Third front alternative formed in Jammu Kashmir

 

 The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples United Front (JKPUF), the third front alternative in Jammu Kashmir is officially formed with CPIM, Samajwadi Party, Lok Jana Shakti Party, CPI and various independent MLA's

The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples United Front (JKPUF) on October 30 held its first public meeting at Sher-e-Kashmir Park attended by thousands of people who had come from different corners of the valley.

Addressing the gathering, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami CPI (M) State Secretary, urged the leadership of India-Pakistan to jointly work for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan which will prove to be beneficial for both the countries especially for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Tarigami said the USA’s exit from Afghanistan in next year will provide a chance to India and Pakistan to show statesmanship in course correction and to strengthen their strained relations.

He also criticized the deliberate erosion in credibility of institutions like Legislative Assembly saying the fate of the resolutions passed in the House is known to one and all here in the state and the country. “The government of India promised return of power projects but what happened to those promises is known to all. The rest of damage was done by the retired general who leveled serious but allegations against political mainstream of the state. We have already demanded a thorough probe into these allegations failing which the government of India cannot blame people of Kashmir for any negative consequences,” he added.

Tarigami also expressed concern over the escalation on borders saying that war being no option, the two countries must work for cessation of hostilities as soon as possible. “The families living near borders are the worst victims of these border skirmishes and the tension on borders have a direct bearing on the people of the state and the two countries,” he observed.

In his address, Hakim Mohammad Yasin president PDF and MLA, expressed serious concern over the prevailing socio-economic and political situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Yasin termed efforts seeking political stability development and dignified future should be endeavour of the political leadership.

He said that unfortunately, in past the people of Kashmir have all along been exploited by political forces for their vote banks. “Time has come when the people should realize that such forces have always been interested in their own benefits. Let me also inform those political forces as well that times have gone when you were befooling people with hollow political and emotional slogans. Now people judge you by your performance.”

President PDF observed that double standards adopted by different political parties is responsible for the prevailing mess in the state. “Had these political forces worked fairly calling spade a spade, things would have been entirely different in this state. But these political forces never tried to portray a real picture in front of people instead they have always been indulging in taking people in an ideal world.”

Abdul Rashid Kabuli, former Member Parliament while addressing the meeting highlighted the sufferings of people saying that India and Pakistan can no longer delay the resolution of the vexed Kashmir issue. “People here cannot tolerate anymore sufferings. Time has come when India and Pakistan should sit and resolve this issue by taking peoples aspirations into consideration. People of the state are primary stakeholders of this issue and should be taken on board. Now the leadership of India and Pakistan are talking peace, we the people of Jammu and Kashmir wish them success in their peaceful endevours.”

Kabuli said that a significant number of people in the state have been killed and hundreds of youth have been detained, tortured and tormented during the ongoing conflict. “Time has come when we should work to make Indi and Pakistan understand the need for dialogue and resolution of this long pending issue,” he added.

Sheikh Abdul Rehman former MP and state president Samajwadi Party in his speech criticized Congress and BJP saying both the parties have caused huge damage to the country in terms of mal practices, corruption and communal disharmony. He said CAF findings have exposed the Congress style of working and how the party is neck deep in corruption.

“While Congress is neck deep in corruption the BJP is surviving on communal frenzy. However, both the parties are being funded by corporate houses who have large stakes in country’s economy,” he added.

Sanjay Saraf, Lok Janshakti Party leader observed lamented that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah being a young leader; nothing tangible was done for the unemployed youth of the state. “People had expected a lot from this young man but he proved to be failure. What his government did is evident from that fact that over a 100 youth were killed in 2010 out of which not a single case has reached to any logical conclusion.”

Similarly, Saraf said that the youth of the state are being fed with drugs to benefit the vested interests who use our youth for their vote bank politics.

Abdul Rehman Tukru state secretary CPI also addressed the meeting. In his speech, Tukru said that it is the common people of the state who bear the brunt of the faulty policies of the state and the central government. “We witnesses the common people are being pushed from pillar to post for their genuine issues. What type of policy it is that peasants, who are our backbone, are being neglected to the hilt?”

