CPI(M) warns of mass stir in Kerala

The CPI(M) Kerala State secretariat has alleged that the policies and strategies of the Congress-led coalition governments in the State and at the Centre were threatening the very right of the citizens to exist.

In a statement after a meeting to assess the preparations for the August 22 blockade of the district collectorates and the Secretariat in Kerala announced earlier, the party’s State secretariat said a massive public agitation had now become a necessity to persuade the State and Central governments to change their ways. The blockade would be to highlight two demands: “Ensure food security and prevent price rise.”

The party said the policies of the State and Central governments, designed along neoliberal lines, were intended to squeeze the poor on the one side and fatten the corporate houses on the other. Prices of all essential commodities were going up steadily.

The yardsticks used for determining the people who were below the poverty line had been changed in such a way as to exclude more poor people from the list requiring protection under the public distribution system. Rice stock had piled up in the warehouses and was rotting, but the poor people were not getting it.

Exhibition on the Life and Contributions of Comrade P Sundarayya

An Exhibition on the Life and contributions of the legendary communist leader Com. P Sundarayya, as part of the centenary celebrations is being organised by CPIM West Bengal State Committee in Kolkota. The exhibition is organised in Muzaffer Ahammed Library of Ganasakthi daily. CPIM State secretary and P B member Com. Biman Basu inaugurated the exhibition. Apart from the photos of the legendary leader, the books and various articles written by him are also displayed. The display will continue till August 11. While inaugurating the exhibition Com. Biman Basu praised the contibutions made by Com P Sundarayya to the communist movement in India and also said that the exhibition will help the younger generations to get a look into his contributions.

CPI(M) takes out jatha in Mangalore to hear out people’s woes

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) launched a three-day vehicle rally through the city to gauge the public mood and record various problems faced by citizens.

Flagged off at a function in Central Market in Mangalore on Monday, the vehicle would travel through all 60 wards of the city to “understand” the problems faced by citizens, said CPI (M) leader Vasant Achari. He said the city had seen little improvement under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress governments.

Sunil Kumar Bajal, city Secretary of CPI(M), said there had been little development in the four years since the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) came to power. He accused them of “betraying” the people and not fulfilling the promises made during the last election.

He particularly faulted the Mangalore City Corporation for the substandard concreting works across the city and not laying pavements or storm-water drains. He condemned the corporation’s decision to hand over water billing to a private company. “With much fanfare they (State Government) said a new building for Lady Goschen Hosiptal would come up. While the old building has been demolished, no work has started on the new block. The dumping of debris and waste near the children’s ward is a health hazard,” he said.

The CPIM has decided to hold a protest rally on August 27 to galvanise support for a “corruption-free” Government in the State.

CPI(M) stages protest march against price rise in Assam

Protesting against the steep rise in the prices of essential commodities and demanding food security for the people, the Communist Party of India (M) today carried out a ‘Raj Bhawan Abhiyan’ in Guwahati

The protesters took out a protest march from Guwahati Club to Raj Bhawan shouting slogans against the soaring prices of essential commodities. The programme was conducted by the Kamrup Mahanagar Zila Samity of the CPI (M). Protest meetings and rallies are being conducted by the CPI (M) in various places of the country as a part of the nationwide programme to pressurise the government to take immediate action to control price rise and ensure food security for the people. With the same demands, four left parties staged dharna in the Ramlila Maidan at New Delhi from July 30 to August 3.

“In Assam also the CPI (M) is leading the protest programmes at various places. District-level rallies have been organised in the past two months demanding the government to arrest price rise,” said Tiken Das, secretary of Kamrup Metro District Committee of the party. After a protest march, a meeting was also held in front of the Raj Bhawan today which was addressed by the party’s State secretary Uddhav Barman and senior leader Hemen Das. 

The leaders demanded control over the increasing prices and the universalisation of the Public Distribution System in the country. “We have been demanding the government to provide every family with 35 kg rice monthly at the rate of Rs 2. Moreover, government should take strict action against deep-rooted corruption in the entire PDS system. Supply of item in the fair price shops is also inadequate, which should be increased,” Das added.
Targeting the government over the issue of corruption, the party in its memorandum to the Governor said that the black money worth around Rs 25 lakh crore, stashed away in other countries should be brought back to India. 

