Kerala State Assembly passes resolution against Centre''s neglect

The Kerala State Legislative Assembly today passed a resolution saying that Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan was ignored during the recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the state. The resolution moved by Law Minister M Vijayakumar after nearly hour-long heated exchanges between the ruling LDF and Opposition members also decided to apprise the Centre of the state''s resentment on the matter.

The matter raised by Anathalavattom Anandan (CPIM) through a submission virtually turned into a debate with Achuthanandan and some of his cabinet colleagues narrating their experiences during the Prime Minister''s February 10-12 visit.

Achuthanandan said he was not allowed a room at the Taj hotel at Kochi where Singh stayed overnight on arrival on February 10.

LDF members alleged that it was an insult to the state as a whole, as the Chief Minister''s name was not inscribed on the plaque which was unveiled by Singh at the inauguration of the International terminal at the airport here.

They also said the media advertisement for the inauguration of Vallarpadam transhipment terminal did not have the Chief Minister''s picture. Ministers Elamaram Kareem and C Divakaran also narrated their experience when they went to the BrahMos Aerospace here as state''s representatives during Singh visit to the unit.

The grievance in this regard had been voiced by Achuthanandan in the presence of Singh at the airport function on February 12. He had also stated that the state government had been neglected, but it did not take it seriously as realisation of the projects was more important.

March Forward Towards 8th Left Front Government Call of the Red Brigade

History has been created at the 13^th February Brigade Parade Ground as the upsurge of more than a million of people has taken oath to form 8^th Left Front government. It is indeed hard to recall such a historic assemblage of common people in the last one or two decades. It is not only a big bash to the TMC-Maoist anarchist force but also the TMC-led intelligentsia who deserve the final lesson that people’s power triumphs ultimately over the sponsors of political violence, anarchy and individual elitism. Leaving therefore all moots of political unrest far behind, people of West Bengal rallied the biggest ever in Brigade Parade Ground. The Red Brigade affirmed the glorious contribution of all martyrs killed by the TMC-Maoist nexus while defending the state and the Left Front government.

The 13^th February Red Brigade also rediscovered the historic Left Political Consolidation even after the six decades of political reliance and struggle in West Bengal since 1952. Such a political consolidation not only unified the toiling people in the state but could also initiate all developmental transformation of peoples’ lives and struggle in West Bengal. Speakers of all left parties have essentially reiterated about the Left Unity in the coming assembly election.

The Left Front Chairman Biman Basu at the outset elaborated the prime issues of protest and affirmed the foundation of the 8^th Left Front government. He appealed to the Red Brigade to sustain all developmental initiatives of the Left Front government. Staunchly criticizing the TMC-Maoist conspiracy Basu reiterated that since the last parliamentary elections the rightist political anarchy and planned political violence have already killed many common innocent people to spoil the democratic environment of the state. We therefore must resist the TMC-Maoist anarchy. No explanation was there when they killed little Jharna Mandi and Sumana Mandi. They have been brutally killing ICDS workers and many other innocent public officials. He appealed to the mass to overthrow the TMC-Maoist unholy nexus which have killed 377 workers of CPI(M) and other Left Front parties.

Basu alleged that ‘sharecroppers are being assaulted regularly and their lands largely being snatched by TMC landlords and TMC led panchayats. The Left Front government has initiated lots of developmental programmes not only for the organized labourers but also the unorganized labour force. To sustain such initiatives and ensure the development of the common mass we must organize people to form 8^th Left Front government. Only the left front government can fulfill the expectation of peasantry and industrial forces in West Bengal, averred Biman Basu.

Addressing such a mammoth rally the Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee slammed the UPA government and the violent TMC-Maoist link in the state. He reiterated that the obnoxious political combination went its farthest extent in these years that baffled a minor chunk of people away from the Left Front.

Bhattacharjee alleged that some external powers are out to oust the Left Front in the state. Without mentioning US, he hinted that some external forces are afraid of red flags anywhere in the world. ‘I strongly warn them not to intervene in the state’, he said among roars from the mass.

Bhattachrjee said, ‘They want change; what sort of change would they bring in? We have provided land farmers; ensured share croppers’ rights, can they change it? We have developed 38000 villages; can they change it? We have generated employment; can they change it?’

