CPIM Dharna against sexual violence on women

 

Several hundred activists of the Delhi state committee of CPI (M) held a protest dharna on 30th October at Jantar Mantar against the rising cases of sexual violence against the women and children throughout the country.

The dharna was addressed by Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI (M), P.M.S. Grewal, Secretary, Delhi State Committee of CPI (M) and other leaders including Asha Sharma, Nathu Prasad, Jagdish Chand, Sonia Verma (all Party State Committee members), Maimoona Mollah (JMS), Sunand (SFI), Kamala (CITU) and G. Mamatha (People’s Democracy). Vijender Sharma, State Secretariat member of the CPI (M), presided.

Prakash Karat pointed to the big increase in the cases of rapes and sexual violence against women throughout the country in the recent past. Children and young women have been the biggest victims. Governments throughout the country have not only failed to tackle these cases; but in many instances the administration, police and state machinery actually ensure that the victim is not even able to lodge a complaint. There is thus an urgent need of an effective law against sexual harassment. However successive central governments have failed to enact such a legislation. The CPI (M) will continue to mount pressure on the UPA government to ensure that such a bill is enacted in the winter session of the parliament.

Prakash Karat also stressed that laws alone will not be enough to curb violence against women. Simultaneously there is an urgent need to combat the retrograde and anti-women values that dominate society.

Various speakers also pointed the need to take this issue right to the level of mohallas, and ensure effective resistance to these regressive acts of violence.

Later a memorandum concerning increased violence against women was submitted to the Union Minister of Home Affairs. 

 

Similar  dharnas and protest meetings were held across the country against the rise in sexual violence on the women.

CPI(M) to observe the Birth Centenary of Samar Mukherjee

The CPI(M) West Bengal state committee has decided to observe the 100th birthday of the centenarian leader Samar Mukherjee. The General Secretary of the party Prakash Karat and state leaders of Left Front will also be present in that occasion. While addressing the press the Left Front Chairman and Secretary CPI(M) state committee Biman Basu announced the programme and also invited left leaderships to attend the programme.

Basu while explaining the decision to observe the birth centenary of Samar Mukherjee stated that Samar Mukherjee has dedicated his life to the party. It is indeed a rare fact that a party leader is becoming a centenarian in his life and that has influenced us taking the decision to observe his 100th birthday this year. The whole programme will be organized at the 9, Dilkhusa Street commune where the legend leader resides.

While sketching the life of Samar Mukherjee, Biman Basu stated that in earlier days of freedom struggle he participated actively in freedom struggle and became member of Pradesh Congress Committee during. Later being attracted to the Communist Ideologies he became a member of Communist Party in 1940. Since then he remained Polit Bureau member of the party, Chairman, Central Control Commission, party leader in the Parliament, and General Secretary CITU etc. He still remains an invitee member to the party Central Committee.

About the reason behind why party except for Kakababu (Mujaffar Ahmed) does not observe birthday of any leadership, Biman Basu explained that it was an exceptional situation the party was facing in 1963 when party existed in three separate wings. Some of the leaderships were in custody, some in underground, and a few were working openly. It was very difficult to organize programmes overtly to propagate ideological issues. So the leaderships in jail and underground have unanimously decided to observe the birthday of Kakababu as a weapon to propagate the political ideological issues.

AIKS statement on the Rangarajan Committee on Sugar Decontrol

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) strongly condemns the Rangarajan Committee recommendation for total decontrol of the sugar industry. This move pushed by the Congress-led UPA Government will only promote the interests of the profit seeking Corporate Sugar Mills at the expense of the farmers, consumers and the Cooperative sector. The Government is pushing for decontrol of sugar to aid the sugar lobby and big corporates who also are defaulters in terms of huge arrears that need to be paid to Cane Growers. This move is at the behest of the sugar lobby which has been demanding removal of controls and allowing for unbridled profiteering. Opinion of AIKS on the major issues raised by the Committee is given below:

On Removal Of State Administered Price: 