Also raising the issue of flood and erosion, the protesters said that concrete steps should be taken to address the perennial problems and the flood-hit people should be rehabilitated without delay. The party also demanded a high-level enquiry into the issue of group clashes in BTAD area and asked the government to address the issue of law and order on priority basis. 

“The Assam government has measurably failed to maintain law and order in the State including the capital city Guwahati. Various major incidents in past couple of months indicate that law and order should be strengthened. The government should also establish rule of law in the BTAD area and ensure peace and harmony,” Das added. 

Earlier also, the district unit of CPI (M) conducted protest programmes in Basistha, Narengi, Boragaon and Maligaon in the city. 

On September 12, the party would resort to a nationwide civil disobedience movement against price rise and for food security.

CPI (M) seeks revision of mimimum wages in Odisha

Odisha State Committee of the Communist Party of India(Marxist) has urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to revise the minimum wages in order to protect the interests of the millions of working people of the State.

In a letter to the Chief Minister on the issue, Secretary of the party’s State unit Janardan Pati said that agriculture was facing a deep crisis in the State for more than two decades and people engaged in agriculture were leaving to other States in search of jobs. Agricultural labourers were not available for agricultural operation and the crisis in agriculture was increasing by the day.

Millions of youths were also migrating to other States leading to scarcity of labour force in both rural and urban areas, Mr. Pati said.

Findings

Referring to the findings of the recently published NSSO report that said 10 per cent of people in rural areas of the country lived on less than Rs. 17 a day, Mr. Pati said the situation is Odisha was worse.

In southern Odisha, particularly in villages of Nawarangpur and Nuapada district, the daily wages were between Rs. 60 and Rs. 70. Even under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the government stipulated wages were not given, he alleged.

The CPI(M) leader pointed out that the minimum wage of Rs. 92.50 in the State was less than the minimum wages in States such as Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chandigarh and Delhi.

While minimum wages have not been revised in the State, the salaries of Members of Parliament and legislators had been hiked, and salaries of the employees of the Central and State government had also increased through implementation of six pay commission’s recommendation, Mr. Pati observed, while adding that the only deprived section was the people working in industry and agriculture.

ILO guidelines

Mentioning the International Labour Organisation guidelines and the Supreme Court judgment on minimum wages, Mr. Pati demanded that it was necessary to take steps to increase the daily minimum wages to Rs. 334 so that the poorest section of the society could maintain a minimum standard of living.

(courtesy :The Hindu)

Left Parties Memorandum to PM

At the culmination of the five-day dharna on food security organised by the Left parties in New Delhi from July 30 to August 3, 2012, the leaders of the Left parties – Prakash Karat (General Secretary, CPI[M]), S. Sudhakar Reddy (General Secretary, CPI), Debabrata Biswas (General Secretary, AIFB) and Abani Roy (Secretary, RSP) – met the Prime Minister on August 4 and submitted a memorandum to him on the need for an amended food security legislation to be brought in the Parliament.

The text of the memorandum is given below.  

Dear Dr. Manmohan Singhji,

The Left parties have held a nationwide campaign on the issues concerning food security. This phase of the struggle ended with a five day sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar attended by thousands of people from all over the country. Representatives of different States presented their experiences and highlighted the adverse impact of relentless food inflation on the lives of common people. There was a unanimous rejection of the draft Food Security Bill presently before the Parliamentary Standing Committee. We write this memorandum to draw your attention to what we consider are the critical issues.

1. India produces enough foodgrains to ensure a food security system which covers all sections of the people. The targeted system introduced as part of the so-called economic reforms from the decade of the nineties has proved to be a failure. Large sections of people who require subsidized foodgrains are excluded. It has been shown that in a country like India, with a large majority of the workforce in the unorganized sector with no fixed income, the errors of exclusion far outweigh those of inclusion in a targeted system. With the largest numbers of hungry people in the world, India requires a comprehensive and inclusive food security system, which can only be provided by scrapping the targeted system and replacing it with a universal system.

