Continue Samacheer Kalvi in Tamilnadu: CPI(M)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has urged the State government to continue implementing the “Samacheer Kalvi” (uniform syllabus) this year also, without any delay.

In a statement, CPI(M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan pointed out that the scheme came into being last year and accordingly it was introduced for I and VI standards. During the current academic year, it should have been introduced for the II to V and VII to X standards.

However, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government, which had just taken over the reins of power, had passed a bill to postpone the uniform syllabus.

It had also clarified that it was not opposed to the system per se but wanted to redress certain flaws found in the syllabus.

Meanwhile, Madras High court had stayed the operation of the amendment passed by the State Assembly and ordered that the samcheer kalvi system be continued.

At the same time, it had said that there was no bar on deleting any material from or adding new material to the text books.

Mr.Ramakrishnan said his party had appealed to the State Government to initiate measures to rectify the flaws in the text books and improve the standard of education while implementing the uniform syllabus. This had been emphasiszed by various sections of society including educationists and students.

Hence, the CPI-M pleaded that the State Government should continue implementing the uniform syllabus without any delay taking into account the stay of the Madras High Court and ensure that the schools reopened on June 15 as announced earlier. In addition, the constructive features of the Muthukumaran Committee report should be implemented within a time frame.

Communique of CPIM Central Committee meeting held at Hyderabad

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in Hyderabad on June 11-12, 2011. It has issued the following statement:

Election Review

The Central Committee conducted a review of the results of the recent Assembly elections in the four states of West Bengal, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The review examined the reasons for the big defeat of the Left Front in West Bengal. It identified the causes for the erosion of support for the CPI(M) and the Left Front among different sections of the people. The CPI(M) and the Left had come under a big attack since the reverses suffered in the Lok Sabha elections. Under the TMC leadership there was a concerted effort to ensure a gang-up of disparate political forces ranging from the extreme right to the Maoists to isolate and weaken the Left Front.

Notwithstanding the big achievements of the Left Front governments over the last three decades, there were shortcomings and weaknesses in some of the policies and measures adopted for the welfare of the people. The mistakes with regard to Singur and Nandigram proved costly. The review also identified the organizational defects and shortcomings which have alienated various sections of the people. The Review Report adopted by the Central Committee has set out some of the corrective steps to be taken at the political and organizational level.

The Central Committee rejected the motivated propaganda that the electoral defeat in West Bengal has rendered the CPI(M) and the Left politically irrelevant. The Left Front, despite the adverse circumstances, has got 1.95 crore votes which is 41 per cent of the total votes. The West Bengal Party and the Left movement has undergone many vicissitudes in the past and emerged stronger. The CPI(M) will continue the struggle for the working class and the toiling people against the neo-liberal policies and defend the historic gains achieved by the people. Drawing the proper lessons from this defeat, the Party and the Left will bend all its energies to reinvigorate this movement.

In Kerala, the LDF lost narrowly. The UDF could win only with a slender margin of three seats. In its review, the Central Committee appreciated the work of the CPI(M) and the LDF in the election campaign. The LDF has emerged with strong popular support. The Central Committee has directed the Kerala state committee to examine various aspects of the election results and to take steps to further strengthen the Party and the movement in Kerala.

The report also conducted a review of the election results in Tamilnadu and Assam.

The Congress ruling party, cannot take much satisfaction from the results of the five state Assembly elections, with the exception of Assam. This is a reflection of the image of the Central Government as being one steeped in corruption. Its failure to curb price rise caused discontent among the people. It was virtually wiped out in Tamilnadu along with the major partner, the DMK. In Kerala it barely managed to scrape through.

The BJP has performed badly. It has got only five seats in Assam which is a reduction by half compared to the earlier tally. It was unable to win any seat in the other three states.

The Central Committee warned that the UPA government at the Centre may be emboldened to push more vigorously for neo-liberal policies given the loss of the Left-led governments in West Bengal and Kerala. Their attempt to heap more burdens on the people through such policies will be strongly resisted by the CPI(M) and the Left forces. The Central government will try to ride roughshod over the rights of the states and encroach further on Centre-State relations. The UPA government is displaying a tendency to assault democratic rights as seen in the manner in which it is trying to suppress protests against corruption and black money. The CPI(M) will fight against all such trends and vigorously defend the rights of the people and their livelihood.

