Huge Meeting in Begusarai

First, it was revered condolence. For Hugo Chavez, who ignited million of minds in a far off continent. The huge gathering in Begusarai, Bihar on Wednesday afternoon started with a minute of silence in memory of a revolutionary. Biman Basu moved the resolution and thousands of people stood in unison to pay homage to a person, whom many of them never heard of, but who, they understood, was one in their struggle.

Then, it was thunderous applause. Again for some struggling people who are far away from them, but an inspiration to them. The seventh Left Front government took office today in Tripura. This was announced with joy in the meeting and ‘Tripura ko lal salam” was heard from every corner.

The meeting in Begusarai was the biggest public gathering so far in the route of Eastern Jatha. This district of Bihar is a land of great struggle, particularly land struggle. It has elected CPI(M) and left representatives time and again to assembly and parliament. The fight to defend the lands of the peasants is still going on. The fight for irrigation, housing sites for the poor, fight against government apathy have made CPI(M) popular.
 

That the response to Jatha would be enthusiastic was evident when a large number of people received the Jatha on the Rajendra Setu, the bridge on the Ganga itself. The Jatha was brought to Begusarai town with a motorcycle procession from there itself. In the town, gates were erected in the name of leading lights of communist movement in India- Jyoti Basu, HKS Surjeet, B.T.Ranadive, EMS. Namboodripad, P.Sundaraiah. The maidan was nearly full even before the Jatha reached there.
 

A pandal was erected but it could accommodate only a section of the rally. According to estimates, nearly ten thousand people attended the rally. In fact, the entire town was reverberating with the slogans of the jatha. Daily wage earners, agricultural workers, poor peasants, scheme workers were overwhelming majority in the gathering.
 

Biman Basu was the main speaker of the meeting. He explained that the goal of this Jatha was not elections, but to develop mass movements all over the country. West Bengal Left Front chairman reminded the people that Left Front in Bengal was not born as an electoral alliance. It fought for three decades on peoples’ issues and then the Left Front government came into being. His assertion that despite horrific situation in the state the Left movement in Bengal would go on fighting was received with warm clapping.
 

Joginder Sharma, Subhashini Ali, Gyanshankar Majumdar and Bijaykant Thakur also addressed the rally. Earlier, a meeting was held in Rajgir this morning. Prakash Karat and others addressed it briefly. The Jatha team visited 'Marxbadi Nagar', a colony of 200 poor families, mostly dalits in Rajgir. This colony was built after the land was seized by the landless dalits led by CPI(M). Till this day, this habitat of the poor is a red fort.

Embezzlement in farmer subsidy shameful: Brinda Karat

 Terming the new controversies relating to embezzlement in farmer subsidy as shameful act of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Polit bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Brinda Karat on Wednesday stated that the central government had lost its credibility and their only focus was on how to mint money from public schemes.

"Farmers in India are already the class ignored by every government at the Centre. Subsidy to the farmers was given to provide them relief. However, the fraud brought to the fore by CAG has exposed the callous attitude of the UPA towards farmers. It is shameful; this government must go," said Karat who was in Patiala to lead her Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha to raise the issue of the downtrodden and the farmers.

She demanded that since the subsidy and loan waiver to the farmers were given through the union finance ministry at the Centre, the role of officials of the ministry should also be investigated in the case. 

She further said neither the NDA nor the BJP was the good alternate for the country as their governments at the Centre had also made false promises to the downtrodden classes.

"The anti-people policies of the UPA government are widening the gap between the poor and the rich rapidly," she said, noting that while incomes of the rich had gone up, the middle and lower income groups were struggling to avail even the basic requirements.

"It is shameful that even after 66 years of Independence, 57% families do not have access to drinking water, 53% have no toilets and 39% do not have kitchens," she said. The CPIM leader said the ongoing sangharsh yatra would expose the wrong policies of the UPA government. CPIM Punjab State secretary Charan Singh Virdi, co-ordinator of the jatha Vijay Mishra accused the Punjab government for their anti-poor policies.

(Source : Hindustan Times)

Homage to Hugo Chavez

 The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep grief at the passing away of Hugo Chavez Frías, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Chavez died after battling cancer for nearly two years.

Hugo Chavez was an epic figure who symbolized the radical transformations taking place in Latin America. He was elected for a fourth term as President just six months ago with a big margin. The Bolivarian revolutionary process which he initiated enabled Venezuela to take control of its destiny by asserting national sovereignty and control over all the vital resources of the country including oil and gas. In the one and a half decades of his presidentship, the Venezuelan people got health facilities, education and literacy as never before. Poverty was drastically reduced.

Chavez was set on taking his country towards socialism. For this, he received the mandate of the people by winning successive elections democratically.

The death of Hugo Chavez is a big blow to Venezuela and for the Left and progressive forces of Latin America and the world. But his ideas and the path that he chose for Venezuela will endure.

At this hour of grief, the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the daughters and family members of Chavez, to the entire people and government of Venezuela.

Long Live Hugo Chavez.