AIKS rejects the Committee call for ending the State Administered Price (SAP) of sugarcane set by the States in favour of the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) set by the Centre as the minimum. This is against the principles of federalism guiding Centre-State relations as well as against the spirit of the Apex Court judgment in 2004 reinforcing the State Governments’ right to announce SAP. The right of the State in fixing prices must be safeguarded. It is notable that the ‘Fair and Remunerative Price’ used by the Central Government is a deceptive term and is far below the cost of cultivation in all States. In the name of “Rationalisation of Sugar Cane Pricing” the Committee is pitching for the discredited FRP which is neither “Fair” nor “Remunerative”.  This move is against the interest of the Cane Growers. 

On Removal of Levy Sugar Obligation: 

AIKS rejects its recommendation that the levy sugar obligation and administrative control on non-levy sugar must be immediately ended. Under this obligation mills are required to sell 10 per cent of their production to the Government at below market price for the poor under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The Committee also suggests that the States that wanted to provide sugar under the TPDS might procure from the open market through competitive bidding, and then fix an issue price. It also has asked the Government to “rationalize” the current issue price for TPDS sugar. The Food Ministry is reported to have already proposed to double the issue price to around Rs. 23/Kg. This move is going to have a cascading effect on the prices of sugar for the TPDS beneficiaries and States will end up coughing out huge resources for buying sugar from the open market for TPDS supply. The price of sugar in the open market will also sky rocket. In effect the move is against the TPDS and the poor. It has to be noted that earlier the levy sugar obligation was 65 percent and 35 percent alone was for the open market. This had been gradually altered to 10 percent levy sugar and 90 percent for open market. By doing away with the obligation of even 10 percent levy sugar the Government intends to allow a free hand to Private players to fix prices.

On Removal Of The Cane Reservation Area: 

The Committee has suggested the removal of the concept of a Reservation Area of a minimum distance of 15 km between any two sugar mills. As of now it is obligatory that a mill buys cane from growers within the reservation area. Instead the Committee suggests that mills must enter into contracts with farmers and the Cane Reservation Area and bonding must be phased out. This move will only promote monopolies of big corporate sugar mills and destroy the Cooperative sector. Companies will no longer be bound by any agreement on Government fixed prices. It will open the way for loot by the sugar lobby and Cane Growers will be at the mercy of Private players.

On Tagging Order: 

The Committee recommends that the mills must share 70 per cent of the value of sugar and each by-product, including bagasse, molasses and press-mud as cane dues payable to farmers for supplies. The payment to farmers will be made in two steps: the first, the minimum FRP set by the Centre; and the second, subsequent to the publication of half-yearly ex-mill prices. The Tagging Order earlier was 80 percent of the value of sugar and each by-products and the Committee has only reduced it further to the detriment of the Cane-Growers. The Mills have also defaulted on paying this amount. They have arbitrarily fixed the recovery rate often much below the actual and reports of fraudulent weighing of produce are rampant. The Sugar Mills’ word is taken as final on both recovery and weighing and there is no check on them. Cane Growers never really have benefited from value of by-products. There is no mechanism in place to ensure that the Cane Growers get any share of the value of by-products. In such a context to give a free unregulated role to the Sugar Millers will only lead to their strangle-hold over the market.

On Export and Import Policy: 

The Committee in the name of a stable trade policy calls for outright ban or doing away with quantitative restrictions once and for all. It calls for liberalisation of sugar trade over a two to three year period in a calibrated and phased manner. It suggests a moderate duty on imports and exports and suggests that Export and import policy should not be guided by domestic availability. It argues for promoting exports by arguing that even though India contributes 17 per cent to the global sugar output, its share in exports is only four per cent. It also keeps the doors open for imports from outside as well as the possibility of dumping of sugar by calling for an outright ban on quantitative restrictions. We have seen the adverse impact of withdrawal of quantitative restrictions and import duties as well as linking of prices to the volatile world market prices in the case of other commercial crops. While farmers bear the brunt of falling global prices, the Corporate Mills earn huge profits when global prices rise without transferring any benefit to farmers. Like in the case of decontrol of Seed industry, Fertiliser industry, Pesticide industry and Petroleum industry, the move will only lead to increased prices for the consumers and unending profits for the Companies. 