Stop the Violence in West Bengal,Defend Democracy

Immediately, the Party has to face a situation where the Party and the Left are under tremendous attack. Fourteen CPI(M) and Left Front activists have been killed since the post election results. Hundreds of people have been injured in physical attacks. Scores of Party offices and trade union offices have been attacked or captured. Many of the Party cadres have to leave their homes because of threats and intimidation. The TMC-Congress government has shown no interest whatsoever in curbing this violence. The Central Committee condemned this campaign of violence and terror against the CPI(M) and the Left Front and call upon all democratic forces in the country to protest this onslaught against democracy and democratic rights.

Act against Corruption

The Central Committee strongly asserted that it is the Left parties that have the credibility and the record to fight against corruption in high places. The platform of the Left against corruption requires a comprehensive set of measures which can help curb corruption. This includes an effective Lokpal legislation which brings the Prime Minister also under its purview; the setting up of a National Judicial Commission to oversee the judiciary; electoral reforms to curb the use of money power and firm measures to break the nexus of big business-ruling politicians and the bureaucracy. The fountainhead of corruption today is this corrupt nexus which has flourished under the neo-liberal regime. The Left parties will mobilize the people to struggle to bring in these set of measures.

Food Security and BPL Survey

The Central Government’s claims of food inflation control have once again proven false with food inflation nearing 10 per cent. At the same time, the record rabi wheat procurement will once again rot in the open because of the callous negligence of the expansion of storage facilities. The most logical step which the Central Government stubbornly refuses take, would be to allocate the stocks to the states at BPL prices. In this context, the Food Security Bill proposed by the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council is highly unsatisfactory because it rejects the universal public distribution system and suggests instead new forms of targeting which will be an injustice to the large population which requires subsidized foodgrains. The present draft is unacceptable. The government should ensure, as a legal entitlement, at least 35 kg of foodgrains to the people at Rs. 2 a kilo as is being done by many state governments.

The BPL census questionnaire retains the anti-poor ranking system in which a poor person is not assessed by his or her own poverty but by the poverty of others. This is a cruel method that not only divides the poor but set ever new lines of destitution. We strongly oppose the ranking system. A just method would be to have an automatic exclusion category with verifiable criteria such as exclusion of government employees, income tax payers and big landowners and automatically include the rest as being eligible for food security. The CPI(M) will intensify its campaign against price rise and for a universal public distribution system.

Future Programme

The CPI(M) will conduct a vigorous political campaign against all the measures which are being proposed by the UPA government which are inimical to the interests of the people and the country. They include bringing multinational companies into retail trade; continuance of targeted public distribution system as against the universal PDS; policies which squeeze the peasantry in agriculture and the fight against the land grab by corporates and the real estate speculators depriving the farmers from their lands.

The Central Committee meeting decided to consult with the Left parties to launch a movement to demand measures to curb corruption in high places and to take firm measures to unearth black money and the repatriation of illegal money stashed abroad.

The Central Committee decided to mobilize all democratic forces and public opinion against the violence and terror unleashed against the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal. The campaign to end the violence and defend democracy in West Bengal will be conducted from July 1 to 7, 2011.

The Central Committee gave a call to all its Party units to collect funds to support the families of those killed, injured and displaced in these attacks. The Central Committee warned the UPA government not to further increase the prices of petroleum products. If it does so, a sustained movement will be launched against such an anti-people and inflationary measure.

Party Congress

The Central Committee decided to hold the 20^th Congress of the Party in the beginning of April 2012 in Kerala. The exact venue will be decided shortly.

The Central Committee decided on the time-table of conferences from the branch level to the state committees.

Kissan convention held in Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir Kissan Tehreek held a convention in Srinagar on Wednesday. After daylong deliberations, the convention adopted a number of resolutions.

The resolutions impressed upon the government to ensure the availability of ration under Public Distribution System (PDS) in rural areas. It was also demanded to include those ‘genuine’ consumers in the ration card lists, whose names have of late been deleted for no reason whatsoever.

The resolutions also sought adequate relief to those fruit growers whose crops suffered heavy damage due to extreme cold weather conditions during the spring season. The demand regarding immediate implementation of Crop Insurance Scheme in favour of farmers and fruit growers was raised once again vigorously. The government was also urged to make the chemical fertilizers and other agricultural inputs available to the farmers at the earliest. The non-availability and uncontrolled prices of fertilizers was deplored and negligence of the concerned departments condemned.

