastardly assassination of Dr Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in the early morning of August 20. He was gunned down by two young armed men when he was on his morning walk. Top police sources said that it was a meticulously planned and premeditated murder. The needle of suspicion for this cowardly act pointed to the right-wing, obscurantist and intolerant Hindutva forces. It is now five days after this heinous murder; and yet no arrests have been made.        

All over the state for the next three days, thousands of people rallied in almost every town and city to denounce this diabolical act. Left, democratic and secular political parties and organizations took the lead in this campaign. Within an hour of the news of the murder, the CPI(M) state centre issued directives to all its units to mobilize like-minded forces throughout the state to organize immediate protest demonstrations. 

In cities like Mumbai, Pune, Satara, Nashik, Solapur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Parbhani, Nagpur, Amravati and several other places, large joint protests were held. Several leading Party comrades were among those who paid homage to the remains of Dabholkar in Pune and attended the funeral in his home town of Satara. Most sections of the print and electronic media covered this shocking occurrence in depth.

The murder of Narendra Dabholkar recalled memories of the gruesome murder of Communist MLA Krishna Desai by Shiv Sena hoodlums in 1970, and of the heinous assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse and his Hindutva cohorts in 1948.  

Dr Narendra Dabholkar, a medical doctor by training, was the Founder President of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS); the foremost champion of the Anti-Superstition Bill which the Congress-NCP state government left hanging for the last 14 years; the Editor of the popular socialist weekly ‘Sadhana’ that was founded 65 years ago by the legendary Sane Guruji; a strong proponent of rationalism and the scientific temper; one of the early activists of the ‘Ek Gaon Ek Panavtha’ (One Village, One Source of Water) campaign against the caste discrimination of Dalits that was begun in the 1970s by Dr Baba Adhav; and one of the prominent leaders of the socialist stream in the state.

Even earlier, there had been several attacks by vested interests and obscurantist forces on programmes organized by the MANS in Maharashtra under Dabholkar’s leadership. The organization challenged the rapidly proliferating religious godmen who claimed to perform miracles, to give a demonstration of these ‘miracles’ in the presence of MANS activists. None dared to take up the challenge. The same was the case with astrologers.

Dabholkar fought against a number of superstitions – like human sacrifice, black magic, witchcraft, ghosts, reincarnation and all kinds of obscurantist rituals. Recently he began a campaign against the so-called Jaat (Caste) Panchayats, which prohibited marriages outside their caste and meted out dire consequences to those who disobeyed. He was about to begin a campaign against the increasingly lucrative trade in ‘Astro Gems’. All these activities could never be to the liking of communal and obscurantist forces.

This assassination has also exposed the thoroughly opportunist and weak-kneed character of the Congress-NCP regime in the state. For the last 14 years since its advent to power in Maharashtra in 1999, it did not display the courage to enact the Anti-Superstition Act for which Dabholkar consistently fought in his last years. It actually diluted the original Bill that had been drafted with the help of Dabholkar and others. What it did not do for the last 14 years, it finally promised to do within a few hours of Dabholkar’s murder, in the form of an ordinance. What happens finally still remains to be seen. But whereas the original Bill prescribed stern punishment for 27 types of acts of superstition, the new measure has reportedly whittled them down to just 11.

This dilly-dallying on such an important issue was due to two main reasons. One was, of course, the soft Hindutva approach that has been a characteristic of the Congress in recent decades. It was afraid of the backlash that such a measure might lead to. The second reason is that many leading lights of the Congress- NCP, and naturally of the Sena-BJP as well, are ‘devout disciples’ of many of these religious godmen, and are connected with the vested interests that they represent. Hence, not enacting the Anti-Superstition Act was actually a result of the match-fixing between the ruling and main opposition combines.