Meanwhile, Tarigami observed that the all the political leaders who have pledged to work jointly have reached to a consensus that now onwards we will work under the banner “Peoples United Front”. Tarigami said that the Front is well versed with its strength but want to assure the people that efforts will be made to further strengthen this forum. “We know our efforts are inadequate to the challenge in front of us but nevertheless it is a humble beginning from our side to work for our people. In future we will also try to seek support from certain civil society groups, intellectuals and political leaders to strengthen this Front so that people get some sort of relief in their daily lives,” he added.

He appealed people not to misconstrue PUF as an alternative political force which is in search of power. “People of this state are confronted with many grave issues including corruption, misgovernance, political unrest, poor development, unemployment. We won’t claim of having any magic wand to change this scenario within a jiffy, but we will seek peoples support for alternative policies which can bring some change. This is what, we pledge to work for,” he observed.

(Courtesy : Com. Shyam Prasad Kesar)

Resolution Adopted at the Convention for People’s Unity & Against Communalism

India is a country with various religions, languages, castes and cultures. But there is an underlying unity in the diversity. A unity, which is based on the unity of the people, which makes us all Indians.

This unity of the people and the country is under threat from the communal forces. While the people of India, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and many others fought together for independence, the communal ideology and communal organisations stayed away and instead sought to divide the people. The people rejected the communal ideology and India became a secular democratic republic.

At present, the communal forces are once again seeking to raise communal issues and create communal tensions.  In the light of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the communal campaign has been intensified. This has resulted in outbreak of communal incidents in various parts of the country. The riots in Muzaffarnagar are the most glaring example.

It is necessary for the secular and democratic forces to unitedly counter the communal forces of all varieties and maintain people’s unity.

This Convention calls upon the secular and democratic forces to strengthen their efforts amongst the people and mobilize them for rebuffing the communal forces, preserve communal amity, defend our composite culture and strengthen the unity of the people.

Convention for People’s Unity & Against Communalism

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechuri, Janata Dal leader and former prime minister H D Devegowda, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A B Bardhan, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat and Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav and others join hands during the convention, "People's Unity against Communalism" in New Delhi"

Amid efforts to form a Third Front, several regional parties including Left, JD(U), AIADMK, BJD and UPA ally NCP today came together at a convention here with their leaders pitching for unity among them to defeat the "threat" from fascist and communal forces.

JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appeared to target BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as he said some leaders go after those who oppose their views or ideologies and talk about "cleansing" them.

Addressing the 'Convention against Communalism', he said the 17 parties assembled at the meet should forge "maximum possible unity" to defeat the threat from "fascism, communalism and terrorism" to the country.

"The question being asked is that if this convention means formation of a new front. As of today, this is not the case. But we all have to think that in the face of fascism, communalism and terrorism, democratic forces should maintain maximum possible unity on issues to combat and defeat such powers," he said.

Kumar said that in the aftermath of riots in UP's Muzaffarnagar, there has been a realisation about the need to raise voice against the threat of communalism.

The convention, organised by the Left parties, is being seen as an attempt for forge a conglomerate of non-Congress and non-BJP parties ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose party is in power in UP, said Muzaffarnagar riots were fomented by communal forces.

"At least we got together (on the same platform). If we unite, communal forces will not able to raise their head...We have crushed communal forces and we will continue to crush communal forces whenever they rear there head again," he said.

Yadav's colleague Ram Gopal Yadav said today's meeting was a "beginning" for the shape of things to come in the future.

NCP leader Praful Patel justified the party's participat on in the convention, saying "in the era of coalition politics, we have to keep our options open of working with other parties." Besides Kumar and Mulayam Singh Yadav, the convention was attended by CPI(M) leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury, NCP's D P Tripathi, JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda, AIADMK's M Thambidurai and CPI's A B Bardhan.