2. With the relentless increase in prices of food items, a universal public distribution system can also help to keep market prices down. Dal, edible oil and other essential commodities should be supplied through the public distribution system. Many State Governments using their own funds, however limited, are providing foodgrains at one or two rupees a kilo. The central food security system therefore must keep the prices of foodgrains down to a maximum of two rupees a kilo. We therefore believe that it is only reasonable that a minimum of 35 kg of foodgrains at a maximum price of two rupees should be provided.

3. The experience of targeting is not just in poor implementation but more fundamentally linked to the estimates of poverty converted into daily poverty lines and State wise quotas by the Planning Commission. You well know of the national outrage against the poverty line figures given by the Planning Commission to the Supreme Court of Rs. 26 for an adult in rural India and Rs. 32 for an adult in urban India at 2010-2011 prices. We have learnt that yet another committee has been set up to look at poverty estimates afresh. We strongly oppose the linkages between Planning Commission estimates with either food security or other welfare rights and schemes. The present questionnaire for the BPL census also raises many questions as it is designed to exclude rather than include the deprived. This further underlines the urgent necessity for universalizing the right to food.

4. India can have a successful food security programme only if the kisans of India are protected from the volatility of market manipulation by powerful lobbies. In this connection the recommendation of the National Farmers Commission is for an MSP based on the actual cost of production, which is constantly rising given the increase in the prices of fertilizer, diesel, pesticides, seeds, electricity and other inputs plus a 50 per cent profit margin. This is an important aspect of providing food security.

5. At present the Government is holding around 5 crore tonnes of surplus stocks of foodgrains. In the name of “liquidating the stocks” the Government has decided to export the grains. Already 25 lakh tonnes have been exported. The grains are given at subsidized prices to private traders. Substantial amount of this grain will be ultimately used as cattle feed in developed countries. We believe that the grains should be distributed universally. Particularly at a time when India is facing one of its worst droughts, export of foodgrains is shortsighted and will only benefit big agribusinesses. We are against exports at this time.

6. All these issues should be reflected in the Food Security Bill. Instead it is unfortunate that the Bill seeks to push the so-called reform process further by linking the APL subsidy to acceptance by the States of certain objectionable conditions such as introduction of cash transfers, AADHAR cards etc. Cash transfers at a time of high food inflation will erode even the present inadequate allocations apart from other factors such as possible diversion of the funds for other pressing needs. In any case such conditions are an attack on the federal character of the constitution and an encroachment on the rights of the States. The Bill gives overriding powers to the Central Government. The present Bill also legalizes targeting in a new form by introducing three categories of general (APL), priority (BPL) and automatically excluded sections. We find this highly objectionable. We believe that the Bill in its present form will legalise food insecurity and must be radically changed so as to include:

Minimum allocation of 35 kg of foodgrains of reasonable quality per family at the maximum price of two rupees a kilo.

This should be a legally enforceable universal right, scrapping APL/BPL divisions.

Conditions such as cash transfers should be eliminated.

The Food Security Bill should be suitably amended and presented in the forthcoming session of Parliament.

We hope that you will consider our views and take appropriate action.

With regards

Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M)

S. Sudhakar Reddy, General Secretary, CPI

Debabrata Biswas, General Secretary, AIFB    

Abani Roy, Secretary, RSP

Left parties rally in Patna for food security to all

Thousands of workers of CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc and RSP on Friday took out a joint protest march in the Bihar state capital, Patna in support of their nine-point charter of demands, including food security to all. They also blocked the busy Dak Bungalow roundabout for nearly 90 minutes in the afternoon, causing snarls in the downtown areas.

The march, which originated from the Gandhi Maidan under the leadership of CPI state secretary Rajendra Prasad Singh, CPM state secretary Vijay Kant Thakur and Forward Bloc state secretary Vakil Thakur, culminated into a dharna at the Dak Bungalow roundabout.

Addressing the demonstrators, CPI national secretary and MP Gurudas Dasgupta, called upon the Left workers to roll up their sleeves for a more aggressive agitation on the issue of food security to all. Holding the Centre's "neoliberal economic policy" responsible for increasing cases of starvation and malnutrition, he said people had no option but to agitate for food security.