Bashing out the second Congress-UPA government the Chief Minister reiterated that unprecedented corruption completely engulfed the UPA and the whole country where billions of public money has already been drained into bourgeois pockets where ‘who’s who’ of the UPA associates is involved. And when the food inflation goes beyond the tolerance they ridiculously argue that the reason of price rise lies in ‘the increasing purchasing power of people’ as people started consuming more. When we have pursued universal public distribution for the common people, they created a handful business people who are responsible for the food inflation and unprecedented price hike. Slamming the Congress as ‘unkind and brutal’ to the people the Chief Minister averred that the Congress has given enough patronage to those illicit hoarders of the country who perpetrate ‘black marketing’ particularly of Sugar and Onions and many other essential commodities. These people are also responsible to drain out such commodities in the name of export when the internal markets are soaring of food inflation.

Unlike other states of the country the West Bengal government has done considerably for minority people particularly Muslims. In rural areas Muslim people are all happily engaged in agriculture. They have made a considerable progress in education also. We must keep the stream of success on in our state, averred Bhattacherjee.

Bhattacharjee alleged that TMC was an anarchist party, could only perpetrate anarchy and violence in the state. TMC leaders have provided oxygen to the Maoists and identified common innocent people and party workers to kill them. Now they remain silent when violence has also hit the hills of North Bengal, as TMC has a close understanding with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha. We must teach them a lesson in the coming election.

Addressing the youth brigade the Chief Minister stated that Mamata Banerjee’s Railway Ministry also is on the verge of complete bankruptcy. She is also very reluctant to fill up empty posts in different categories of employment. She can’t generate a single employment, averred Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee.

“I specially congratulate the Youth and Students who have responded so hugely particularly in Colleges and other institutions. We must convince those people, either been baffled out or dissatisfied with the Left Front, about the imminent danger of the TMC-Maoist extremism”, affirmed Chief Minister.

The Red Brigade has also observed the birth centenary of the noted Revolutionary Poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Addressing the crowd the CPI(M) Central Committee member Md. Salim recited the invaluable lines of Faiz.

Manju Kumar Majumdar of CPI, RSP leader Kshiti Goswamy, Barun Mukherjee from Forward Block, Md Amin from CPI(M), Shyamali Gupta from CPI(M), Kironmoy Nanda from SP were among others who addressed the meeting.

While summing-up the Left Front Chairman Biman Basu has made an appeal to the mass that wasting not a moment we must initiate election preparation now. The huge rally of the mass however has taken oath to march forward to establish 8^th Left Front government.

23rd February March to Parliament - Why ?

The working class of the country is gearing up for a major struggle against the anti-worker and anti- people policies of the Government. All the central trade unions who have called for the 23rd February ‘March to Parliament’ have started preparations in right earnest. The reports from different states and industrial federations indicate that the workers are responding enthusiastically to the call and the targets set are expected to be surpassed. The 23rd February ‘March to Parliament’ is indeed going to be a milestone in the history of the working class of India.

Why?

Because the demands raised by the trade unions touch the day to day lives of all sections of workers and also the fact that all the major trade unions have been unanimous in raising these demands. The struggle is not for any increase in the wages or other monetary benefits of the workers but for a reversal of the policies of the government which are adversely impacting the working and living conditions of not only the entire working class but also all the other sections of the toiling masses.

Right to Food

The first and foremost demand is for immediate steps by the Government to control the continuous price rise of all the essential commodities, particularly food articles. Even dal and roti, the staple food of the poor, have gone beyond their reach. It is not the seasonal ups and downs in production and demand that are responsible for the rise in the prices but the policies pursued by the government. Despite the FCI godowns overflowing with 5.7 crore tonnes of food grains, the government has refused to distribute them at cheaper rates through the PDS, which would have helped in bringing down the market prices.

The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Right to Food has made it clear that the increase in the prices of food commodities was due to the entry of big powerful investors in speculative trade, i.e. the futures and forward trading. In less than one year, the volume of trade in commodity market has grown by more than 102% though their production has increased by only 3-4%. But the government refuses to ban forward and futures trading in order to protect the windfall profits of the corporates and big business houses.