Nor did the Congress-NCP regime take stern action against the forces that attacked or threatened the anti-superstition programmes held under Dabholkar’s leadership. The same has generally been its response so far as Hindutva terrorism is concerned. A few years ago, RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal elements were caught red-handed in the bomb blasts in Nanded, Parbhani, Jalna and other places. Had thorough investigation been conducted and strict action been taken then by the Congress-NCP regime, the Malegaon and other bomb blasts could have been avoided. It was only due to the single-minded determination of martyred Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare that the Hindutva connection behind the Malegaon blasts was exposed. But after his death, that trail has gone cold. The state government remains unconcerned. The murder of Narendra Dabholkar is the result.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau and the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee issued strong statements condemning the dastardly murder. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury raised the issue of Dabholkar’s murder in the Rajya Sabha, and he was supported by many other MPs. As a result, the Rajya Sabha adopted a condolence resolution mourning the death of Narendra Dabholkar – quite an extraordinary ocurrence. 

On Sunday, September 1, a large state-level condolence meeting to pay homage to Dr Narendra Dabholkar and to take a pledge to fight the communal and obscurantist forces, is being held in Mumbai on behalf of the Left and secular parties and organisations in Maharashtra, and Sitaram Yechury will be the chief guest at this meeting.

LDF Suggestions for Judicial Probe in Kerala Solar Scam

Left Democratic Front has given its  suggestions regarding the proposed judicial investigation into the solar scam to the Kerala government on August 23, 2013. In the absence of Home minister, T. Radhakrishnan, his secretary received the memo containing 32 suggestions.

LDF convener Vaikom Vishwan said that the first suggestion is to include Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the ambit of investigation as this demand is based on sufficient circumstantial evidence. He said the statements of Sridharan Nair, T. C. Mathew and M. K. Kuruvilla who were cheated by Team Solar company have also been cited. Some questions have also been raised e.g. whether any of the central ministers have been involved in the "Team Solar" company's deals, how the kickbacks were used and whether the money reached the higher spheres of government. If the Chief Minister rejects the demand for including his office in the domain of inquiry, the ongoing protest will be intensified, Vaikom Vishwan said.

In the meantime, High Court of Kerala granted bail to two accused persons, Chief Minister's close aide Tenny Joppen and T.V.actor Shalu Menon. The government has been keen to save Tenny Joppen, therefore the police never sought his custody for further interrogation and the Special Investigation Team never took him to the Chief Minister's office which was the epicentre of the solar scam.

On August 22, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy faced a huge protest in Tanur, district Malappuram. Hundreds of LDF workers showed black flags and raised slogans. The police brutally charged the workers many of whom were admitted to hospitals.

No Military Intervention in Syria

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

 

The United States and its allies are planning a military intervention in Syria against the Syrian government. For a long time, the US and NATO have been trying for a military intervention like in Libya to topple the Bashar al-Assad government. But they were thwarted because the UN Security Council did not approve such an action.

 

The current pretext for the military attack is the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government forces near Damascus. There has to be an independent investigation to substantiate this claim and if so who has used the neurotoxic agent. The US and the Western powers have no credibility in making this charge as they used a similar pretext of “weapons of mass destruction” to attack Iraq.

 

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly opposes the reported moves to launch a military attack on Syria which is to be discussed at a meeting of military chiefs of the US and its allies at Amman in Jordan. The Government of India should come out against any military intervention and advocate a political solution for the conflict in Syria.

Primary Review of West bengal Panchayat Polls in CPIM State Committee

CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee in its meeting on 22nd August while reviewing the results of the just concluded panchayat election, was of the view that wherever elections could be held combating the fear of arson, atrocity or  domination, maintaining intimate relationship with the masses, results for the Left Front has been favorable. The meeting held in Abdul Halim Hall in Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan was presided over by Politburo member Nirupam Sen. The meeting was attended by party’s general secretary Prakash Karat who called for continuing the struggle for maintaining democracy, combating the attacks of the Government. It also took a decision to launch movement on a regular basis on the necessary demands of the people. Party’s State Secretary while giving  his concluding speech spoke of the immediate organizational work and the programmes to be taken.

Prakash Karat spoke on the decisions taken in the just concluded Central Committee meeting. He said economic condition is deteriorating in a rapid and grave pace. Movement will be launched across the country on the issue of price rise, unemployment, food security, wage, land etc. Central gathering will be held in the state capitals on alternative policy. It shall start with the Chennai gathering. Emphasis shall be paid on country-wide campaign against communalism. In this context with other secular parties a central convention is being arranged in Delhi.

