Wednesday, March 30, 2011

ML UPDATE 14 / 2011

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol. 14, No. 14, 29 MARCH – 04 APRIL 2011

Poll Promises: Mixer-Grinder in Tamil Nadu, Switzerland-London in West Bengal!

Election time is manifesto time. On the eve of elections we are used to the spectacle of ruling parties releasing eye-catching manifestoes with spectacular promises. Former Haryana Chief Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal had once famously said that all manifestoes read alike, the difference lying only in cover pages showing the names and election symbols of respective parties. There is surely an element of truth in what the earthy leader had said – almost every ruling party manifesto today for example echoes the same rhetoric of 'good governance' and 'inclusive growth' even as in real life governments vie among themselves in promoting corporate plunder, curtailing democratic rights and enacting multi-billion scams. Yet reading between the lines, manifestoes still help us in getting an idea about the forms of politics practised by different parties and holding them accountable after they come to power.

 
Dominant politics in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh has never had any dearth of cinematic gloss. Once again, the manifestoes of both DMK and AIADMK give us a glittering picture of competitive populism. The DMK manifesto has promised free mixers or grinders for women, free laptops for SC/ST engineering students and 35 kg free rice for Antyodaya card-holders, and Rs. 400,000 loan for women self-help groups with a maximum subsidy component of Rs. 200,000. The previous DMK manifesto which had promised colour TV sets and 2 acres of land for every landless poor household had been termed the hero of the 2006 poll. It is another thing that while many families did get colour TV sets, hardly any landless poor family in the state got the promised 2 acres and the government subsequently resorted to an utter lie to claim that the state did not have enough land to fulfill this promise!
 
Karunanidhi described his current manifesto as the 'heroine', only to find a 'super heroine' overshadow her in no time. The AIADMK manifesto has promised 20 kg free rice to all ration card holders and 20 litres of purified drinking water for BPL families, mixer, grinder and fan for every woman, 4 grams of gold and Rs. 25,000 as marriage assistance, up to Rs. 10 lakh loan for women SHGs, free laptop for all students in colleges and polytechnics, and 3 cents of land as house-site for landless poor families or BPL households. This politics of doles has truly reduced citizens to subjects with modern-day kings and queens promising freebies to come to power and then using state power as a licence to systematically rob the people of all their rights and resources. The freebies are meant not just to fetch votes but also to mint money for the expanding business empire of ruling politicians. It is not difficult to see the huge benefits the mass distributed colour televisions have meant for the cable and channel business run by the ruling family of the DMK.
 
While the competitive populism of the dominant Dravidian parties makes big news in Tamil Nadu, the focus of national attention in the coming Assembly polls is of course on West Bengal where the Trinamool Congress is widely predicted to dislodge the more than three-decade-old CPI(M)-led government. The TMC has had a dramatic rise in recent years, and with its plank of 'change' and accent on mass agitation it has come to acquire a political identity quite distinct from the standard complexion of all-India/regional ruling parties in the present phase of neo-liberal policies. Reinforcing the mystic aura about the TMC has been its enthusiastic endorsement by large sections of progressive and Left-leaning intelligentsia and parties like the SUCI. But as the TMC comes closer to its cherished goal of coming to power in the state, it has started revealing its true colours though its manifesto and its choice of candidates.
 
The TMC manifesto is full of lofty phrases with very little concrete promises. It promises to transform North Bengal into Switzerland, Kolkata into London and Digha into Goa and usher in green revolution in both agriculture and industry – just by waving the magic wand of 'public-private partnership'. There are also talks of 'curbing state terror' and probing all cases of human rights violations in last 35 years (interestingly, the manifesto also includes the infamous Kashipur-Baranagar massacres of 12-13 August 1971 in this list) within six months. But the manifesto does not forget to blame militant trade union struggles for the industrial crisis in West Bengal even as it is common knowledge that capitalists have had a free hand in CPI(M)-ruled Bengal violating every labour and industrial law with impunity. The manifesto has an entire chapter devoted to the railways but is conspicuously silent about the other 'achievements' of the UPA government – the unprecedented rise in prices and the lengthening list of mega scams not to mention the Wikileaks revelations – which the entire country is discussing.
 