The deregulation of petrol price by the UPA II Government and its intention to deregulate the prices of diesel and cooking gas, the repeated increase in the price of petrol - seven times in the last six months - have further contributed to the price rise. The overwhelming majority of the workers including the unorganised sector workers, the anganwadi employees, ASHAs, mid day meal workers, domestic workers, construction workers etc, the poor peasants, agricultural workers etc find that their real incomes are being eroded due to the steep rise in the prices.

Implementation of Labour Laws

Any citizen of the country is bound to abide by the laws of the land. Common people are penalised for even minor infringements like violation of traffic rules. Severe restrictions are imposed on the workers and the common people even on exercising their basic rights, like the right to protest etc. In many cities today, wall writing, display of banners, buntings, and flags at public places are not allowed; and restrictions are being imposed by the courts on demonstrations, rallies etc.

However, the laws of the land apparently do not apply to the employers. The government and its law enforcement machinery has become totally subservient to the corporates, domestic as well as foreign, protecting them even in cases of gross violations of labour laws. The 8 hour work day, minimum wages, social security benefits, the right to organisation and collective bargaining, the Contract Labour Abolition Act etc were all won by the working class, through decades of hard struggles. But, today all these laws are violated with impunity by the employers. In the industrial centres in and around Delhi, the national capital, a 12 hour work day has become the norm; workers are forced to work on contract basis for decades without any security and without being regularised. Earlier, the company managers often used to deploy ‘goondas’ to intimidate the workers and to break the unions; but now, ‘goondas’ are being employed as managers and are moving around brandishing pistols and arms. No safety rules are implemented. Hundreds of workers continue to die in industrial accidents, be it the BALCO chimney collapse, fires in Agra shoe companies, in Bhushan Steel or construction workers, including those employed in the prestigious Delhi Metro project and in the construction related activities of the Commonwealth games.

Contractorisation and outsourcing have become the order of the day, not only in the private sector but also in public sector undertakings and government departments, both central and state. Millions of workers are at present employed as contract workers in regular jobs, to perform work of a permanent nature. These workers are paid miserably low wages and have no social security benefits, thus creating a situation where two types of workers work side by side in an enterprise, doing the same job but getting highly unequal wages and benefits, thereby creating rifts among the workers.

Whether it is Honda in Gurgaon and Liberty in Karnal in Haryana or Hyundai, Foxconn, Build Your Dreams in Chennai, or Hero cycles in Ludhiana or Mahindra and Mahindra in Nasik, mass scale victimisation and repression are let loose on the workers when they try to organise and demand implementation of their basic rights. An overwhelming majority of the struggles by the workers and the labour disputes today are not related to any new demands by the working class but to the implementation of existing labour laws.

Instead of ensuring implementation of the labour laws, the governments in several states, except those in the Left ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, are resorting to the most brutal police repression on the workers and their union leaders. It is not the employers who are punished for not implementing the laws but the trade union leaders who are punished for demanding their implementation. The most recent example is the handcuffing and imprisonment of A Soundararajan, Secretary of CITU and the General Secretary of its Tamil Nadu state committee for leading the fight of the Foxconn workers.

Employment

The third demand highlighted by the joint movement of the trade unions pertains to employment. According to the Employment Survey conducted by the Labour Bureau, unemployment has reached an alarming proportion of 9.4%. In addition to this, underemployment is a serious problem in our country as the poor cannot afford to remain to be unemployed as they do not get any unemployment allowance. Lakhs of workers, particularly in the export oriented sectors, have lost their jobs due to the global economic crisis during last two years. Many sectors, like the handloom and textile sectors, which provide employment to lakhs of workers, are still facing a serious situation resulting in loss of employment to large numbers of workers. But the government has not taken any action either to create jobs or even to protect the existing jobs.

The trade unions have demanded that job protection should be made conditional for extending stimulus packages for industry impacted by the global economic crisis. But though the government has extended lakhs of crores of rupees worth of incentives to the big corporates on the pretext of the global economic crisis, and has decided to continue them even now, it has not taken any measures either to protect the jobs of the workers ot to create new jobs for the unemployed.