 Nitish Kumar said some leaders say 'chun chun kar saaf karo' (resort to cleansing). What kind of language is this? In a democracy, you win elections by defeating others. But why use phrases like cleansing others?"

Hitting out at Modi, the Bihar Chief Minister said everyone needs development but the model of development is important.

"A choice has to be made between models which favour corporate houses or inclusive models which focusses on the development of common man," the JD(U) leader said.

He said non-inclusive models which do not care for the poor and the weaker sections cannot suceed while models with emphasis on human development would have a stronger foundation.

In yet another salvo at Modi, Kumar said there are forces in the country which do not tolerate dissent.

In this context, he said there have been efforts to malign nobel laureate Amartya Sen after he had praised work done in Bihar.

Kumar, in an apparent attack on VHP, said people were taking out "untimely" religious processions and yatras in an attempt to "raise passions and create divisions".

The Bihar Chief Minister went on to caution the media also, saying it can report freely only in a democracy.

Yadav said, "I have been a victim of communal forces but in UP we have given them a befitting reply."

Referring to Muzaffarnagar riots, he said the loss of lives was regrettable but his party had tried to ensure that muslims were not demoralised.

CPI(M) seeks probe into attack on Kerala CM

The CPI(M) has demanded an inquiry into the attack on Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Kannur on Sunday, in the light of Intelligence reports warning about the possibility of such an incident.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that the attack was designed to create public sympathy for the embattled Chief Minister who had become increasingly isolated following a series of scams.

“Mr.Chandy and his office stand accused of trying to protect the accused in several scams. No other Chief Minister has been so isolated from the public in the history of the State.”

Mr. Vijayan said the LDF stir against Mr.Chandy had remained peaceful since its launch in June. “Despite cruel assault on students, youth, and women by the police, our agitation has been peaceful.”

He sought to know what pre-emptive action the government had taken in the light of the Intelligence report that a ruling front activist might infiltrate the Opposition ranks and carry out an attack on the Chief Minister to restore his badly dented image.

“It is clear that it is the Chief Minister and not the Opposition who stands to benefit from such an attack.” He said the attack had happened far away from the four places where LDF workers had gathered to wave black flags against Mr. Chandy in Kannur.

“Immediately after the incident, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan told reporters that LDF workers were taken into custody. That was a signal for the police to round up CPI(M) volunteers.”

Observing that even a minor assault on the Chief Minister was a cause for concern, he said the police should be able to identify the assailant easily, since Mr.Chandy was under heavy security cover during the attack.

Mr.Vijayan demanded a serious investigation to identify the people who had planned and executed the attack on the Chief Minister. He, however, warned against any attempt to launch a witch hunt against the CPI(M).

Replying to questions, he said the LDF would continue the agitation against Mr. Chandy. Mr. Vijayan said he and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had not called on Mr.Chandy as they had been advised against visiting Medical College Hospital on Monday morning.

Asked whether Sunday’s incident at Kannur had provided political mileage for the Chief Minster, he said it would boomerang on Mr.Chandy.

(source : the Hindu)

On Patna Bomb Blast

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the serial bomb blasts in Patna yesterday which led to the death of five persons and injuries to scores of others.  These cowardly attacks once again highlight the urgent need to strengthen intelligence against terror attacks.  Governments at the Centre and the state have to coordinate to ensure that the real culprits are arrested.  The Polit Bureau calls upon the people of Bihar to maintain and strengthen their unity.

Kerala LDF to seige CM's House

Left Democratic Front state committee today decided to launch indefinite massive siege of the Cliff House, the official residence of the Kerala Chief Minister from December 9 demanding the resignation solar scam tainted Oommen Chandy. The details will be finalized at the LDF meeting to be held on November 18, LDF convener Vaikom Vishwan told reporters. 

 

The siege has been planned as the Chief Minister has backtracked on his promises to appoint a sitting judge to probe the solar scam following the historic siege of the state Secretariat at Thiruvananthapuram in August 2013.