AIKS calls upon the State Units to rise up in protest against this move and resist this retrograde move tooth and nail. AIKS demands that the Government reject these recommendations and a Comprehensive Sugarcane Policy be evolved through consultation with the Cane Growers and Peasant Organisations. 

SFI Sweeps Hyderabad Central University Polls

Students Federation of India swept the polls in the election to students union of Hyderabad Central University. SFI bagged all major executive posts in the Union including President, Vice President, General Secretary Joint Secretary and GS CASH with a clear majority defeating its major opponent ABVP and opponents like NSUI, Telangana Students Association etc.

SFI candidates, Amjad Basha(President) , Vasista Reddy (Vice President), Arvind Kumar (General Secretary) and Vani Prashamsa (Joint Secretary),Uma Bharathi (Gender Sensitivity Committee Against Sexual Harassment,GS CASH) registered their victory by securing a total of 1084, 1082, 1030, 1117 respectively `with a clear margin of 21, 220, 37, 120, 25 votes.

NSUI and Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) alliance came third and Telangana Front stood fourth in these polls, results of which were declared just now.

SFI approached the elections with a clear cut manifesto upholding its uncompromising stand against the privatisation and commercialization of education and its unparalled zeal to preserve  the secular fabric of the campus. Reacting to the victory, SFI unit committee stated that the mandate proves a strong message against the communal politics of ABVP and the neo-liberal education policies followed by the UPA government.
 
During the last two years SFI contested  Students Union polls in alliance with ASA. However this year SFI went alone on the basis of the struggles it waged against the unjust policies of university administration in matters related to increase in hostel fees and the scrapping of BBL fellowships for the students which it could successfully resist through its pertinent role in the Students Union. SFI HCU unit committee thanked the student community for the support.

Both SFI and DYFI state committee congratulated newly elected SFI representatives in the students union.

CPIM Releases Poll Manifesto for Himachal elections

Communist Party of India- Marxist on Saturday offered a third alternative to the people of Himachal through its election manifesto for the coming assembly election, that was released by the senior party leaders at Shimla. CPIM recommended the need for a peoples’ alternative against the anti-people and neo liberal policies being pursued by both the BJP and Congress while announcing its political agenda before the polls.

State Secretariat members Dr Onkar Shad, Dr Kuldeep Tanwar and Tikender Panwar in a joint press conference announced that for a first time after 1990 a joint front comprising of CPI-M, CPI and Himachal Lokhit Party, is fighting on all 68 seats of the State assembly. The party will contest 15 seats.

It is a result of our persistent struggle against the mainstream parties who were chasing the pro-rich, pro-corporate neo liberal agenda from past two decades, that we have come in a position to challenge them today”, said the leaders.

 

Exposing the dismal financial condition of the hill State, the party demanded a special status to the hill State again which was lost during the 9^th Finance Commission recommendations. The tough social and geographical conditions in the State should be reconsidered and it should be provided an extra grant of Rs 1000 crore for protecting its forests and environment, every year. The party also demanded 10 percent royalty on every per unit of electricity it is producing in the State and an increase in the 12 percent distress cost it is getting so far. The State should also be allowed to charge a levy on cement and other industries and the industrial package snatched by the Congress led UPA-II government should also be restored for the industrially backward hill State.

The CPI-M has promised a daily wage of Rs 300 to the workers and 70 percent reservation to the people of Himachal in all jobs generated in the state. With an emphasis on self employment it has assured an unemployment allowance of Rs 1000 per month to all the jobless people in the State, if voted to power. It has insisted for more subsidies to the farmers in distress and an emphasis and special incentives for the organic farming in the State. A 90 percent subsidy has been demanded for the anti hail nets to save the produce of farmers.