Social Security

The UPA I government enacted the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act in 2008, on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections. Much hype was generated on providing social security to the unorganised sector workers who constitute 94% of the workers in the country. More than two years down the line, what have the unorganised sector workers gained from this Act? No specific social welfare scheme has been formulated under the Act till now. Only ten existing social welfare schemes have been annexed to the Act and were supposed to cover the unorganised sector workers. Most of these are confined to BPL sections only. With the income criteria norms of the Planning Commission being fixed at ridiculously low levels of around Rs 11 per day in rural areas and Rs 16 per day for urban areas, 90% of the unorganised sector workers are excluded from the purview of these welfare schemes. The government has allotted a meagre amount of Rs 1000 crores in the last Budget for the National Fund for the unorganised sector workers. But till now no concrete welfare measure has been identified for spending even this amount.

Though the National Social Security Board (NSSB) constituted as per the Act has unanimously recommended that all the unorganised sector workers in the country should be provided floor level social security that includes old age pension, health and maternity benefits, and accident insurance, and that adequate fund should be created to ensure social security benefits to all the unorganised sector workers, the government has not yet taken any concrete decision on this. It has only decided to extend the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) to some segments of the unorganised sector workers. Even in this case, it has not taken any action on the NSSB recommendation to include the Anganwadi employees and ASHAs under the RSBY.

Disinvestment - Sale of Public Assets

The UPA II government has fast tracked the disinvestment process. It was not that the UPA I government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the prime architect of the neo liberal globalisation initiated by a Congress government in the country, had any intention of strengthening the public sector. But the strong opposition from the Left, on whose support it depended for its survival, had forced the UPA I to abandon the disinvestment it had announced in BHEL and Neyveli Lignite Corporation. With no such constraints in the 15th Lok Sabha, the UPA II has already disinvested shares in Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, Engineers India Limited, National Mineral Development Corporation, National Hydro Power Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and Coal India Limited. Disinvestment in Power Grid Corporation, Manganese Ore India Limited, Shipping Corporation, and Hindustan Copper are next in line to be followed by follow on offers in Indian Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Steel Authority of India Limited. The government wants to earn Rs 59000 crores through this process of selling public assets in this financial year itself.

The predominant role of public sector in our economy is also being consciously reduced, as in the case of BSNL and Air India, by unrestricted entry of private corporates in these sectors. A similar fate awaits ONGC, NTPC, IOC, BPCL and HPCL in the fields of natural gas production, power generation and oil sectors.

Almost all these public sector units are in strategic sectors like minerals, power, oil, infrastructure etc. They have been contributing to the development of self reliance for our country and in protecting our sovereignty. They have been contributing huge amounts of money to the public exchequer through taxes, dividends etc. They have huge reserves which could have been utilised to expand their capacity which in turn would generate employment. But the government, is not bothered about the self reliance and sovereignty of our country. Our precious natural resources including mines, are being handed over to private corporates including the multinational corporations. Can the working class be a silent spectator to such loot of the nation’s assets by private national and multinational corporations?

Despite the continuous joint campaign during the past one and a half years on the above demands, during which the trade unions have organised different forms of struggles to highlight the above demands of the workers including an all India Protest Day, State level rallies etc and the unprecedented All India general strike on 7th September 2010, the UPA II government has remained arrogantly insensitive to these demands. It is in this situation that the ‘March to Parliament’ is being organised on 23rd February 2011, in which, as per reports from different states, more than ten lakh workers will be participating.

Through this historic march the working class will give a jolt to the government and brace itself for more intensive struggles if the government continues to be insensitive to the plight of the common people.

CPIM On S-Band Spectrum Scam

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

On The S-band Spectrum Scam

The Business Line-Hindu newspapers have exposed the S-band spectrum deal involving the ISRO Company Antrix and a private company, Devas Multimedia. By this agreement, the private company was to get access to high quality spectrum of 70 MHz through the launching of two custom-made satellites. The presumptive loss of revenue to the government would have been atleast Rs. 2 lakh crores.

Faced with this exposure, the UPA government has resorted to the now familiar pattern when confronted with largescale scams and corruption. It has sought to underplay the extent of wrongdoing, claim that the agreement has not been implemented and obfuscate the issues involved.