In a statement issued by the state committee on the just concluded Panchayat Election, it was pointed out that the Panchayat elections have been held amid wide spread violence in the rural areas. The Government turned it into an undemocratic process right from filing of nomination to withdrawal, campaign to election process and counting. People’s verdict has not been properly reflected. Even after this the ruling party is continuing with its path of violence, arson to capture the Boards. The Left Front and the party cadres have risked their lives and fought bravely to combat the attacks perpetrated throughout the election on them. Specially many new cadres who have joined as worker or supporter have faced the challenge very bravely. State Committee congratulates all these members, supporters, sympathizers and the democracy loving people.

It said in the release that review work is on but primarily it has been found that due to violence candidates could not be filed in 5206 Gram Panchayat, 782 Panchayat Samity and in 8 Zila Parishad seats. Even after filing of nomination in 2176 seats candidates have been compelled to withdraw. Barring one district, the ruling party totally captured 3834 booths and partially captured 2309 booths and has practiced rigging ruthlessly. At the time of counting leaving four district it has been found that in 1486 Gram Panchayat, 363 Panchayat Samity and 58 seats in Zila Parishad rigging have been practiced in the counting centres or results have been turned the opposite way and have been captured by the TMC. In spite of all these the percentage of votes captured by Left Front in 16 districts is 37.97%. TMC have got 43.03%. The Left Front got more than 40% votes in 4 districts, 37-40% votes in 6 districts.

The state committee also noted the rampant use of money power by the TMC in these elections. In the analysis of the results of the election, along with the political situation, the organizational weakness of the party, weakness in maintaining mass contact, weakness in running panchayats has also been pointed out. At every level of the party more detailed analysis of the results will be done

CPIM demands Convening of all-party meet on Andhra Pradesh State division

The CPI(M) has picked holes in Samaikyandhra agitation and asserted that the stir lacked political goal and objective. The party, in the same breath, however, asserted that it would favour united Andhra Pradesh even if the doubts and issues pertaining to Hyderabad, sharing of irrigation, power, and employment etc. were addressed. 

It also wanted the Government to convene an all-party meeting on the proposed division of the State. Party State Secretary B.V. Raghavulu inaugurated Nanduri Prasada Rao Sramik Bhavan at Puchalapalli Sundaraiah Library at Durgapuram, Vijayawada on Sunday. On the occasion, the CPI(M) leader said that as wolves enter a flock, cheats have entered the agitation. 

Be it politicians or associations like RTC Employees Union or PRTU, they favoured/fought for Telangana Statehood and changed their version now. The TDP, Congress and the YSR Congress leaders were hoodwinking the people with their double speak. Those parties favoured division of State. 

However, the leaders in coastal and Rayalaseema were making a hue and cry for united Andhra. The Samaikyandhra protagonists should mount pressure on their leadership to make a statement in favour of united Andhra, he said.

The spirit of federalism, democracy and secularism would be at stake if the linguistic States were divided. The division would not stop just with Telangana. There were 25 more such demands like Gorkhaland. “The communal forces like BJP and MIM will reinforce with division of State. The situation will turn turtle with a strong Centre and weak States”, he opined. Indira Gandhi was forced to conduct elections after imposing `Emergency’ just because of strong States then, he added.

Mr. Raghavulu said that the Antony Committee was a political committee and had no legal sanctity. AICC president Sonia Gandhi announced that an official committee would be constituted to note the concerns of united Andhra protagonists. There was nothing new to hear the concerns, as the Government was bound to constitute the committee if the State were to be divided. 

So, it was necessary to discuss the issue threadbare. The Centre should convene an all-party meeting. It might not address the issue in totality, but would expose the true colours of the TDP, Congress and the YSR Congress, he said.

Members of Legislative Council K. Lashman Rao and Boddu Nageswara Rao, CPI(M) district secretary R. Raghu, city secretary Ch. Babu Rao, CITU city president R. Ajay Kumar, general secretary Muzzafer Ahmed and others were present. 