 

The meeting presided over by Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan also decided to organize two campaign jathas prior to the siege of the Cliff House. Both Jathas will begin on November 1 and conclude on 13. The northern Jatha led by deputy leader of opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will start from Uppala in Kasargode. CPI state secretary Pannian Raveendran will inaugurate northern Jatha, which will cover Kasargode, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad districts and will culminate at Thrissur.

 

The Southern Jatha led by CPI legislative party leader C Divakaran will be inaugurated by Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan at Eranakulam. The Jathas will cover Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Alappuzha, kollam districts and culminate at Thiruvananthapuram.

 

 

In the meanwhile, a Kerala state plenum of the CPI(M) will be held from November 27 to 28, 2013 at Palakkad. This plenum will be an extended meeting of the state committee. A massive rally will also be held at Palakkad on the concluding day on November 28.

CPI(M) AP State Committee Demands Pro-Active Steps to End Impasse

THE CPI(M) Andhra Pradesh state committee has strongly objected to the indifferent attitude of the central and state governments to the intensifying agitations in the state. It felt the chief minister and Group of Ministers are not taking initiative to solve the problems being raised by the striking government employees.

The two-day meeting of the state committee was held in Party state headquarters MB Bhavan on October 10-11, 2013. Addressing the media in the afternoon of the first day, Party state secretary B V Raghavulu lambasted the chief minister for sleeping on his job even as the common people were suffering due to agitations, bandhs, electricity employees strike etc. 

A resolution adopted by the state committee on the present situation demanded that the chief minister must immediately take initiative to arrange a meeting of the striking employee leaders with central government in order to resolve the impasse. It noted that the agitation for maintaining the integrated state of Andhra Pradesh that began after the July 30 resolution of Congress Working Committee proposing division of state has intensified with the approval of cabinet note on October 3. The entire Seemandhra region came to a standstill with two-day bandh call. With electricity employees also beginning an indefinite strike, power generation and distribution was seriously affected. There was a danger of collapse of entire Southern Grid. People suffered a lot with even hospitals impacted seriously due to this strike. The state committee resolution warned that if things continued in this manner, people’s lives and economic affairs of the state would suffer irrevocably.

The resolution also requested the central government to hold discussions with the political parties in the state either individually or jointly. It also called upon the political parties to eschew electoral opportunism that would only complicate the problems further. Instead they must clearly state their position before the people and the Group of Ministers formed by the central government. The CPI(M) also wanted the central government to announce a programme for holding consultations with those agitating on this issue and also with all organisations and individuals interested in expressing their opinions on this issue.  The resolution also demanded immediate alternative measures to overcome the dire situation arising out of the indefinite strike by electricity employees with water supply affected, hospitals facing crisis and borewell irrigation severely affected.

Raghavulu said the centre must move ahead on this issue only after holding these consultations. This problem can be solved only by this method, he felt. Taking a dig at TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu who is talking of ‘justice’, Raghavulu demanded that he must first make it clear to the people and central government as to what he concretely means by ‘justice’. Also YSRCP president Jaganmohan Reddy must make clear how the state would become a desert if it is divided, as he is claiming. Similarly BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu must also tell clearly what he means by ‘equal justice’ to Seemandhra people. Raghavulu lambasted these parties for trying to fool the people in their opportunist attempt to gain political mileage.  Replying to a question, he said the CPI(M) is totally opposed to imposition of President Rule in the state. No matter how volatile the situation is, as long as elected representatives are there, this option must not be exercised, he felt.

On Coal Allocation Case

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

 

The CBI has lodged an FIR against the Chairman of the Hindalco and  the former Coal Secretary in a coal allocation case.  This is part of the ongoing investigations in the coal block allocation matter.

 

The CPI(M) has been demanding a thorough investigation in this case of allocating natural resources illegally to ensure  windfall profits to certain companies.  Since this involved the period when the Prime Minister was in charge of the Ministry of Coal, this aspect also needs investigation.