Their other demands include adoption of a universal public distribution system (PDS) by abolishing the below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) categories, supply of 35kg of wheat or rice per month at Rs 2 per kg to all families, withdrawal of the UPA government's Food Security Bill, end of discrimination among needy people on the basis of BPL and APL categorization, cancellation of bogus estimation of the so-called poverty line by the Planning Commission, publication of correct list of BPL families in Bihar, strengthening of PDS shops in Bihar and implementation of the recommendations of National Commission on Farmers, headed by M S Swaminathan.

Dasgupta said the four Left parties would continue to agitate on the streets unless the Centre and state governments made necessary arrangements to ensure supply of 35kg of wheat or rice per month at the rate of Rs 2 per kg to all families irrespective of their BPL and APL status.

Addressing the protestors CPIM State Secretary Com. Vijay Kanth Takur urged the state government to declare Bihar, drought hit state following the lesser amount of rain received in the year. 

(Courtesy : TOI)

Left parties organise rally in Bangalore as part of nationwide campaign

Left parties on Friday took out a  rally in Bangalore as part of all-India campaign the parties have organised on issues related to the public distribution system. It was a culmination of a month-long campaign on food security and price rise. that citizens across the country be given their right to food.

Led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India, the rally from the Bangalore City Railway Station to Freedom Park. A memorandum that demands a rectification of irregularities in the public distribution system (PDS) was submitted to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar after the agitation.

The members spoke about how the Union government has “failed” to check the rising food prices. They demanded that the PDS be made universal, allowing all citizens irrespective of their poverty status to have access to essential commodities through the system. “The PDS is not being implemented properly. We are seeking a universal system, as opposed to a targeted one so that all those in need of food have unlimited access,” said G.C. Bayya Reddy of the CPI(M)

CPI(M) State secretary G.V. Sreerama Reddy criticised the “anti-poor policies” of the government. Their other demands included 35 kg of rice for each below poverty line family at a subsidised rate of Rs. 2 per kg, proper determination of the poverty line, cancellation of the unit system and setting up of government fair price shops for every 2,000 card holders.

CPI(M) PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS AFFECTED AREAS IN ASSAM

Isfaqur Rahman

ASSAM continues to burn. The multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-national state, once again, witnessed horrible incidents of ethnic-communal violence in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) since the eruption of hostilities among different communities – mainly between the Bodos and Muslim minorities – from the first week of July. Since July 19, lower Assam’s Kokrajhar and Chirang districts under BTAD administration and adjoining Dhubri district have been experiencing the worst form of frenzied violence. At least 60 persons, including children and women, have been killed. Several others  remained untraced till the filing of this report (August 1, 2012). Moreover, nearly 4 lakh people have taken shelter in 274 relief camps. In the four districts – Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri and Bongaigaon in western Assam  – a total of 244 villages and 45,000 families were affected and five thousand houses were burnt to ashes.

For quite a long time, there were simmering tensions between different ethnic groups residing in the BTAD areas. The politics of identity have also been playing havoc. There were demands for further vivisection of Assam and creation of a separate ‘Bodoland state’. There were also demands for a ‘Kamatapur state’ raised by a section of Rajbongshi people. Communal and fundamentalist forces were also at work. Various non-Bodo organisations oppose “Bodoland” and demand redrawing of the BTAD areas by excluding certain villages where non-Bodos are overwhelming majority. The security and safety of the people was also a cause for concern. Mutual distrust, ill-faith and ill-feelings among different groups and communities prevailed for quite some time now.

TRIGGER FOR

THE VIOLENCE

On July 6,  two poor Muslim peasants were killed by unidentified gunmen at Mussalmanpara near Bhowraguri under Dotoma police station in Kokrajhar district. When tension was brewing after this incident, two student leaders of the Minority Students’ Union were attacked in Magurmari near Kokrajhar on July 19. This was followed by the killing of four former Bodo Liberation Tiger workers on July 20 at Jaypur-Namapara near Kokrajhar town – the headquarters of BTAD administration. The eruption of violence and counter-violence started soon after and spread to the interior areas. Ironically, both Bodo and Muslim leaders see a design in the orchestrated violence which spread like wild fire. Now the situation is quite disturbing as the cycle of violence has communal implications and unless tackled with a firm hand, it might well trigger a large scale communal flare-up in the state. The state administration will have to exhibit greater alacrity in preventing any further  escalation of violence. The state and central governments must take a serious note of the developments and ensure security and safety to all sections of the people.

