21st Party Congress Logo Unveiled

The logo for the 21st all India Party Congress was released on November 19th at M B Bhavan in Hyderabad by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member B V Raghavulu. The Party Congress is scheduled to take place from April 14 - 19, 2015 in the port city of Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Reflecting the city's identity of being a major port on the east coast and being home to a large working class population, the logo depicts a huge ship draped in red colour, on top of which the working people are standing with raised arms and flags.

The state secretaries of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh state committees of the CPI(M), Thammineni Veerabhadram and P Madhu were present on the occasion along with Central Committee member of the Party Paturi Ramaiah.

Speaking on the occasion, Raghavulu said the Party Congress would be taking place at a time when the communal forces are ascendant and the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies has been intensified. He said the Party Congress would take stock of the situation and provide direction for countering these dangers. Given the present situation, the Party Congress would focus on rejuvenating the Left forces in the country.

He explained how the preparations for hosting the Congress are happening at a fast pace under the Reception Committee that has been formed. This would also be an occasion to showcase the unity of Telugu people. Already both the state committees, leasers and cadre along with Party members are involved in making the Party Congress a big success. He reminded that the then united state hosted Party Congress in 1982 (Vijayawada) and in 2002 (Hyderabad). He appealed to the Telugu people to make the 21st Congress a success.

Thammineni Veerabhadram said the Party Congress would be held in such a manner as to bring major changes in both AP and Telangana. He charged the chief ministers of both states of acting irresponsibly and blaming each other for the problems being faced by the people. They are trying to obscure the fact that it is the capitalist system that is the cause of these problems. The Party Congress will discuss about the alternative policies to the anti-people neo-liberal policies of the governments

CPIM JK State Secretary Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami files nominations

 State Secretary CPI(M), Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on November 12th filed his nomination papers in the office of Dy. Commissioner Kulgam. He was accompanied by Ghulam Hassan Mir, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, other prominent party leaders and large number of supporters. It may be recalled here that Tarigami is seeking mandate from the electorate of Kulgam constituency for fourth consecutive term, as he has retained the seat since 1996 continuously.

A mammoth gathering accompanied Tarigami presenting a festivity look in Kulgam town with all young and female folk attired differently dancing on the tunes of drums. People from all walks of life had thronged the office headquarters of CPI (M) since wee hours who joined a large procession to accompany Tarigami to DC office for filing his nominations. The much delighted and enthusiastic supporters of Tarigami were seen raising piercing slogans in his favour and expressing optimism about the winning of their beloved leader. As if attending a ceremony, the females were seen singing and the joyful youngsters were scintillating and clapping. Entire Kulgam town and streets were decorated with banners, posters and buntings presenting a ceremonious scene everywhere.
Addressing the rally at Town Hall Kulgam after filing nominations, Tarigami said that peace in the south Asia is subservient to cordial relations between India and Pakistan and hostilities be pacified on LOC to foster the peace and ensure the development in the sub-continent. He appealed both the countries to carry forward a meaningful dialogue for exploring means to resolve the bilateral issues including Kashmir, besides dialogue with all shades of opinion on the internal front is also an obligation of the Government of India.
The CPI(M) leader said that the political setup is being much humiliated by the opportunists and defectionists that has eroded the faith of the people in the democracy and the electorate process. He said that the tainted and tempted bureaucrats are equally adding to this humiliation on securing their space in the political spectrum. The political parties don’t hesitate to embrace these unwarranted and blotted elements with open arms. It is very astonishing and sorry state of affairs on the part of the political parties that power hungry defectionists and corrupt retires are being sensitively positioned in their cadres making the people much dejected and disgusted with the political dispensation, Tarigami remarked.
Tarigami said that on the one hand the divisive forces are promptly trying to create a wedge among the people of the state on communal lines and on the other the political system is being rotted by the ill elements, labeling it as an unholy entity. He appealed the people to reject these elements by declaring their verdict against them in the forthcoming elections. The forthcoming elections are an appropriate opportunity for everybody especially the young electorate to participate in the democratic process and have their role in policy making and implementation, he said and appealed the youth to come forward and be a part of political setup to set the deteriorating politics in right direction and endeavoring for socio-political empowerment of every section especially the new generation.