 

It is shocking that a Union Minister, Anand Sharma, has come out in defence of a big industrialist  claiming he is innocent in the case.  This is nothing but a blatant effort to influence the case and intimidate the CBI.  This stand is also to justify the covert policy of privatizing the coal industry which is the root cause for the corruption involved.

 

The Polit Bureau demands that the CBI proceed in the entire investigation and pursue the guilty without fear or favour.

Left Front to Intensify Its Campaign on the Major Issues in the Rural Belts

Brigade Rally to be Held in the Beginning of Next Year

Left Front has decided to launch a massive campaign throughout the State in favor of democracy and against violence. Movements to be launched in demand of some of the major problems being faced by the common people, right from the villages to the block, sub-division, districts and then in Kolkata and finally agitation and sit in demonstration to be staged in Delhi. In the beginning of next year Left Front will hold a rally in Brigade Parade Ground. The Left Front leaders decided this course of action in a meeting held on the 15th of October, 2013. After the meeting this was announced by Left Front Chairman and CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee Secretary Biman Basu.

He said after analyzing the present situation prevailing in the State in details, Left Front leadership has categorized some major problems of the people keeping the movement for democracy and against violence in the fore front. Amongst this is the demand for taking immediately effective measures for checking the sky rocketing of prices of the essential commodities, the Government has to interfere to stop the dismal situation of the farmers in selling their produce, through public distribution system each and every family has to be given 35 kgs of rice per month at Rs. 2 per kg, steps have to be taken to protect the dignity of women and atrocities against them, Government has to take steps in order to safe guard the interests of the workers and farmers, etc. Biman Basu said along with this the other demands will also be raised. In favor of these demands programmes will be launched right from the grass root to Kolkata and then in Delhi. He said in the days to come, the dates of the programmes will be finalized. Brigade rally to be held also, he said.

In answer to a question, Biman Basu said after Haldia Municipality, Siliguri sub-divisional Parishad, on this day the way Krishnanagar Municipality has been acquired by Trinamool forcefully, it is evident that this party does not believe in democracy. Those who do not believe in democracy are indulging in undemocratic activities in the guise of democracy. He said people’s democratic rights are under threat in this State, the way the elected organizations are being capsized either by terror or monetarily. The safety of the people of this State is at stake. One has to be vocal against all these.

Left Front has also raised its protest against abnormal price hike in Metro Rail tickets. Biman Basu said all of a sudden the price of tickets of Metro Rail has been raised abnormally. We raise our protest against this. After the holidays, when offices will reopen, we will stage our protest.

Discussions have taken place in the Left Front meeting regarding the elections to the municipalities on the 22nd of November, said Biman Basu. Elections to five Municipalities in four districts will be held on that day. Elections will be held in Howrah Municipal Corporation, Berhampur, Krishnanagar, Midnapur and Jhargram Municipality in overall 145 wards. Along with by-elections will be held in 29 wards in 23 Municipality in 12 districts of the State including ward number 1 and 24 ward of Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Districts Committees have been asked to take necessary preparation in this regard by the Left Front.

Brinda Karat meets victims of Rewa firing

CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat addressed six meetings around the Jaypee Cement factory in Rewa district on Thursday where four persons suffered gunshot wounds after allegedly being fired upon by Jaypee Cement personnel in Baijnath village last week. One of the alleged assailants have been taken into custody.

Ms. Karat congratulated the villagers on their resistance to Jaypee’s alleged attempts to grab their land. “ JP [Gaur — the founder of the Jaypee group] and his thugs dared to beat up a pregnant woman so badly that she had to be hospitalised. The local BJP MLA (Abhay Mishra) is behind them. This aim of this criminalisation of politics is to grab the land of the poor,” she told the people of Baijnath.

Geeta Kushwaha, a pregnant woman, was in hospital after being assaulted by security guards of Jaypee Cement on October 3. She told this paper that her home on ancestral lands claimed by Jaypee was destroyed and her belongings seized by the company. “They continued to hit me and fired at us even after we had fallen down,” she said.