As a matter of fact, the volatile law and order situation in the BTAD areas has been a matter of concern for quite some time now with extortions, killings and kidnappings assuming alarming proportions. While the situation warrants firm handling by both the BTC and the state government, it is precisely the lax attitude of the authorities that has largely been responsible for the growing lawlessness in Bodoland areas, allowing extremist outfits as well as surrendered ultras to have a free run. Easy availability of firearms with the militant outfits has been a major factor perpetuating a situation of strife and tension in BTAD. From extremist and surrendered extremists to every other trouble mongers, firearms have an all pervasive presence in the BTAD. Muslim fundamentalist forces are also no less active. The overall situation in BTAD areas is characterised by a growing cult of violence and fratricidal killings. The progress that the creation of the BTC was supposed to usher in will remain a mirage unless there is an end to the prevailing gun culture.

DISTURBING

SITUATION

Notwithstanding a slight improvement following deployment of security forces, the situation in the strife-torn BTAD and adjoining Dhubri continues to be extremely disturbing with more and more bodies of riot-hit victims being recovered. There have also been incidents of arson at places, with people fleeing their homes and hearths in their hordes. People are taking shelter in hoplessly inadequate relief camps – without food and drinking water. Restoration of normalcy, peace and harmony in the days ahead will certainly pose a Herculean challenge before the government. Physical rehabiliation apart, the trauma suffered by the affected people – both Bodos and Muslims – will take a long time to heal as will the breached trust between the two communities.

It may be recalled that communal violence of similar scale had affected Udalguri district in october, 2008. But the authoritics failed to learn anything from it. The current carnage could well have been avoided but for the inexplicable laxity of the authorities in nabbing the culprits behind the incidents of frenzied violence perpetrated by the trouble mongers of both the communities.

The BJP and its saftorn  brigade have been trying to fish in troubled waters and blaming the illegal Bangladeshi migrants for the violence. The Bodo People’s Front (BPF), a coalition partner of the Congress-led government in Assam, has also echoed similar sentiments. Even the BTC chief Hagrama Mahilary has stated  that the violence is being perpetrated by an organised gang of illegal infiltrators from across the Bangladesh border. But saner sections have maintained that this is a wild allegation and gross distortion of facts. Even the central and state governments have ruled out the possibility of a foreign hand behind the riots.

Terming the largescale ethnic violence in Assam as a ‘blot on the nation’, prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh announced a Rs 300 crore Central Relief Package for the violence-hit people after visiting two relief camps at Kokrakhar on July 28. But considering the woes and sufferings, death and destruction, this meagre amount will not serve the purpose.

CPI (M) DELEGATION

VISITS VIOLENCE-HIT AREAS

A three member team of the CPI(M) MPs, including the leader of the CPI(M) group in Lok Sabha, Basudev Acharia, visited Kokrajhar and Bijni on July 28 to take stock of the situation. The other two MPs were Bajuban Riang and Saidul Haque. The delegation was accompanied by the state leaders of the CPI(M) including the state secretary Uddhab Barman and two other former MLAs,  Purna Boro and Ananta Deka, and also state secretariat members, Monoranjan Talukdar and Fazlur Rahman. The delegation met cross-section of the people, visited relief camps and exchanged views with the inmates.

The delegation first visited the relief camp at Kakritola M E School (Nayek Gaon) in Kokrajhar where more than 3000 people belonging to the Bodo communities of 17 villages are taking shelter. The CPI(M) delegation also visited Bangaldoba village which was completely burnt down on July 23-24.

The delegation was shocked to see the Nayabhita village where the houses of around 200 Muslim families were completely gutted on  July 22. The incident of arson and looting took place near the Dotoma police station, which was hardly 50 meters away.

Later, the CPI(M) delegation moved to Bijni and visited a relief camp at Bijni Motilal Bagaria M V School where 900 Muslims, including 200 children, were taking shelter. It also visited a Bodo camp at Bijni College.