Particularly revealing is the TMC's list of candidates. The TMC candidate against the Left Front's Finance Minister is none other than Amit Mitra, the secretary general of FICCI, one of the premier organizations of Indian big business. Mr. Mitra has all along been a loud votary of liberalization, privatization and globalization and a vocal opponent of Singur-type agitations. The TMC nominee against Buddhadev Bhattacharjee is Manish Gupta, former Home Secretary and Chief Secretary of the West Bengal government and currently one of the directors of a Tata company (Tata Metaliks Ltd). And then there are the Rachpal Singhs and Sultan Singhs, former police officers who have been notorious for suppressing popular agitations under Left Front rule. A party which loves to describe itself as the party of 'Ma-Mati-Manush' (the soil and people of Motherland Bengal) is systematically packing itself with corporate representatives and former bureaucrats and police bosses.

 

BJP's 'Nationalism' Exposed as

Naked and Cynical Opportunism

The Wikileaks cables had already exposed the hollowness of BJP's criticisms of the UPA's 'subservience' to the US, and even the BJP's opposition to the Nuke Deal, where BJP leaders were revealed as assuring US representatives that such stances were mere political posturing and should not be taken seriously.

 
Another cable that has recently been made public has senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley complaining against Modi's being denied a US visa, saying he could not understand how the United States could take such an action against the party that began the transformation of U.S.-India relations! In the same cable, Jaitley is quoted as mooting FDI in retail, arguing that "foreign competition should not seriously hurt the mom and pop stores that form a BJP constituency."
 
Noting that Jaitley was 'gracious' throughout the interview in spite of his protests against denial of visa to Modi, the US Embassy representative comments, tongue in cheek that Jaitley "clearly values his personal and commercial connections to the US (several US corporates are legal clients)."
 
If BJP's posture of swadeshi and their claims of opposing the UPA's 'pro-American' policies stand exposed as a misleading mask by the Wikileaks cables, their 'Hindutva' politics too stands exposed as 'opportunistic' (a word Jaitley himself is quoted as using in the conversation with the US representative). Jaitley told the US representative that "In India's northeast, for instance, Hindutva plays well because of public anxiety about illegal migration of Muslims from Bangladesh. With the recent improvement of Indo-Pak relations, Hindu nationalism is now less resonant in New Delhi, but that could change with another cross-border terrorist attack, for instance on the Indian Parliament." These bald words reveal how for the BJP, even terror attacks like the one on Parliament are welcome because they provide fertile ground for Hindutva politics!
 
The Wikileaks cables expose the BJP's nationalist posture as a bare-faced lie. In reality the party is as committed as the Congress to making India's policies subservient to US interests. Its Hindutva slogans too, far from reflecting 'nationalist' concerns, are actually fuelled by the most cynical calculations, to the extent that even bomb blasts and attacks on Parliament are seen as fodder for Hindutva politics! Between Aseemanand's confessions and Wikileaks revelations, the true colours of the Sangh brigade stand squarely exposed.

AICCTU Recognized in Pricol: Victory for 4 Years of Struggle!

 
Pricol management after meeting Com. S Kumarasamy announced pending DA due as a measure of good-will gesture on 2nd February this year. In this background GBM held on 13 February aroused great expectations among workers. Discussing the talks he had with the management, Com Kumarasamy said that it was possible because of the unrelenting struggle of the workers this history must be remembered.
 
It was decided in the GBM that two functioning unions, KMPETU and KMPTTS are amalgamated to form a single union named Coimbatore Dist. Ppricol Workers United Union –affiliated to AICCTU. It was also decided to take up the campaign in Mettupalayam on people's charter on development and better living conditions. It also resolved to contest Mettupalayam assembly elections to uphold proletarian politics against capitalist politics of all hues. GBM resolved to campaign for Com. Jankiraman, workers' leader from Pricol who is contesting as CPI(ML) candidate. Election for the new office bearers of amalgamated union will be held soon.
 
 

TN Elections: A Round–up of Predominantly Working Class constituencies

SRIPERUMPUTHUR: CPI – ML is contesting Sripeumputhur assembly constituency, the so called Detroit of India. This is an area where trade union rights are being denied. Government and capitalists declared this area as NO TRADEUNION ZONE. Managements are not at all recognizing fighting unions of majority workers – whether its Hyundai, Nokia or Foxcon. But struggles for TU recognition and workers' safety are continuing.
 