Ignoring the miseries of the people after the recent deluge, the central government is putting its all energy in power grabbing in the state by hook or crook, which is vindicated by recent political developments, Tarigami said, adding that BJP led government has declined from its early stand of declaring the calamity as a national disaster. Thought the fact remains that the state has been in need of economic packages from the government of India from time to time since turmoil erupted in the state for revival of its economy and infrastructure development, he asserted. He reiterated CPI(M)s demand of declaring the recent devastating floods as National Disaster and a massive economic package for the State to bring it back on the rails of the development.

The rally was also addressed by Ghulam Hassan Mir, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen and other senior leaders, who sought a decisive mandate for Tarigami from the electorate of Kulgam. They said that his achievements on socio-political, economic and developmental front have remained remarkable and is enjoying a prominent and respectable status in political circles which demands applause from the people. The AMM leaders stressed the necessity to fight unitedly through this platform against the corruption, misgovernance, unemployment, human rights violations and for creating a peaceful atmosphere in the state. They assured that they will continuously raise their voice for the democratic rights of the people of all the three regions of the state

CPI(M) candidate for Wachi (Jammu Kashmir) constituency filed nomination

CPI(M) candidate for Wachi constituency Zahoor Ahmad Rather filed his nominationShopian November 22: CPI (M) candidate for Wachi constituency Zahoor Ahmad Rather today filed his nomination papers in the office of Dy. Commissioner Shopian. He was accompanied by Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami, State Secretary CPI (M) and other prominent party leaders and large number of supporters. It may be recalled here that Zahoor Ahmad Rather is seeking mandate from the electorate of Wachi constituency for first time.People from all walks of life had thronged village Hermain in Wachi where a mammoth rally was addressed by the CPI (M) leaders after filing of nomination papers. Entire village was decorated with banners, posters and buntings presenting a ceremonious scene everywhere. The much delighted and enthusiastic supporters of CPI (M) were seen raising piercing slogans in favour of their candidate.Stating that the people in south Kashmir’s district Shopian are suffering for want of basic amenities at a time when the world has taken a quantum leap in socio-economic development, infrastructure building and technology, Tarigami said and added that the negligence plunged the agriculture and horticulture sectors into greater crises though they remained the mainstay of people here. He regretted that absence of modern infrastructure had rendered this sector unproductive in many respects, heaping untold miseries upon rural population.Tarigami said that Shopian being a prominent fruit zone of the Valley fetches maximum income to the state through export of fruits so there is an urgent need for introducing modern horticulture and agriculture-related infrastructure in the district.In his address CPI (M) contesting candidate Zahoor Ahmad Rather said that most of the areas of Shopian district were neglected by the successive governments."The poor condition of roads and bridges, inadequate road connectivity, absence of proper health care facilities, lack of proper educational infrastructure, unemployment of educated youth, lack of safe drinking water and non-availability of essentials across the district bear witness to the hollowness of claims made by the governments," he added.“A special package of funds be provided for the development of Shopian district, cold storage, modern grading facilities for apple growers of the district, incentives and inputs be provided to the farmers and fruit growers of the area to which they are entitled under various schemes and exemption of interest on loans to the fruit growers,” the CPI (M) candidate said and assured the electorate of Wachi constituency that he will continuously fight for their rights.Others who addressed the rally include senior CPI (M) leader Ghulam Rasool Ganaie and Youth leader Abdul Rashid Itoo.

Left parties in Andhra Pradesh demand all-party meet on relief package

Left parties in Andhra Pradesh on Friday demanded that the government convene an all-party meeting to discuss the package for farmers who have to part with their land for the capital. 

The parties criticised the government for taking unilateral decisions on capital building without taking stakeholders, including farmers, into confidence. A delegation of Left parties on Friday visited the villages falling under the jurisdiction of the proposed capital.

The team, comprising representatives of the CPI, CPI (M), CPI-ML (New Democracy), CPI-ML (Liberation), SUCI (Communist), MCPI (U) and the All India Forward Bloc, interacted with farmers on the package announced by the government.

Addressing a meeting at Library Centre, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna demanded that the government implement the Land Acquisition Act 2013 and do justice to farmers, agriculture labourers, tenant farmers and land owners in Tullur and neighbouring villages.

Mr. Ramakrishna also questioned Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s motives behind his Singapore visit and the proposed acquisition of 30,000 acres of fertile land for the capital project. He wanted the government to come clear on land pooling issue and reveal the names of developers. He added that the Left parties were not against the new capital. 