The convention was chaired by veteran Kisan leader, Ghulam Hussain Naqashbandi, while the State General Secretary of the organization, Ghulam Nabi Malik, Provincial Secretary, Mohammad Afzal Parrey,Abdul Hameed Wani and the State Secretary CPI(M) M Y Tarigami delivered their speeches in the convention. The speakers criticized the government for neglecting the problems and burning issues of the rural areas. Referring to the irregular and erratic power supply in the rural areas, the leaders alleged that the fee charged by the Power Department is in no way justified as the consumers don’t get even two hours of un-interrupted power supply.

Tarigami, who gave the key address in the convention, impressed upon the government to implement the Panchayat Act after due amendments so that the people who have participated in the panchayat elections with great zeal don’t get disillusioned. He said the democratization of the Panchayat Act and real empowerment of Panchayat bodies is a must for the overall development of the rural areas and upliftment of the farmer community. He sought bold and decisive initiatives for the eradication of the corruption in the administration, which he said, has spread its tentacles from the top to the lowest levels.

Source : Kashmirdespatch.com

CPI(M) protests arrest of activists in Khammam

CPI (M) cadres laid a siege to the office of the Divisional Forest Officer in Khammam, Andhra Pradesh on Monday to press for the release of three party activists who were allegedly booked under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act and detained in Charlapalli central jail for the past six months.

The protesters led by the CPI (M) district secretary Pothineni Sudarshan Rao staged a dharna in front of the DFO's office resenting the alleged registration of cases against three party activists including the party's district committee member and Girijana Sangham leader Bukya Veerabhadram under the PD Act.

Addressing the dharna, Com Sudarshan Rao alleged that Bukya Veerabhadram and two other party activists were held under the PD Act for raising their voice for the cause of oppressed sections. "Those engaged in mass movements in support of the tribals were being targeted while the smugglers were allowed to go scot-free under the present regime," he charged. The protesters called off the stir following the intervention of forest officials concerned who reportedly assured to look into their demands and initiate appropriate steps at the earliest.

CPI (M) State committee member B Sarala, district committee member Nunna Nageshwara Rao, Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham leaders K Narsaiah, Srinivasa Rao besides the representatives of CITU and other frontal organisations of the party were among those who participated in the dharna.

Amaravathy satyagraha, a symbol of fight against oppression

On the side of people:A.K. Goplan, the then Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on a fast demanding rehabilitation of farmers evicted from Ayyappancoil in Amaravathy in 1961. The fast started on June 6 and continued till he was called for a meeting by the then Chief Minister,Pattom A. Thanupillai, on June 9.

Giji K. Raman

AMARAVATHY (IDUKKI DISTRICT): This sleepy village near Kumily looks like any other place in the High Ranges with coffee, pepper, cardamom, and tea cultivations. However, for the older generation, Amaravathy brings to mind a satyagraha led by the Communist veteran A.K. Gopalan, or AKG as he is popularly known, who, on June 6, 1961, started a satyagraha to save some 1,600 people dumped there after being thrown out of their land acquired for the Idukki hydroelectric project at Ayyappancoil.

Inaugurating the golden jubilee observance of the historic fast on Monday, A. Vijayaraghavan, Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee member, said the plight of farmers who were evicted for development projects had not changed much. They were at the receiving end proper rehabilitation schemes needed to be evolved before the acquisition. The Amaravathy satyagraha remained as a golden symbol for protecting the rights of farmers. Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan will inaugurate the valedictory function of the jubilee observance at Marykulam on June 17.

National attention

When AKG, the then Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, went on the fast, the conscience of the nation was shaken. Soon, the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, directed Pattom A. Thanupillai, the then Chief Minister, to convene a meeting with the leader immediately. Amaravathy was then almost a forest area, and the authorities inhumanly transported the evicted families from Ayyappancoil to the temporary rehabilitation centres. Diseases and poverty stalked the hapless people.

AKG was in the north-eastern States when he came to know about their plight. He rushed to Kerala, and seeing the condition of the people, started the fast immediately. The fast continued till the government convened a meeting on June 9, promising to take immediate steps for rehabilitation.

Fr. Vadakkan, religious head and social worker, joined the agitation. Prominent leaders from various walks of life supported AKG and soon it became a popular movement. Oommen Mathew of Amaravathy, who has vivid memories of the historic eviction from Ayyappancoil, said the people were indebted to AKG for whatever benefits they now enjoyed. “It was a forced eviction by the armed forces,” he said. The soldiers destroyed everything the farmers had cultivated and forcibly transported them to Amaravathy. The farmers were unorganised and weak to raise any objections. If AKG had made a delayed arrival, many would have died in the severe weather and from poverty and diseases.