Ms. Karat urged voters to vote for the CPI(M), which before delimitation used to represent the Sirmour assembly constituency. The area now falls under the Semariya constituency, from where the party's state committee member Rohit Tiwari is contesting. “(Chief Ministers) Shivraj (Chouhan) and (Narendra) Modi wear glasses with which they can only see Jaypee and Adani and not the poor. Shivraj’s politics have been defined by land grab. The dreams they see are nightmares for the people,” she said.

The area around the Jaypee Plant has periodic tremors due to explosions in the limestone quarries that dot the area. Though a large number of the peasants have grown prosperous by switching from cereals and pulses to vegetables, they live under the constant fear of reprisals by Jaypee Cement with whom they have several land disputes.

In 2007, a youth named Raghavendra Patel was killed when Jaypee guards opened fire on a demonstration for work in the factory. Another youth named Abhishek Mishra, also involved in the movement against land grab, was found dead in July this year after being picked up by the police. The deceased youth have earned the titles of martyrs and two panchayats in the area are now ruled by the CPI(M).

In the martyr villages of Garhwa and Vihari, Ms. Karat met families of the deceased. “Jaypee behaves like a feudal lord,” she told this paper. “While continuing to serve the corporate interests, Shivraj gives little other than propaganda. This is no different from Modi who keeps saying that he was a chaiwallah. If he was one, then he has betrayed his class.”

Ms. Karat added that it was premature to talk of a third front now. "It will depend on the performance of the secular non Congress parties in next year's Lok Sabha polls," she opined. In MP, the CPI(M) has allied with the Samajwadi Party, CPI and, the Rashtriya Samanta Dal. (Courtesy : The Hindu, Photo: Ashutosh Singh)

Unacceptable Judgment in Laxmanpur Bathe case

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

 

The acquittal of all the accused in the Laxmanpur Bathe case by a division bench of the Patna High Court is an unacceptable judgment. The lower court had sentenced sixteen of the accused to death and given life sentence to ten others. To now give them the “benefit of doubt” when there is no doubt that fifty eight dalits were massacred in the village raises questions about the verdict.

 

Is it just a coincidence that in other such cases also where dalits have been killed by upper caste private armies the accused have been acquitted?

 

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands that the Bihar State Government appeal without delay against this flawed judgment.

 

It also reiterates its earlier demand to appeal against the judgment of the Patna High Court which had acquitted Pappu Yadav in the murder of CPI(M) MLA, Ajit Sarkar, even though he was found guilty by the lower court.

Anti-Communal Convention in Ranchi, Jharkand

 

The four Left parties, the CPI(M), CPI, AIFB and RSP, organised a state-level anti-communalism convention in Ranchi on October 1. The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha also participated.

Inaugurating the convention, Central Committee member Mohd.Salim said that the 'raga' of 'NaMo,NaMo' on one side and the praising Rahul Gandhi as the ideal leader of the country on the other are both being sponsored by the corporate houses. He said that there is need to be wary of these dark forces and fight them unitedly. People do not want to fight against each other, but the exploiting classes create communal tensions in order to serve their own interests, he observed.

The resolution placed in the Convention by CPI State Secretary Bhuvaneshwra Prasad Mehta underlined the fact that the current communal incidents were not spontaneous, but were being created by the communal forces as part of a planned conspiracy in view of the Lok Sabha elections of 2014. The resolution was supported by CPI(M) State Secretary G.K.Bakshi, Secretariat member Prakash Viplav, Khagendra Thakur of CPI, State Secretary of FB Janardan Pandey, State Secretary of RSP Radhakant Jha, Marxist Co-ordination Committee member Mithilesh Singh and General Secretary of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha Gautam Sagar Rana.

 

The Convention appealed to all the peace-loving, secular citizens of the state to unite against these communal forces and fight them ideologically and politically.

 

The Convention demanded that the state government should be extremely cautious on the issue of communalism and make adequate arrangements for the safety of the ordinary public, especially in the festival season.