The left leaders have suggested a strict implementation of the recommendations of the regulatory authority that has been made to check the functioning of private universities and other educational institutions that have mushroomed up in a large number in the State. The outsourcing in health services should be immediately stopped and more medical staff should be sent to the remote and tribal areas of the State. More food stuff should be given in the PDS to the poor and marginal people of the State, said the CPI-M.

The infrastructural facilities should be improved and roads that are life lines in hills should be given a top priority. The party has promised fast track courts for deciding the corruption cases, vigorously fighting the FDI in retail, more powers to the urban and rural local bodies, forest and timber rights and eradication of wild animal menace from the State. (Courtesy : Hill post)

Neoliberal Agenda is Causing Social Disarray : Prakash Karat

Plenty of neo-liberal projects are not causing political and economical disorders only; they are resulting in enormous chaos and massive attack on the democratic space inspiring social disarray, said Prakash Karat, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on the occasion of the 93rd foundation day of the party. The Kolkata District Committee of the party had organised a discussion program at the Pramod Dasgupta Bhavan in Kolkata. He said that attacks on the female citizens are on all time high throughout India; it is not the distress of law and order only, it has its roots deep beneath the social frenzy caused by the neo-liberal installation. Commodity logic of open market economy is showing its dual destructive impact by seizing popular democratic rights and on the other hand it is re-aspiring medieval conservatism.

CPI(M) would set forth for organizing Protest Day all over the country on 30th of October 2012 on the issue of growing number of crime and attacks on women demanding social security for them. Karat uttering on this program said, wherever be the democratic space of the people get breached by the neo-liberal installations, communist party would be there to protest and demand for roll-back of anti-people projects and insist on baring the hands of neo-liberalism.

Karat reminded the party members that communists are sworn to intensify the continuous struggle against imperialism and now it is their responsibility to defend independence and sovereignty of this country from the fraudulent attacks of finance capital. The Left Front Government was the prime apparatus of the communists to ban crime against female citizens in this state for a long time. But now with the TMC Government in power, female citizens are experiencing unprecedented attack. The first female CM of the state astonished us all by not taking any stern stapes to curb those crime rather she is all busy with cover up acts that tends to defend the miscreants.

Commenting on allowing FDI in Retail trade in India he said that the Government has done serious mistake by bypassing the parliament. He said that this sort of serious issues must have to be discussed in the parliament and then decided. Government must call upon for ballots in parliament on this issue to check what the mass representatives of that house are thinking. He discussed all the cons of this policy and how it is going to affect the livelihood of the Indians. He also raised the issue of epidemic of corruption by discussing coal block scam and discrepancy surfaced on Robert Bhadra’s land and many other, he opined that in every sort of scams and discrepancies the collaborations of ministers and big corporate and bureaucrats. Someone cannot turn to be corrupted overnight; it is the effect of intensification of capital as a whole. The state is intervening to serve for the growth of profit for the bourgeoisie. Where corporations like Wal-Marts are in the scene to occupy the market, how could one expect national sovereignty and independence to dwell in this society?

The CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee’s Secretary Biman Basu and Polit Bureau member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee were also present at this program.

CPI(M) demands formation of mineral development corporation in Goa

 

Hundreds of CPI-M workers converged at the Azad Maidan in Panaji capital city of Goa after winding through the main streets of the city on Wednesday morning demanding immediate resumption of legal mining and compensation to the people affected directly or indirectly due to ban on mining operations in the state. They also demanded formation of Goa Mineral Development Corporation. 

 

CPIM Central Committee member and CITU All India President Com Tapan Sen charged political parties for alleged mining irregularities in the state as well as in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Com.  Sen stated that private mining firms and government officials are responsible for the present mining industry crisis and as such they should be brought to book and punished accordingly for the mining scam.