A number of questions remain unanswered in this affair which falls under the purview of the Department of Space, which is directly under the Prime Minister. How is it that the Cabinet gave clearance for launching the first satellite in December 2005 which is meant solely for the purpose of the private company? Why the agreement was not cancelled when the contract was found to be inappropriate and the Space Commission wanted it annulled in July 2010? Why is it that the government did not act even after the Additional Solicitor General had recommended that the termination of the agreement be a Government decision?

The latest decision by the Prime Minister to constitute a two-member committee to “review” the agreement is highly questionable. What is the necessity for a “review” when already the contract has been found to be unjustified and needs to be annulled? The persons appointed – a former Cabinet Secretary and a member of the Space Commission –were both involved in the processing of the deal. The intention seems to be to keep this as an in-house matter.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands an independent time-bound high-level enquiry by a retired judge of the Supreme Court.

There are media reports of the obstructions faced by the Comptroller and Auditor General in examining the contract. The CAG should be able to examine fully all the relevant papers regarding the agreement.

The people of the country will not be satisfied till all the facts about this dubious deal are uncovered and the guilty brought to book.

Massive Dharna Against Price Rise, Corruption by Left , Non-NDA Non-UPA Parties

Nine secular democratic non-NDA and non-UPA opposition parties organised a protest rally-cum-dharna against rising food prices and corruption at Parliament Street in the Capital on February 9, 2011. The nine parties came together on a common platform to wage a united fight against corruption and rising inflation.Thousands of workers belonging to CPI(M), CPI, AIFB, RSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), RLD and BJD staged a sit-in near the Parliament Street Police station shouting anti-government slogans and demanding urgent steps to curb rising prices and to end rampant corruption at high levels. The protesters displayed placards, held banners and buntings lampooning the UPA government for not controlling and checking the twin issues of corruption and price rise. Prominent leaders who addressed the huge gathering were CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI general secretary A B Bardhan, All India Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas, RSP general secretary Abani Roy, AIADMK member of Parliament Thambithurai, TDP president Nara Chandrababu Naidu, former Prime Minister and JD(S) president H D Deve Gowda, Ajit Singh and Jayant Choudhary both president and secretary respectively of RLD. Several other leaders, who participated include CPI Rajya Sabha member D Raja, CPI national council secretary Amerjeet Kaur, CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechuri and Brinda Karat. Speakers after speakers reiterated their demand for the JPC probe into the 2G Spectrum scam. They also demanded a proper investigation into various other scams.
The ‘wrong policies’ of the UPA were responsible for the rise in food prices, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat said while accusing the government of weakening the PDS. Karat said prices of food items had soared considerably. “Prices of all food items have skyrocketed. The wrong policies of the government are responsible for this,” and added further, “the price of petrol had gone up seven times since June last year.” No steps have been taken by the government to arrest the price rise or to stop corruption by their own people. Unorganised workers lack food security and the proposed bill for food security has been thrown to dustbins. “No steps are being taken to stop speculative trading. In whose interest is the UPA government functioning?” he asked. He said the PDS should have been strengthened and rice, wheat, sugar and other items should be made available at reasonable price. “The government has weakened PDS,” he alleged.

GJM Violence In Darjeeling

Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, spearheading the movement for separate Gorkhaland has again resorted to large scale violence in the hills and Doors, in Japauguri. On 8^th February, there was trouble in Shibchu in Japaiguri-Darjeeling border. Morcha established the camps of GLP, so-called Gorkhaland Police, in some schools and government premises. Morcha activists tried to break prohibitory orders and enter Japaiguri. They also blocked roads by felling trees. When police intervened, Morcha activists attacked police, first with stones and then with sharp weapons. One woman constable was seriously injured and many policemen sustained injuries. To control the situation, police first resorted to tear gas and then fired some rounds. One person died in the clash. A woman was also killed in the melee. There after Morcha activists indulged in large scale violence in the hills. They have torched cars, police vans, Darjeeling Tourist Lodge, telephone exchange, forest offices. However, their effort to create ethnic violence have been prevented by the administration. 