(Source : The Hindu)

SFI's emphatic march of Victory in Rajastan

SFI General Secretary Ritabrata Banerjee and President Dr V Sivadasan has issued the following statement

Central Executive committee of the Students’ Federation of India congratulates its Rajasthan state unit for registering emphatic victory in the students’ union elections which were held in the state yesterday. Elections were held in nearly 150 colleges and 9 Universities of the state, out of which SFI contested in 85 colleges and 2 universities, spread across 12 districts of the state. SFI candidates have emerged victorious in 67 colleges and the 2 very important University centres of Jodhpur and Bikaner- a big leap forward from last year’s tally of 44 colleges and 1 university.

SFI improved its performance in the Jai Narayan Vyas University of Jodhpur, sweeping the entire panel this time. Mahendra Jakhad has been elected as President, Lakshmi as Vice President, and Pramila Meena as General Secretary and Madhusudan Gurjar as Joint secretary. 8449 votes were polled. SFI candidates defeated NSUI on all 4 posts, victory margins being 167,150,371 and 1275 respectively. Jodhpur is a politically important district and is also the constituency of chief minister Ashok Gehlot. The mandate of the University elections has left the ruling Congress party in jittery and orchestrated scenes of violence have been seen on the streets of Jodhpur, injuring 6 students by the time this statement was being prepared. SFI candidate Ajeet Singh Poonia won the President post in the Maharaja Ganga Singh University of Bikaner, defeating the ABVP candidate by the margin of 26 votes. This is for the first time SFI won in Bikaner University. In the Rajasthan University,Jaipur SFI supported candidate Rajesh Mandia finished third on the post of President with 1098 votes. SFI also won 3 Department representatives (DRs) in Rajasthan University.

In S.K. college of Sikar- biggest college of the state, with 13000 enrolled students- entire panel of SFI has emerged victorious. Navdeep Singh has been elected as President, Iliyas Ali as Vice-President, Mahendra Kadiya as General Secretary and Sharda Kumari Kalwaniya as Joint Secretary.

Apart from this, SFI has won 99% of seats in the colleges of Hanumangarh and Ganganagar districts. The old bases in Taranagar, Sardarshahar, Didwana, Jhunjhunu and Churu have been retained with students coming out in large numbers in support of the SFI panels. It has to be mentioned that SFI had lost in Taranagar and Jhunjhunu last year.

Certain points clearly emerge from these results. The dominance of the 2 main students’ organizations of the ruling class- NSUI and ABVP- has reduced drastically throughout the state. Out of the total 9 Universities in the State, ABVP has won 2, NSUI 1, SFI 2 and the remaining 4 have been won by the independents and local level organizations. This clearly reflects the urge for a credible non-NSUI and non-ABVP alternative, and given the fact that the assembly elections in the state are only few months away, this is going to leave its mark in the assembly elections also.

Further, the growing prestige and strength of SFI has to be seen in the light of the fact that it was the relentless struggle of SFI that lead to the revival of the students’ union elections in the state. After the ban on polls during the reign of Chief Minister Vasundhara Rajess Scindia, SFI was able to build the movement of restoration of campus democracy throughout the state. This forced Ashok Gehlot to keep it as one of his pre-poll promises, and after assuming office, he was forced to implement his promise with thousands of students gheraoing the assembly, while the left MLAs were arguing for it inside the assembly. In the last 4 years, performance of SFI has grown by leaps and bounds. Elected unions of SFI have been role model for any leftist student union, with continuous agitation demanding better infrastructure in the colleges, increase in seats and so on. The movement for increase in seats in the colleges- ‘Paas kiya hai toh pravesh do’- has proved to be the most important initiative by the organization, forcing administration to increase seats at many places. Along with the issues of the students, SFI has also been at the forefront of the struggles of the other sections as well- most glorious being the movement for electricity and water by the farmers. It is this continuous and relentless work that has given organization the prestige which it today enjoys in the state.