He demanded immediate resumption of legal mining or some kind of assistance to those who are directly or indirectly affected by halting of mining operations. "The initiative should come from the central government as well as from state government to compensate these stakeholders of mining industry," he stated. He further said that nearly one lakh workers have been affected due to ban on mining and if there are four members in a family then the equation comes to nearly four lakh people and added that this is a very big number for a small state like Goa. He said that mine owners are now shying away from their responsibility and are well aware that there is no demand for iron ore either in European or Chinese markets so they are silent and "once the demand goes up then slowly they will reopen and export the ore for better price." "This is not the case of Goa alone similar situation is prevailing throughout the nation wherever there are mines and ore is being expor ted," he stated. He said that if Goan ore extraction is 67 million tonnes per year the mines will be exhausted or closed for want of ore. He said it should be streamlined through formation of Goa Mineral Development Corporation.

CPI-M Goa State Secretary Com Thalmann Pereira cautioned that if legal mining was not resumed with immediate effect they would make ‘life miserable’ for the concerned ministers and MLAs. Com. Jatin Naik and Com. Sugandhi Francis vice-president of Akhil Bhartiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana, also spoke.

AIDWA letter to National Commission for women against Police lathicharge in Haryana

Women’s organizations have written to the NCW demanding action against the Haryana police who lathi charged a peaceful demonstration in Rohtak on Oct 15th 2012. The rallyists were demanding that justice be done to rape victims in Haryana. The male police wielded batons mercilessly against the women, including young girls, within a short distance of the DC office. Inst ead of assisting the victims of rape to access justice, the police have actually filed cases against Brinda Karat, Jagmati Sangwan, and many other activists who were in the rally! Women’s organizations have severely condemned the illegal assault on women by male police, and are demanding action against those responsible for it. 

With thanks,
Sudha Sundararaman
(General Secretary, AIDWA)

copy of the memorandum

 To
The Chairperson,
National Commission for Women,
New Delhi.

Subject: Demanding enquiry into illegal lathi charge on women’s rally by male police in Rohtak, Haryana, and action against the police and authorities responsible for it.

Dear Ms. Mamta ji,
We wish to bring to your attention the inhuman and barbaric lathi charge that was unleashed against unarmed women by male police in Rohtak, Haryana, on October 15th 2012. 

The rally was being held to demand justice for victims of rape in Haryana. After a mass meeting, the participants were proceeding in a peaceful manner to submit their memorandum containing the demands charter to the Chief Minister. Many leaders of the women’s movement were present in the march, including- Ms. Brinda Karat (ex MP), Ms. Jyotsna Chatterjee (JWP), Ms. Kavita Srivastav, (PUCL) Ms, Shabnam Hashmi  (ANHAD), Ms. Suneeta Dhar( Jagori), Ms. Gargi Chakravarti ( NFIW), Ms. Leila Passah, (YWCA), Ms. Sudha Sundararaman (AIDWA) Ms. Ranjana Kumari, (CSR) Ms. Jagmati Sangwan, (AIDWA), etc. Families of the rape victims were participating in the earnest hope that the Haryana administration would come forward to listen to their plight, provide relief, and ensure that the perpetrators would be severely punished. Young girls and women from the most marginalized sections of society came along to raise their  voice against the spate of rapes, especially against dalits and minors. 

Instead of facilitating this process, so that the victim’s families could get the support of the state, the rally was attacked by the lathi wielding policemen when they tried to approach the DC’s office. The incident has been captured by the media, and has been widely aired by a number of channels. Many women have suffered injuries, 15 women have been hospitalized in Rohtak alone.

We call on the NCW to take note of the illegal action by the Haryana police, and ask the State Govt to take severe action against those policemen who were carrying out the lathicharge and those who authorized them to do so. Violations of such a serious nature by authorities sworn to uphold law and order must not go unpunished.

AIDWA protest against atrocities against women in Haryana

Thousands of women, led by senior leaders of AIDWA including CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, staged a protest march at Rohtak in Haryana on Monday against the failure of the State government to halt the continuing violence and rape of Dalit women and minors and also the reckless statements made by senior political leaders on issues related to women.