Sarada Nair has painful memories. She was then 26 years old and her husband and she had to vacate his house on the first night of their marriage. She said Ayyappancoil had looked like a war zone and complete mayhem prevailed with the armed forces patrolling the village and forcibly loading people, including old people and tiny tots, on trucks. Now, Amaravathy is a village that provides hopes and aspirations to the younger generation.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

Legendary communist Leader of Tripura Com. Baidyanath Majumdar passes away

Red Salute to Com Baidyanath Majumdar

Legendary CPIM leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura, Comrade Baidyanath Majumder died at the Agartala Medical College Hospital on the early hours of Tuesday.He was 88 and a bachelor. Com. Majumder was suffering from old age ailments.

Born in Kailashahar town in Tripura’s North District in 1923, he joined the undivided Communist Party in 1943. Later he joined the CPI(M) after its formation in 1964. He became a minister in the cabinet of the former Chief Minister Nripen Chakraborty in 1977 and continued till 1988. In 1993 he became the deputy chief minister in the cabinet of Dasharath Deb barma and continued till 1998.

Guided by legendary Communist leader and former Tripura chief minister Nripen Chakraborty, a maverick, he spent more than five years in different periods in different jails in India, including the Tihar jail in Delhi and the Hazaribagh jail in Jharkhand.

Majumder was the fourth son of Bijoy Chandra Majumder and Sunitibala Devi. He was fluent in several languages, including Hindi and tribal language Kokborok.

He was the Secretary of Tripura unit of CPI(M) in 1998 and continued till 2008. Comrade Majumder became Central Committee member of the party in 2002 and continued upto 2008. His body would be cremated with state honour tomorrow at Kailashahar.

Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar and all his cabinet colleagues paid floral tribute to Com. Majumder at the civil secretariat.With the death of this legendary Communist, we have lost a real guardian," Manik Sarkar said. Popularly known as Baidyanathda and also Sitalda, he was elected to the state assembly five times between 1977 and 1998. CPI(M) state secretary, Bijan Dhar said all party programmes in the State were suspended for three days and the party flags would remain half mast during these days.

Condolence Resolution by CPIM Polit Bureau

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep grief at the passing away of Comrade Baidyanath Majumdar, veteran leader of the Party and the Communist movement of Tripura.

Baidyanath Majumdar served the Party and the working class with utmost dedication and sincerity for more than 65 years. He worked to build the trade union movement and the Party facing repression at various periods. He played a notable role in the building of the CPI(M) and became the Secretary of the State Committee of the Party. As an organiser of the working class, he was earlier the Secretary of the CITU. He served as a member of the Central Committee of the Party till ill health forced him to retire.

Baidyanath Majumdar also served the people as an elected legislator, Minister and as the Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura. Baidyanath Majumdar’s life was that of an exemplary Communist. He was always firm in his Marxist convictions.

The Party has lost a valuable leader and the people of Tripura a consistent champion of their interests. The Polit Bureau pays its respectful homage to his memory and conveys its heartfelt sympathy to all his family members.

Left parties activists arrested for opposing Posco project in Orissa

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Hundreds of activists of five political parties courted arrest on 6th June in the state capital Bhuvaneswar while trying to enter into Orissa Secretariat as part of their civil disobedience agitation against alleged forcible land acquisition for Posco project near Paradip. The leaders of CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc, RJD and Samajwadi Party along with their supporters held a rally on Mahatma Gandhi Road before marching towards the state Secretariat. The agitators were prevented from entering the restricted zone by security personnel.

Demanding relocation of the proposed Posco project from fertile land in three gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Gobindpur and Gadakujang, CPI state secretary Dibakar Nayak justified their attempt to break laws. "When the state government breaks laws to acquire land for Posco, we do not see any wrong in civil disobedience agitation by the five political parties," Nayak said demanding immediate halt on use of force to acquire land for the South Korean steel major.

(Courtesy : Business Standard)

Prakash Karat's letter to Pranab Mukherjee on setting up of Lokpal

This is with reference to your letter regarding the setting up of a Lokpal to curb corruption at high places.

Our Party has definite views on the nature and scope of the Lokpal authority to be set-up. The issues that need to be considered are not necessarily confined to the six questions which you have posed to be answered in yes or no terms.

Therefore, we suggest that the Government prepare a draft of the Lokpal legislation on which we will be able to give our views. You can seek our views before it is presented to Parliament. If that is not possible, then we shall certainly express our views on the draft through the Parliamentary procedures.