These elections also saw brazen attempts of caste mobilizations by the ruling class and this is going to be the biggest challenge for the organization in the coming days. We will have to carry forward the mandate of this victory by speeding up the process of building more and more bigger unity of the students. This is the only way ahead in the fight against such forces that seek to maintain and fan the caste tensions.

CEC is confident that the organization will gear itself for these new challenges and continue its forward march in the state. The 10th September ‘Dilli Chalo’ shall mark another stepping stone in this fight.

AIDWA demands speedy investigation into the reported rape charges against godman Asaram.

AIDWA expresses deep shock and outrage over the rape of a minor reported in the newspapers on 22nd August 2013, allegedly by the self styled godman Asaram Bapu. The organisation demands a swift and fair investigation of this serious crime. According to the news reports, the minor was raped and sexually assaulted inside the premises of Baba Asaram Bapu’s Ashram. It has also been reported that the Baba’s aides were involved in and were participants in the assault. There are also reports that Asaram Bapu runs a gurukul for women in Madhya Pradesh. AIDWA further demands a thorough investigation into the ashrams and gurukuls run by the Baba's trust.

This is not the first time that criminal charges have been framed against the so called spiritual guru. Earlier, he had been charged with attempt to murder, land grab cases etc. Last year, the Baba had made derogatory and insensitive remarks about the 23 year old rape victim of the December 16th Delhi rape case. Even after coming under severe criticism from women's activists and organisations, no serious action was taken against the Asaram Bapu.

AIDWA therefore demands that the government take immediate action in the case and arrest the culprits. It is also the responsibility of the state to ensure that the Baba and his aides are not able to misuse their power and clout to influence a fair enquiry.

CPIM on Killing of Narendra Dabholkar

 

The Polit Bureau expresses its deep shock and condemnation of the dastardly killing of Narendra Dabholkar in Pune.  Dr. Dabholkar had led the anti-superstition movement and worked tirelessly to stop obscurantist practices.  He was the Editor of Sadhana weekly.

 

His progressive social activities had evoked opposition from the rightwing communal forces.  The Polit Bureau demands a speedy and effective investigation of this murder, so that the  culprits are brought to justice.

CPIM Central Committee Communiqué

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on August 17 & 18, 2013. It has issued the following statement:

 

Economic Situation

 

The economic situation has been deteriorating with the overall slowdown in growth, contraction in industrial production, continuing high inflation and the widening current account deficit on the balance of payments which has resulted in the steady depreciation of the value of the rupees. These conditions have led to the relentless price rise with the prices of food items like vegetables shooting up. Petrol prices were hiked five times in the last seven months amounting to over Rs. 7.30 per litre. This has contributed to the high inflation. The falling industrial production is leading to more joblessness.

 

The crisis manifested by the steep fall in the value of the rupee which breached the Rs. 62 mark vis a vis the dollar is an outcome of the UPA government’s economic mismanagement and the neo-liberal policies pursued.

 

The UPA government is seeking to overcome this crisis by attracting more foreign capital and giving more concessions to the MNCs and Indian big business. The growing dependence on foreign flows and FDI will only worsen the problem. The Central Committee strongly opposed the easing of caps on FDI in various sectors and the dilution of norms for FDI in retail. Instead of handing out tax concessions, tax revenue should be collected and the resources mobilized should be utilised to increase the levels of public investment, to build much needed infrastructure and this would generate significant growth of employment and enlarge domestic demand.

 

The Central Committee decided to campaign for the alternative platform of policies which was decided by the Left parties convention. These policies stress the need for curbing price rise, increasing employment and ensuring the social and economic rights of the dalits, adivasis, women and minorities.

 

Food Security Bill

 

The Central Committee reiterated the stand that the Food Security Bill is flawed and insufficient to meet the requirements of ensuring food security for all citizens. The CPI(M) MPs have moved amendments to the Bill. There are a number of common amendments moved by MPs of various parties and the government should accept these amendments to the Bill.