After visiting the violence-hit areas, the CPI(M) delegation held a press conference at the state headquarters of the Party in Guwahati on July 29. Addressing the media persons, Basudev Acharia stated the experience of the Party delegation. Bajuban Riang and Saidul Haque also addressed along with Party state secretary Uddhab Barman and senior Party leader Hemen Das. The CPI(M) leaders expressed grave shock and consternation at the horrific incidents of violence and destruction. They charged that the Congress-led dispensation in Assam was totally caught off guard by the carnage. The state government has even failed to protect the life and property of the people and discharge its constitutional responsibilities.  

The law enforcing machinery was a silent spectator in many places to the gruesome incidents of killing and arson. For inexplicable reasons, deployment of security forces were delayed by at least a couple of days – something that caused escalation of violence and the resultan destructions, including loss of lives. It is also not understood why the central government too failed to assess the gravity of the situation. Tension had been brewing in BTAD for quite some time but both the BTAD authorities and the state government chose to remain blind to the spectre of possible carnage while the situation warranted reinforcement of police and security forces. The delegation leaders said that the relief camps were being run without proper food materials and other essentials. Even baby foods were not provided adequately. The administration should ensure supply of essentials including medical service to the inmates in the relief camps, the CPI(M) leaders demanded.

The press note issued by the CPI(M) on this occasion stated, ‘At the present critical juncture, the first and foremost task is to check violence with a firm hand and restore peace and unity among all sections of the people. The government must ensure full security and make arrangement for immediate rehabilitation and safe return  of the people to their own place of residence. Adequate compensation, relief and rehabilitation to the affected people must be ensured on a war-footing. The relief measures announced by the prime minister and the chief minister should immediately be implemented.

‘The CPI (M) appeals to all sections of the people of the trouble-torn areas to resist fratricidal clashes and to restore peace and tranquillity at any cost for building mutual trust and confidence. All sections of the people must defeat the forces of division and reaction and strengthen the unity and harmony in the area.’

The CPI(M) has also been organising peace processions, meetings etc. at different places of the state includimg Guwahati, Rangia, Barpeta Road, Sorbhog, Kalgachia, Dhekiajuli, Tezpur, Sarthebari. It has appealed to all sections of the people  to restore normalcy and maintain peace and amity. The Party also demanded that the state government’s priority should be to instill a sense of security to the people, restore peace and harmony and provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected people.

Left Parties Demand Food Security; Protest against Price Rise in Jharkand

THE four Left parties - CPI(M), CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP organised a joint demonstration in front of Raj Bhawan in Ranchi on July 31, in solidarity with the Five-day central dharna organised by them in New Delhi from July 30 to August 3 against price rise and demanding right to food through a universal public distribution System.

Similar demonstrations were held in other district headquarters as part of the national campaign. In Ranchi, Left Parties’ supporters assembled at Jaipal Singh Stadium and marched towards Raj Bhawan. Police stopped the demonstrators near Raj Bhawan. They sat in dharna and held a meeting. The dharna was  led by CPI(M) state secretary G K Bakshi and CPI(M) leaders, Ramchandra Thakur, Prakash Viplav, Sudhir Das, D D Ramanandan, Prafull Linda, Sufal Mahto; DYFI leaders Sanjay Paswan, Sukhnath Lohra, Subhash Munda, Suresh Munda; CPI leader K D Singh, P K Ganguli, RSP leader Radha Kant Jha and Forward Bloc leader Jayant Pandey.

Leaders of the Left Parties said that the BPL/APL categorisation divides the poor. The government is depriving the people the right to food by using fraudulent methods to define who is poor and who is not poor and how many are poor in each state. It informed the Supreme Court that anyone earning more than 26 rupees a day in rural India and 32 a day in urban India (at 2010-11 prices) cannot be considered poor and therefore cannot get foodgrains at subsidised rates. As a result, large sections of our people are suffering due the high prices in the market. The bogus poverty estimates have resulted in  61 per cent of Scheduled Castes, 55 per cent of Scheduled Tribes, 52 per cent of agricultural workers not having BPL or Antodaya cards, they said.