DYFI protest Demanding justice in Sowjanya Case

A huge protest was staged in front of the DC Office in Mangalore on October 9, Wednesday demanding a CBI probe into the Sowjanya rape and murder case. The protest was organised by the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students Federation of India (SFI) in association with various like minded organizations.

Addressing the protesters Member of the Parliament and the President of Kerala State Akhila Bharatha Janathavadi Mahila Sangatane T N Seema said that, this is a continuous denial of Justice to the Sowjanya Murder case. Lot of injustice is going on in this case. She further said that it is shocking that from the past one year our system cannot find out the real culprit, they are not even able to do proper investigation. It is also shocking that the incident has happened in the country where they talk about safety for women. When the country is discussing about curbing the violence on women and to provide safety. Why the police and other concerned authorities are showing special interest in protecting the criminals? Why have they failed to collect evidence? she questioned.

Instead of investigating the case, a mentally challenged person had been arrested, when there are many people involved in this case only Santhosh Rao was targeted and arrested. When Sowjanya's father told the police about the involvement of other three people in his daughter's murder, the police without listening to his statement, targeted a mentally challenged person and arrested him. The police officials under pressure are trying to close this case. When there is pressure from the organizations to hand over this case to the CBI, the concerned authorities are not ready to hand over the case to the CBI.

Seema further said, "When Sowjanya's mother is said to have revealed to the officials that Santosh, the accused under arrest, could not have committed the act by himself. She said that the police had wrongly implicated him in the murder. The girl was killed elsewhere and the body was later dumped at the spot where it was found. She also pointed out that after her daughter had gone missing, she along with other residents had gone in search of her all around. The body was not there during the search, but it was found the next day, which proved that it was placed there much later". But till today there is no proper investigation about the murder case, she opined.

On December 16, 2012 a medical student was gang raped and killed in Delhi, the government brought a strict law against the criminals who are involved in rape. When there was a rape in Delhi, the Prime minister said that he has three daughters and he is concerned about women and their safety even Sushil Kumar Shinde also gave the same statement. In Delhi 60% of the police are deployed for the safety of the politicians and only 40% police are taking care of the general public. The politicians want their daughters to be safe, but what about the women and girls in the country, who will protect them? She questioned.

In our country crores of girls are going to school and colleges, who will protect them? In the constitution it is written about equal rights to men and women. Where do we women have equal rights? Women are being harassed, molested, abused, raped and murdered every minute, she said. She demanded to hand over the case to the CBI and give justice to Sowjanya's family.

JMS president Hemalatha, JMS secretary Kiranaprabha, President DYFI Muneer Katipalla, Secretary DYFI Dayanand, SFI State vice president Renuka Kahar and Marlyn Martis from Mahila Duarjanya Virodhi Vedike were also present.

CPI(M) organises dharna for disbursal of pensions in Vijayawada

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Vijayawada city unit staged a dharna in front of the Sub-Collector's office in Vijayawada demanding distribution of old age, widow and PH pensions immediately.

The pensioners from Ajithsingh Nagar, Bhavanipuram and others areas, registering their protest, said that the State government had least concern for pensioners. The pensions had not been distributed for last two months. Though few lucky people received the pensions last month, many were yet to receive. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) was requested to distribute the pensions in time every month, they said.

Addressing the gathering, CPI(M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao said that there were 28,000 old age, widow and PH people receiving pensions. The corporation was supposed to distribute the pensions in the first week of every month. The VMC, however, could not distribute the pensions so far. The pensioners were making rounds to VMC offices for a pension of Rs. 200. The government was requested to hike the pension to Rs. 700 for old aged and widow, and Rs. 1500 for PH, he added.

CPI(M) leaders Donepudi Kasinath, B. Satyababu, K. Sridevi, U V Ramaraju, D. Vishnuvardhan, Madala Venakteswara Rao, U. Gurumurthy, P. Sambi Redy, and B. Nageswara Rao were present.