 

Telangana State

 

The Congress leadership and the UPA have decided on the division of Andhra and the formation of Telangana state. This decision has been impelled by the narrow electoral interests of the Congress party. The announcement of the formation of a separate state has led to widespread agitation in the coastal Andhra and Rayalseema areas for a united state. The issues concerning the division of the state should be settled amicably keeping in mind the interests of the people of both sides.

 

The decision on the Telangana state has led to renewed agitation for separate states in other places particularly in Assam and West Bengal. It is the Central government’s responsiblity to assist the states to deal with the situation.

 

The CPI(M) reiterates its stand that the linguistically reorganized states should not be divided. Any further moves in this direction will weaken the federal set up.

 

Increasing Communal Violence

 

The Central Committee expressed its deep concern at the incidents of communal violence which have erupted in the recent period, in Kishtwar, Jammu & Kashmir and some places in Bihar. In Kishtwar, two peope died and many shops were burnt. In Nawadah too two people were killed and arson indulged in. There were a number of communal incidents in UP and earlier in Rajasthan too. The rise in communal incidents is linked to the aggressive activities of the BJP-RSS combine. In Bihar, in Nawadah and Bettiah provocative slogans and symbols associated with the BJP-RSS combine were on display.

 

The Central Committee decided that a political campaign against the communal forces and exposing the designs of the BJP-RSS should be conducted. There is a need for an anti-communal platform consisting of the democratic and secular forces.

 

Tensions on the LoC

 

The Central Committee condemned the incident which caused the death of five soldiers of the Indian army at the Line of Control in the Poonch sector recently. This has come in the background of the rising number of ceasefire violations this year. The government should take a firm stand about ending ceasefire violations and counter infiltration by extremists from across the border. At the same time the strategy of engaging with Pakistan and holding talks with the Pakistan government should not be abandoned.

 

West Bengal

 

The Central Committee heard reports of the panchayat elections in West Bengal which was vitiated by large scale terror and rigging of the polling in many booths. There was unprecedented manipulation of results during the counting process with the counting agents of the Left Front being driven out and results being tampered. This was done in connivance with the state officials and the police standing by in various centres. The West Bengal State Committee of the Party will review the whole election experience and take steps to mobilize the people in defence of democracy, take up the demands of different sections of the working people to launch struggles and revamp the Party organisation to maintain close links with the people. The Central Committee extended its support to the Party and the Left Front in undertaking these tasks.

 

Kerala Struggle

 

The Central Committee warmly greeted the Kerala unit of the CPI(M) and the LDF for the historic struggle of the blockade of the state secretariat. Due to this struggle one of the two demands for a judicial enquiry into the solar panel scam has been achieved. The Party and the LDF will continue the struggle for the resignation of the Chief Minister.

 

Uttarakhand Relief

 

The Central Committee heard a report about the Uttarakhand national calamity and the relief work undertaken by the Party. At the call of the Party Centre Rs. 60.55 lakhs has been collected by state units to be utilised in the relief and rehabilitation work.

 

 

Election Preparations

 

The Central Committee discussed the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections in the various states. It also decided to strive for an electoral understanding with some of the non-Congress secular parties in certain states.

 

The Central Committee also heard reports of the preparations for the assembly elections due in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Delhi to be held in November-December.

 

Next C.C. Meeting

 

The Central Committee decided to hold the next meeting of the Central Committee at Agartala in Tripura in the month of December.

Students of Himachal elect SFI yet again!

SFI General Secretary Ritabrata Banerjee and President Dr V Sivadasan have issued the following statement.

Central Executive committee of the Students’ Federation of India congratulates the Himachal Pradesh state committee for registering clean sweep in the SCA elections of the Himachal Pradesh University for 23rd time in the past 29 years, as well winning a large number of seats in the various colleges of the state. SFI won all the four seats of the panel with Rajan Hartta winning the presidential post, Gopal Singh becoming vice president, Piyush Sewal winning the secretary post and Monika Dhadda winning the joint secretary post. SFI candidates in all the four seats defeated ABVP candidates with victory margins being 194, 5, 247 and 267 votes respectively. SFI also won 32 Department representatives (DRs) out of the total 50 DRs in HPU.