CPI –ML's candidate Comrade Charles is a laid-off employee of the Hyundai factory. He was introduced as CPI(ML) candidate in the recently held GBM of Hyundai Motors India Employees Union chaired by its President Com. A. Sondarrajan, who is TN's General secretary of CITU and also CPI(M) candidate of Perambur (Chennai) constituency on behalf of AIADMK alliance. Com. Charles called upon the workers to support CPI(ML) as all political parties are taking sides with capitalists. The GBM decided to support both the candidates in their respective constituencies.
 
Big drive for fund mobilization is underway and workers have donated enthusiastically. A public meeting to introduce the candidate was held where Com. Kumarasamy spoke. Workers' teams were formed to intensify the campaign.
 
AMBATTUR: General Secretary of TIDC wrkers'union Com. Palanivel is the CPI(ML)'s candidate for Ambattur. Colourful pamphlet on the issues of workers and their living conditions with a demand for change are being distributed during the campaign. Ten women workers from the unorganised sector and from a single ward came forward as proposers during nomination of Com. Palanivel. We appealed to the workers to end corrupt and anti-people DMK–AIADMK rule in TN and vote for a revolutionary opposition.
 
TIRUNELVELI: Com. Thenmozhi, office bearer of AICCTU in TN and State President of AIPWA is contesting from Tirunelveli constituency- predominantly consisting of women beedi leaf rollers. Com. Thenmozhi filed her nomination in the midst of leading a strike of thousands of women workers to implement wage revision accord. Our people's charter includes census of women beedi workers to declare number of beedi workers in the industry, Supreme Court directive to be implemented with regard to work place harassment of women workers, Govt to take the responsibility to waive off Rs. 20000 loan of each beedi worker etc.
 
KUMARAPALAYAM: It is a constituency of powerloom workers. Some 70000 workers have been benefited by the recent wage revision strike led by AICCTU. Com. Venkatachalam, state leader of All India Students' Association (AISA) is our candidate. Cadres are daily involving themselves in campaigning. One election office at Pallipalayam has ben opened. The wide reception to our demand for housing colonies for powerloom workers has caused almost all political parties promising this demand to the electorate.
 
KOLACHEL: Com. Anthony Muthu, state office bearer of AICCTU and also leader of construction labour union is contesting from Kolachel in Kanyakumari district. Our campaign was the first to kick-off. Women workers are canvassing votes in their residential areas regularly. We have supporters among fishermen and minority community in this sea shore constituency. Our campaign vehicle is constantly on the move in this constituency.
 
CPI(ML) Activists Jailed in Arrah Jail Create a new Milestone

Shaheed-e-Azam's Statue Installed for the 1st Time in any Jail

Bhagat Singh's Statue Unveiled in Arrah Jail !

 
Those following the path followed by Bhagat Singh have been getting jailed and even sentenced to death even after Independence in 1947. Lyricist Shailendra's famous lyric is well known. Incidents of arrests of those selling Bhagat Singh's writings are not too old. Bhagat Singh taught those fighting for emancipation and liberation of the oppressed how to continue their mission even if they have been slapped with false cases and draconian laws and jailed. CPI(ML) activists and other left movement activists lodged in Arrah Jail have successfully fought and won their democratic rights as political prisoners on several occasions against inhuman and repressive conditions inside the Jail.
 
This time around the prisoners associated with CPI(ML) movement created a new milestone when they made a Statue of the greatest hero of Indian Freedom Movement- Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and installed in the Jail premises. A well know sculptor  from Varanasi (Vinit) who undertook the sculpting of the Statue was paid for by the prisoners themselves who collected enough to fund it. A famous and profound statement by Bhagat SIngh on revolution is inscribed on the base stone of Statue - "by revolution we mean a fundamental transformation of the present social-order based on exploitation"!
 