Left Front Chairman Biman Basu has condemned the violence, let loose by Morcha. In a statement, Basu alleged that Morcha has assured the Union Home Minister that they would withdraw bandh and chaos-creating movement in the hills. But, they have again resorted to same anarchy. Morcha has issued warning for students to prevent them from attending schools. More alarming is their attempt to enter Japaiguri and Siliguri and instigate ethnic clash. Basu alleged that Congress, Trinamool Congress and BJP are trying to make situation worse. Left Front has demanded that the Centre had to take responsibility to prevent Morcha from resorting to violence as the tripartite discussion was on. Union Home Minster should intervene.

Left Front has appealed to the people of West Bengal to maintain peace, harmony and integrity of the state and thwart any attempt of anarchy.

13th Finance Commission's wrong decisions created financial crisis in Himachal Pradesh

Press Statement

The Himachal Pradesh state secretariat of the CPI (M) has asked the chief minister of the state to hold an all party meeting on the fiscal situation in the state particularly after the fallout of the 13th Finance Commission (13thFC) recommendations. It is pertinent here to mention that the state government has asked for a loan of Rs 180 crores from the centre to meet up is expenditure, already the total loan has surpassed Rs 23000 crores. The CPI (M) has the stated; the 13th Finance Commission has been most blunt towards Himachal Pradesh. Where as the other states have got 126% more fiscal grant from the 13th FC in relation to 12th FC, the state of Himachal has got just 50% more. The reasons being (a) incorrect  ‘normative approach’  of the 13th FC has thrown the state into a limbo and  (b) severe conditions  imposed by the 13th FC will hunt the state and the people for long.  

(a)As far as the incorrect estimation of the 13th FC is concerned, its report itself speaks about the “normative approach” methodology. In Chapter 7 of the 13th FC under (A)  Assessment of  ‘revenue and Expenditure’ it states, quote, “Assessing  the finances of states  is a challenging  task… Keeping in mind this diversity, we have followed a ‘normative approach’…..” Unquote. this normative approach has robbed the state with over Rs 2307.70 crores. The 13th FC in comparison to the 12th FC has approved  a grant of Rs 7,888 crores which was Rs 10, 202 crores during the 12th FC. The 13th FC has dismally lowly estimated the non plan  expenditure i.e. salary, pensions, interests liabilities etc because of which our central revenue loss deficit grant has been curtailed. This has happened because of the wrong estimations of the 13th FC. The loss for 2010-11 has been Rs 2307.79 crores. 

(b) As far as the severe conditionalities are concerned , the CPIM has stated, is due to the neo liberal outlook of the government and the 13th FC. According to the 13th FC report page 98 it categorically states, quote “ FC-XIII had recommended that states, should follow a recruitment policy such that salary expenditure does not exceed 35% of revenue expenditure net of the interest payments and pensions…. ”Unquote. This will have a cascading and sequential effect in the state. Already the revenue expenditure on this component i.e. salary, pensions interest etc is 56% in 2010-11. This condition is far from reality in the hilly state where this sector has developed in large proportions.

Further, the CPIM has stated, the condition to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.5% in 2010-11 and 3% subsequently for 2011-15 will severely cut the plan expenditure of the state thereby harshly affecting developmental schemes howsoever little they may be.

Finally even the ration quota for the state has been drastically cut despite the fact that the state is a food grain deficit state and has to import both rice and wheat in large quantities to meet up its demand. 

The CPIM has stated, this is a real crisis in the offing in which the state would be badly engulfed. Through the all party meeting a vociferous voice needs to be generated to ensure that the state gets its due of a special category status and should not be penalized just because it has only 4 MPs in Lok Sabha and is a peaceful state.

Tikender Singh Panwar/Member State Secretariat, CPIM

UDF defending the indefensible in sexracket case: Brinda Karat

Political parties should neither extend patronage to those accused in sexual harassments and scandals nor victimise the women who had fallen prey to them, Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said here on Sunday.

She was speaking after inaugurating the 20th State conference of the Kerala School Teachers' Association here on Sunday.

Flaying the United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership for its support to the Indian Union Muslim League leader P.K. Kunhalikutty in the ice-cream parlour sex-scandal case, Ms. Karat said: ‘‘It is shameful to a State like Kerala where UDF leadership openly tries to shield a senior leader of their ally who is now part of a burning controversy.”