SFI also swept the entire panel in the lone girl college in the state Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyayala of Shimla. In Evening College Shimla the SFI retained all the 4 central posts. Out of nearly 200 central posts contested in the colleges of the entire state SFI won 74 central posts. In 5 Colleges SFI lost the Presidential post by very thin margins of 10 to 15 votes.

These results have been achieved in spite of the fact that there was a tacit understanding between the NSUI and ABVP. In Hamirpur- the assembly of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and also the home town of the state president of Congress Sukhwinder Sukhhu, SFI has swept all 15 central seats. It is to be noted that SFI activist Rohit was murdered in Hamirpur last year by ABVP goons for protesting against eve teasing. This is for the first time the performance of SFI has been such impressive in Hamirpur.

Even in Mandi- the home district of Chief Minister Veerbhadra singh- SFI has won 11 central seats giving a fitting response to the ruling Congress party. Results in many colleges show that both NSUI and ABVP have transferred votes for each other’s candidates on different posts, so that the SFI candidates could be defeated. In the run up to the students’ union elections, college administration at many places acted on the behest of the ruling Congress party to cancel the nominations of many of SFI candidates on some pretext or the other. In many places Congress and BJP goons kidnapped entire panels of SFI.

Facing such difficulties SFI has emerged as not only victorious in the students’ union elected, but also as the preferred choice of the student community of the state.

These results show the faith that the students have in SFI. It is the faith with which we have been able to defeat every anti-student move of the ruling classes. Even in this year’s elections, SFI went into the polls on the agenda of intensifying the fight against RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyaan) - a clear neo-liberal model of higher education which has been pushed through in the state in the name of quality and student centric system, but has actually restricted the entry to higher education. Election results are clearly a mandate against RUSA and all other anti-student measures brought by the state and central governments. As the 10th September ‘Dilli Chalo’ call of CEC draws nearer, this mandate will be channelized into even bigger mobilizations.

Committee formed to Observe Jyoti Basu’s Birth Centenary

A convention organized by Jyoti Basu Center for Social Studies and Research elected the committee to celebrate the birth centenary of legendary Communist leader Jyoti Basu. The convention was held in Khemka auditorium of Kolkata on 12 August, 2013. The president of the said center and the chairman of the West Bengal Left Front committee Biman Basu presided over the convention. He said that the newly formed committee will uphold Jyoti Basu’s contribution to the country, society and for the emancipation of the oppressed people from various angles.

Ashok Ghosh, the veteran Left leader and General Secretary of Bengal Committee of All India Forward Block was elected as the President of the committee. Former Speaker of West Bengal Assembly Hashim Abdul Halim was elected as the working President. Biman Basu was elected as the General Secretary of the said committee. Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen, former Speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee, legendary film maker Mrinal Sen, poets Sankha Ghosh, Nirendranath Chakraborty; economists Ashok Mitra, Amiya Kumar Bagchi; actor Saumitra Chatterjee, sports personalities Saurav Ganguly, P.K. Banerjee; former Vice Chancellors Professor Sujit Basu, Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, former judges Shyamal Kumar Sen, Chittotosh Mukherjee along with other eminent personalities were elected in the advisory committee. Among the assistant secretaries of the committee Rabin Deb, Md. Salim, Hafiz Alam Sairani, Khiti Goswami, Manju Kumar Majumder was elected. Sukhendu Panigrahi was elected as the treasurer.

Several dignitaries from all walks of life attended the convention. Ashok Mitra, Somnath Chatterjee, former judge Samaresh Banerjee, member of Parliament Kabir Suman, singer Usha Uthup, journalist Shikha Mukherjee, former Vice Chancellor Professor Ashok Nath Basu spoke about legacy of Jyoti Basu. They proposed quite a few actions which they thought the committee should prioritize.  Mandakranta Sen recite a poem she wrote on the legendary communist leader. Ashok Ghosh and Somnath Chatterjee unveiled the logo of the birth centenary celebration program. - See more at: http://www.cpimwb.org.in/current_topic_details.php?topic_id=451#sthash.OHeYNMzK.dpuf