CPI (M) State secretary P. Madhu said nearly 1.50 lakh people lived in 25 villages around Tullur, of which, 12,000 were small and marginal farmers and close to 40,000 were agriculture labourers. Majority of farmers and land owners in the region are Dalits, he added. Mr. Madhu also demanded that the government provide land to land as compensation and four times the existing market price besides a job to each family. Former MLC Jelli Wilson, Gurram Vijay Kumar, K. Rama Rao, P.V. Sunder Rama Raju, K. Rama, Tumati Sivaiah, D. Haranath, B. Tulasi Das and P. Prasad were present. 

(Couretesy :The Hindu)

GRAM-BANDH & AGITATION ON NOVEMBER 26 VILLAGE WORKS WILL BE STALLED

Left-Farmers’ Organizations in West Bengal have called for “Gram-Bandh” and will be organizing massive agitation movement on 26th November in each village, throughout the state of West Bengal in protest of anti-people policies adopted by both BJP-led Central and TMC-led State Governments; particularly in demand for increasing price of rice and continuation of MGNREGA, the rural job generating scheme. Announcement of this Gram-Bandh and agitation-movement has been done by Madan Ghosh on Saturday (15th November), on behalf of different Left-farmers’ organizations.

Madan Gosh said that on 26th November, agriculture-based poor villagers will observe “Gram-Bandh” and organize massive agitation-movement in front of office of the Local-Governments and administrations. But he has announced that communication system will not be disturbed, busses will be allowed to move freely; schools & colleges will remain open. He said that only agriculture-based works will be stalled on that day as a mark of protest.

In this connection it is to be mentioned that the TMC-led State Government has fixed bonus on the price of Rice @15 pice/Kg, i.e. @Rs.15/-/ Quintal only; but on the other hand the neighboring states have increase the bonus amount of rice @Rs.100/ to Rs.200/- per quintal. Madhya Pradesh State has paid the bonus @Rs.300/- per quintal. We may remind that the Left-Front Government of West Bengal had paid the bonus @Rs.100/- per quintal of rice four years back. Farmers’ Organizations have expressed their concern that TMC Government has announced the bonus @Rs.15/ per quintal of rice, without considering the sky-rocketing price rise. They have raised question- whether Government is giving them alms/ dole! They are not begging; it is their legitimate right. They have demanded bonus @Rs.200/- per quintal of rice. Base price of rice was @Rs.1310/- per quintal during last year, but State Govt. has increase Rs.50/-per quintal only for this year, i.e. at present total price of rice per quintal is @Rs.1360/- only; which is much below the agricultural production cost of rice. The TMC-Government is totally betraying farmers. As a result, it is apprehended that rice may be sent to nearby states for sell. They have demanded that Government should have established rice-procuring centers in each locality; so that farmers can sell out their agricultural products in actual and desirable price and can minimize their transport time and cost.

Further, BJP-led Central and TMC-led State Governments have jointly made a conspiracy to cut off the opportunity of 100-days MNREGA programme for marginal poor people of the rural villages. Central Government has planned to cut off the scheme and confined the REGA scheme within 200 back-ward Blocks only. The TMC- Government has also joined hands with BJP-Led Central Government and has already published a list of 123 Blocks; where only REGA scheme will be implemented. Both the Central and State Governments have deliberately planning to divide village people in different ways. Central Government has not only slashed the fund allocation for the scheme, but they have also reduced the percentage of fund allocated for working-days and daily wages. Ratio between working-days and materials has been reduced from 60:40 to 51:49; and as a result amount of working-days (daily-wages) will be reduced drastically and poor people will be suffered severely.

Moreover, Government has reduced allocation of funds for the social projects like- Farmers’ Pension, Old-age Pension, Widow Pension etc. Hostel Grants for SC and ST students are due since January 2014. It has been learnt that Tista irrigation project is going to be stopped by the State Government; so that farmers will be suffered. Again, about 1 lakh 90 thousand seats are lying vacant under the state Government. Left-Farmers’ Organizations have demanded that both the Central and State Governments have to solve all above mentioned problems immediately. They have given the call of “Gram-Bandh” in each village throughout the state on November 26 to voice against bulldozing of the poor people