Despite defeat strength should not be minimized: Prakash Karat

Despite defeat in the last polls the political strength of the Left Front should in no way be considered finished or exhausted. One should remember that the Front had created a glorious chapter in the history of the Left movement in the country by running a government for over three decades in West Bengal. This is the observation of the West Bengal State Committee of the CPI(M) which met for two days on June 4 and 5 at the party headquarters in Alimuddin Street. The party secretary Prakash Karat was present at the extended session the purpose of which was to analyse the party’s election results. It also discussed matters pertaining to the organizations, Left politics and the running of the government.

About the present task of the party Karat said, “We have lost a battle, but our struggle has not ended. We must go to the people, work among them adopting appropriate and corrective measures, reestablish close touch with them and make us reorganized.” Members admitted that there were tremendous limitations for Left parties to run a government in a single State under the existing socio-economic and political structure of a country like India. But even then the Left parties got huge mandate of the people to form a pro-people government for seventh successive time since 1977.There was historic contribution of the Left Front government to the people of West Bengal.

Biman Basu, secretary of the state unit of the CPI(M), admitted that the party could not correct and amend organizational mistakes and weaknesses which it detected after the setback in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Time had come to be more cautious about reshuffling the party structure from lower level so that more cohesive approach be taken on pro-people issues. The State committee noted incidents of violent attacks on party supporters and workers by Trinamool and Congress combine.

The State committee elected Abdur Rezzak Mollah the Whip of the CPI(M) in the Assembly. The party members were made aware of the fact that despite poll debacle the Left Front received 41 per cent vote in the last Assembly elections, which meant it received the support of little over 1.95 crore people in the State. In two-day session 50 members participated in the discussion. The discussion will also be held at all levels and towards the middle of June the final analysis be made. The State committee noted the anti-Left attack, the use of money power an slander campign against the Left Front at election time.
(Pic Courtesy : The Hindu)

Trinamool on a vendetta, Left learning from mistakes: Budhadeb Bhattacharjee

Kolkata, May 31 : Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader and former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Tuesday attacked the ruling Trinamool Congress for the post-poll violence against Left activists and slammed the central government for failing to control the price rise of fuels and essential commodities.

He was addressing a Left Front rally on Tuesday in Kolkata. Bhattacharjee also said his party was taking lessons from its rout and would decide its future course after seeing the Mamata Banerjee government's performance.

'The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) has completed two years but it has not managed to get pass marks. The ever rising prices of daily use commodities are a sign of its failure,' he said. 'They have failed to control the price rise of essentials. They are only interested about the rich. We had earlier told the central government to make uniform public distribution system across the country but they have not agreed to it,' said Bhattacharjee.

'The government should not increase the price of fuel further. We demand that government should cap the price rise of fuels and essential commodities,' said Bhattacharjee, who is also a member of the CPI-M politburo. Hitting out Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his comment on the Left Front's defeat, Bhattacharjee said: 'He has said that our defeat is historic but he should keep one thing in mind that we have still got 41 percent votes of the total votes polled. But the central government is ruling the country sitting on the 29 percent votes they have got. This is also historic.'

'We have been defeated in the elections. We are learning lessons from it. We are trying to find out what went wrong. We are trying to find out what we couldn't do and what we have done. But above all we must also keep one thing in mind that near about one crore, ninety five lack people have voted in favour of Left Front,' he said. 'We will take our lessons and go back to the people and the people will only decide which path we should take. We are keeping a close watch on the activities of the new government. We are watching what they are saying regarding agriculture, health and industry. We are listening to it carefully,' said Bhattacharjee.

'The people of the state are also listening to it. We will decide our path after watching their path. But before all this the attacks on the Left Front activists should stop. The new government should look into the matter,' said Bhattacharjee. Without specifically naming the Trinamool, Bhattacharjee attacked it for perpetrating a political vendetta. 'Hundreds of our party offices have been destroyed. Our party flags have been removed and their flag has been put up in those offices. Many people have been killed. Just because we have lost, does that that means our workers should be killed?' he said.

'As many as 5,000 people have fled their homes due to fear. People are being compelled to donate towards party funds. They are attacking our panchayat members compelling them to join the other party or die. This is the situation all across the state. We cannot tolerate these killings. Government should take action against this,' said Bhattacharjee. In an obvious reference to the spate of arms recovery made allegedly belonging to the CPI-M cadres, Bhattacharjee said the people of Bengal cannot be fooled by such tricks.

'Recovery of arms covered in the red flag has become a daily phenomenon. Do they think the people of Bengal are blind? The people very well know what is true and what not. This way they cannot fool the public,' he said.