Vain attempt

Ms. Karat alleged that the Muslim League and the leadership of the front were unashamedly wasting time and energy defending an indefensible person. There were even suspected attempts to manipulate the process of inquiry and influence even the judiciary.She said the investigations conducted into all the infamous sex-scandal cases in Kerala were losing steam owing to the unholy political patronage of the UDF. “Incidents of these kinds were alien to the State till very recently,” she said.

Ms. Karat said the Congress-led government at the Centre had also been continuing with a similar strategy of protecting the guilty and torturing innocents in several cases. If innocent Muslim youths were wrongly arrested on charge of anti-national activities, it would always be a blot on the nation. She termed the Mochana Yatra a farce, and said the leaders who were taking pride of the ‘liberation journey' were trying to cover up burning issues. The UDF leaders should divert the ‘Yatra' to New Delhi and meet the Union government authorities for the actual liberation of people

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

An Appeal for mass collection for Jyoti Basu Social Study Centre

A Social Studies Centre that would undertake the invaluable experience of contemporary and historical research on Left and Communist mass movements and social transformation to be named after the Communist Legend Jyoti Basu will soon be illustrating the political academics of the country. To commemorate such a celebrated leader “Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Studies and Research” will soon be constituted at Jyoti Basu Nagar, Newtown Rajarhat. CPI(M) state committee has made an appeal to all party workers, supporters, fellow travelers and people of the state to donate for the construction of the centre. The 10-day long mass collection has already started from 17^th January, the day of the first death anniversary of Jyoti Basu.

Biman Basu, CPI(M) state secretary, while appealing for a donation for the centre said ,  Comrade Jyoti Basu’s life as a whole told the history of mass movements. His contribution stretching from the freedom struggle to the incessant fight for democracy, peoples’ rights and unity of the is widely acclaimed. It is also reverently recognized that having started from the leader of opposition in West Bengal Legislative Assembly Jyoti Basu remained the Chief Minister of the state for 23 years successively. Jyoti Basu’s life is itself signified a history of Indian Communist movements and people’s movements as well.

Basu reiterated that to pay homage to such a great people’s leader the CPI(M) West Bengal state committee decided to constitute a centre chiefly on the research of Communist movement and people’s struggle. To constitute such a centre the state committee formed an organization “Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Studies and Research”. The proposed centre would include a huge archive with all necessary documents on Jyoti Basu, an auditorium, a meeting room, a seminar room, library and a small guest house.

Basu informed that a letter seeking a plot in Rajarhat Newtown was given to the concerned authority which they approved. But huge money is required to purchase the plot and construct the centre-building. The centre would come up with people’s contribution.

On 17^th January mass collection took place in different districts. Ashok Ghosh , the veteran leader of Forward Block donated Rs One Lakh on behalf of his party and Rs Ten thousand personally in the fund. Biman Basu collected fund in streets of Siuri, Birbhum. Steel workers of  Durgapur handed over the money to Prakash Karat, who was there to address a seminar.

To facilitate the noble endeavour, you can send draft or cheque in favour of “Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Studies and Research” payable at Kolkata to CPI(M), West Bengal State Committee, 31, Alimuddin Street, Kolkata – 700016.

Left Parties Memorandum to the Election Commission of India

In continuation of our representation before you dated January 21, 2011, we are presenting our specific area-wise concerns which pose a challenge for the holding of peaceful, free and fair elections for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly in some parts of the state.

 

But, at the outset, before going into these specific facts, we would like to draw your attention to certain observations from the Election Commission. That West Bengal elections have been historically violence-prone is a claim which is not borne out by facts. On the contrary, West Bengal has a very positive record of peaceful elections. Further, West Bengal’s electoral history is unique characterized by abnormally heavy voter turnout underlining the peaceful, free and fair character with massive popular participation under the strictest scrutiny of the EC. A number of times the Election Commission and its observers have put these on record. Particularly during the 2006 elections, the EC had organized it under unprecedented security arrangements. So much so, that the elections were held in five phases and both security and other election officials were largely drawn from outside the state. Unfortunately, overlooking this history and making ahistorical observations can only lead to interpretations which will help partisan interests. 