Taking serious exception to the unconstitutional solution by Khap panchayats to deal with rapes, the activists said silence of the government on Khap panchayats was a matter of serious concern. The panchayats had said lowering of the marriage age could help in containing rapes.

Families of victims, students and rural women from various districts gathered at the HUDA Complex where there was a public meeting. They then took out the march to meet District Collector. A statement on behalf of the organisations said they were not allowed to meet the Collector and police lathi-charged the protesters causing injuries to various protestors.

At the public meeting, Ms. Karat condemned the Hooda government for failing to first provide security to women and the police and administration for refusing to lodge FIRs or arrest the accused.

Slams Khaps

“She also took on the Khaps and INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala and wondered how they could even have suggested a solution of decreasing the age of marriage, which is against the law. Is legitimising rape within marriage a solution she asked? She also said that education and freedom from fear was the right of every girl and we all demand that women’s rights are not curtailed any more,” the statement said.

Sudha Sundararaman of AIDWA pledged that till justice was delivered to the victims and safety ensured for women they would not give up the struggle. Jagmati Sangwan, vice president of AIDWA, who has been spearheading the struggle in the State, placed a resolution against violence on women and it was passed unanimously.

The police registered a case under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332, 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), 427 (mischief), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly) against protests . The police FIR named 12 persons including Karat, AIDWA activists Jagmati Sangwan, Iti Chaudhary, Dimpal, Shahnawaj, Prem Rani and male activists Satvir Singh, Ramesh Laura, Inderjit Singh, Preet Singh, Naresh and Ramniwas as accused besides a number of unidentified accused. 

CPIM CC Press Communiqué

 

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi from October 12 to 14, 2012. It has issued the following statement:

 

Onslaught on People’s Interests

 

The UPA government has undertaken a series of measures which are meant to appease foreign finance capital and big business on the one hand and to squeeze the people and burden them with steps to increase price rise and cut subsidies on the other.

 

The decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, the disinvestment in profitable public sector enterprises and the efforts to increase FDI in the insurance sector and privatize pension funds are all meant to profit foreign capital and big corporates.

 

The sharp hike in diesel by Rs. 5 per litre has stoked inflation and in such a situation the limitation in subsidized gas cylinders is a serious attack on the budgets of ordinary families.

 

The Manmohan Singh government has increased the price of subsidized gas cylinders by Rs. 11.40 and the price of urea by Rs. 50 per tonne in recent days. These callous measures will only further increase the burdens on the people. The UPA government is not  bothered with the food inflation rate which has crossed 10 per cent.

 

The Central Committee noted the growing political isolation of the UPA government. The withdrawal of the TMC from the government, even the partners of the UPA government differing with the anti-people measures adopted – all go to show that the Manmohan Singh government has no mandate to push through such reforms. The September 20 all India protest and hartal showed the discontent and fighting mood of the people. The Central Committee resolved to intensify the movements and struggles in defence of people’s livelihood and to mobilize the people against high level corruption.

 

Intensified Struggles

 

The Central Committee endorsed the decision of the Left parties to conduct conventions against FDI in multi-brand retail in state capitals and major cities in the month of November. The CPI(M) will resolutely oppose the opening of foreign supermarkets and will build up a broadbased movement to stop Walmart and other foreign supermarket chains entering India.

 

The Central Committee also decided to intensify the movement for food security and against price rise. From the second half of November and the whole month of December, Party units at all levels will take up the task of enlisting people who have no BPL cards and ensuring that they get the cards, conduct struggles for adequate supply of foodgrains through the PDS and campaign for an effective food security law. Along with this, the Party will conduct the struggle against the limitation in gas cylinders and the rise in fertilizer prices for farmers, increase in electricity rates etc.

 

Massive Corruption

 

The recent period has seen the UPA government and the Congress leadership being engulfed in corruption scandals one after the other. There is no sector in which corruption and loot of resources is not going on.

 

Coal Block Scandal

 

The Central Committee reiterated that a high level enquiry should be conducted on the allocation of captive coal blocks. The largescale misuse and corrupt practices which have been exposed by the CAG report has to be comprehensively enquired into. Since the Prime Minister was looking after this ministry, the role of the PMO should also be probed. Those found responsible for the irregularities and malpractices should be prosecuted; allocations made to the private companies should be cancelled and steps taken to recover the loss of revenue.

 

Other Cases

 

The CPI(M) demands that nothing should be done to undermine the nationalized coal industry. The captive coal mining route should not be used as a backdoor method of privatisation. Instead of competitive bidding for captive coal blocks, the alternate route should be that such allocations for private steel and power producers should be made through the nodal agency of Coal India Ltd and the mining should be undertaken by the CIL and its subsidiaries and coal supplied to the private power and steel producers through fuel supply agreements.

 

The Central Committee demanded that action be taken on the basis of the CAG reports on the Sasan ultra mega power project and the Delhi International Airport Ltd. In both cases windfall profits have been made by illegal allotments and benefits.

 

The Central Committee demanded that enquiry should be conducted by the relevant authorities into the business dealings of Robert Vadra. His companies and its links with the giant real estate company DLF and the nexus with the Haryana government should be probed and action taken if there is any wrongdoing.

 

Situation in Assam

 

The Central Committee expressed its deep concern at the ethnic clashes which took place in the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District areas. Even two and a half months after the clashes nearly two lakh people are living in relief camps, the bulk of them Muslims. All steps should be taken to see that people can return to their homes and lands and the state should ensure their safety and security. The Central Committee condemned the efforts of certain extremist forces to communalise the whole situation in Assam.

 

The Central Committee reiterated that the right of people belonging to different states and regions to go for work and residence in other parts of the country must be protected.  Regional chauvinism and divisive forces who seek to disrupt the unity of the people should be firmly combated.

 

 

Increase in Crimes against Women

 

The Central Committee expressed its deep concern of the increase in the crimes against women which according to the NCRB figures for 2011 is as high as 2.28 lakh registered cases. Rape is the fastest growing crime in India and shockingly, sexual assaults on children under the age of 14 were as high as 10 per cent of the 24,000 cases registered in 2011. The dismal record of convictions shows that 75 per cent of the rape accused walk free, encouraging criminals to commit this heinous crime. The recent incidents in Haryana and West Bengal where those in power have sought to brush aside the increasing sexual assault cases as “a conspiracy against the Government” add insult to injury, demean rape victims and are condemnable.

 

In protest against increasing cases of sexual assault and crimes against women the CPI(M) will observe a day of national protest on October 30. The Party will campaign to mobilize public opinion against the attacks on women and young girls. The Party will demand the passage of the Bill pending with the Government against Sexual Assault; Accountability procedures and punishment to police officials guilty of delaying filing of FIR, medical examination; ensuring time-bound framework for rape cases through Fast Track Courts.

 

Prosecution of Minority Youth

 

The Central Committee deplored the continuing harassment and targeting of Muslim youth who are being arrested in cases connected with terrorism charges. Many instances have occurred of arrest of innocent youth and their being in jail for long period and finally being acquitted by the courts. The State investigative and intelligence agencies have displayed a bias in targeting Muslim youth. Steps have to be taken to step such biased investigations and procedures. The Central Committee decided to campaign for the protection of the democratic rights and civil liberties of the minority community in all such cases.

 

Assembly Elections

 

The Central Committee discussed the Party’s participation in the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly elections. It approved the decision on the seats to be contested in these two states.

 

Support to Joint Trade Union Call

 

The Central Committee supported the call of the Central trade unions for the movement against the anti-working class policies of the government and for the protection of the rights of workers. The Central trade unions have given a call for a two-day strike on February 20-21, 2013. The Central Committee directed all its Party units to work for the success of the strike and to campaign for the success of the protest action among the working class and mobilize other sections of the working people to join the strike call.