 

The situation, as we had stated on January 21, is, indeed, serious in certain areas. This is largely due to the nexus between the Maoists and the Trinamul Congress. More developments have taken place since which bring out the brazenness of this complicit relationship. Now, this nexus is not operating covertly but quite in the open. A meeting was held in Lalgarh jointly sponsored by the Trinamul Congress and the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) on January 30. This was addressed, amongst others, by Shri Shishir Adhikari and Shri Mukul Roy – both Ministers of State in the Union Government and front-ranking TMC leaders. Both the print and the electronic media have reported banners, festoons and flags alongwith the actual presence of PCPA in the meeting. Incidentally, PCPA has been described by the Home Minister as a frontal organisation of the Maoists – on the floor of the Rajya Sabha itself. The CBI chargesheet in the Gyaneswari Express tragedy has established the involvement of the PCPA in the gruesome incidents where deliberate sabotage had led to the death of 150 innocent people. On January 31, two Maoists were apprehended from the so-called relief camp run by the TMC in the Congress-TMC led Midnapur municipality’s Guest House. Communications with the top Maoist leadership, including Kishanji, was recovered from these arrested Maoists. Media has also reported that questioning of these two have led to the recovery of firearms and ammunition which were hidden under the ground. 

 

The open involvement of a major political force which is a part of the UPA coalition at the Centre with the Maoists may adversely affect the coming election process. This will create difficulties for the maintenance of a peaceful atmosphere, despite the state administration’s best efforts. Efforts by the administration have led to recovery of a large cache of firearms and other lethal weapons. The joint security operations has also been able to largely restore normalcy in large part of the affected districts. However, the new feature, as stated above, is the open complicity between the TMC and Maoists that makes the task of the security forces more difficult as seen in the resistance to arrest of two Maoists from the TMC relief camp and the subsequent insinuations by the TMC against the police administration.

 

We would like to further inform the Election Commission that the joint forces have conducted a thorough search for the so-called `armed camps’ on the basis of a list submitted by the opposition before the Hon’ble High Court. The Commandant of the CRPF has publicly gone on record that the operations did not establish the existence of `armed camps’. But people evicted by violence were found to be living in those camps and that their names were being listed systematically by the security forces. Arrangements must be made by the EC to ensure that such displaced voters in areas like Nandigram, Khejuri and other parts of East Midnapur are allowed to exercise their franchise. However, the improvement of the situation has not been able to stop `individual annihilation’ of CPI(M) and Left cadre which continue to take place.  In fact, since the noise over `armed camps’ reached a crescendo more than a dozen Left activists have been killed by the Maoists. One cannot escape an uncomfortable conclusion that such propaganda of disinformation has only emboldened the TMC-Maoist to mount greater terror. On this 4^th of February, a CPI(M) sympathizer, Baidyanath Jana, an employee of a school was shot dead by the TMC-Maoist nexus in Nayagram, in the Jangal Mahal area of West Midnapur district. 

 

Given this, the first specific concern arises from the geographic features of the state with its long borders with Jharkhand and Orissa. In fact, these borders are in many cases under forest cover. Therefore, it is that much easier   for the Maoists to cross over and conduct operations. The Ayodhya hills and its adjoining blocks of Purulia district like Bandwan, Balrampur, Arsha, Baghmundi, Jhalda-I and II and Jaipur are particularly vulnerable from the security point of view. Similarly, Khairasol, Rajnagar, Mohd Bazar, Rampurhat, Nalhati of Birbhum district have borders with Jharkhand. Of late, as the situation improved in Jangalmahal, increased operations by Maoists have been noticed in Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia districts. It is necessary for the EC to address this question of vulnerability in the border areas from a security point of view and may be consider the sealing of the state borders from the time of announcement of elections.

 

Further, we would like to draw the attention of the EC to specific assembly segments, villages and gram panchayats where terror has been let loose with an arms build up.   We are attaching as annexure detailed district-wise information. 

 

Unfortunately, the visit of the set of observers to study law and order exclusively on the basis of allegations by the opposition has created some doubts in the minds of the people. During the visit of the observers, there are complaints that even after specific efforts were made, the representatives of Left parties could not meet these observers. This was most particularly evident in Purba Midnapur district. 

 

We hope that the Election Commission will initiate appropriate steps to address these concerns to instill the required sense of confidence.