Former Dist. Committee memebr of CPI(ML), Comrade Sanjay Yadav cut the ribbon in presence of the jailer and Comrade Satish unveiled the Statue. Comrade Ramji Rai, CPI(ML)'s Polit Bureau member was present as chief guest who said that it was a historic moment not only for Arrah and Bhojpur Dist. but for the entire Country. We have heard about building temples and mosques inside jails, but this is perhaps the first occasion when Bhagat Singh's Statue has been established. Famous poet Baba Nagarjun had said of Bhojpur long back that Bhagat Singh has been re-incarnated in Bhojpur. The prisoners, who despite all difficulties of a jailed life, have shown that Baba Nagarjun was very right.

23 March: Shahadat Diwas

 
Delhi: Sankalp Sabhas (Pledge taking meetings) and other programmes were organised at various places in Delhi on 23 March – martyrdom day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdeo. The meetings and other programmes paid tributes to the revolutionaries and resolved to carry forward their unfinished task. The meetings condemned the imperialist NATO's aggression in Middle East, Afghanistan, drone strikes inside Pakistan and US meddling in India's internal affairs also exposed by the wikileaks and demanded immediate resignation from the Manmohan Singh led UPA Govt. for sacrificing India's own national interests to facilitate the US' imperialist policies.
 
At Mayur Vihar Phase 3 (Khoda) a Sankalp Sabha was held attended by 150 workers and addressed by CPI(ML) Central Committee member Com. Prabhat Kumar and AICCTU's General Secretary Com. Swapan Mukherjee apart from Party's local and State leaders. Com. Swapan said that what Bhagat Singh said then is as relevant today about the character of brown sahibs. He called upon all to launch all out resistance to the exploitative regime with the fervour of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdeo. Sangwari's cultural team rendered revolutionary songs.
 
CPI(ML)'s North-West Delhi's District Committee organised Shaheed March at Narela. Starting from Narela Bus Stand the march culminated in a big meeting at Jhanda Chowk. Meeting was addressed by Com. Kavita Krishnan, CC member of CPI(ML) apart from others. Sangwari's cultural team performed here too.
 
A street-corner meeting was organised at Wazirpur Industrial Area where Bhagat Singh's photo was garlanded and meeting addressed by comrades Mathura Paswan and Anmol.
 
Uttar Pradesh: Shahadat Diwas was celebrated in several districts of UP to remember the three martyrs and take pledge to carry forward their unfinished task. In Gazipur town Prabhat Pheri (morning march) was taken out. Starting from Party office at Lanka Maidan and covering five km through town's busiest places, the march culminated in a mass meeting after garlanding Bhagat Singh's Statue at Jhingurpatti.
 
At Sitapur, march was held from Party Office in Sadar to Raja Todarmal Park. Seminars were held in Lakhimpur Khiri's Palia and Mohammadi. Variety of programmes were organised at Dist. HQ, Majhola and Puranpur in Pilibhit. Seminar was held at Saidupur in Chandauli and march held in Mughalsarai and Sakaldiha. March and public meeting was held in Mirzapur town and Kailahar bazaar. Meeting was held at Nauniha village of Ramgarh block. RYA organised a seminar in Robertsganj. CPI(ML) and RYA held a public meeting attended by hundreds of local people at Rewali crossing of Bhagalpur block of Dewaria.
 
March culminating in public meeting was held in Faizabad by RYA. A public meeting was organised at Nichnaul Tehsil HQ in Maharajganj. In Varanasi, AISA organised a march on the eve of Shahadat Diwas from Bharatmata Mandir to Cant Station.
 
Dharnas/Demonstrations in front of PF Offices
 
As part of Nation-wide campaign, AICCTU held dharna and demonstration in front of Provident Fund Offices in various states to oppose misappropriation of workers' PF fund and improper implementation of PF scheme at several places. The protest programmes were held at several places in Punjab, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand on 24-25 March. At many places the leaders of AICCTU were invited by Fund Commissioner to hold talks. At other memorandum was handed over to fund authorities. The central memorandum handed over to PF Commissioner at Bhavishya Nidhi Bhawan in Delhi demanded a minimum monthly wage of Rs.7,500 for all workers. Other demands are:
 
Declare Rs. 7500/ as minimum pension for all workers in addition to Variable Dearness Allowance based on Cost of Living Index.

Scrap recommendations of the Report of the Expert Committee on PF Pension.

The government and employers should shoulder the responsibility for the welfare of workers in their old age and make the pension a defined benefit scheme.

Increase the government's share of EPF to 6%, i.e., 50% of employee's share as per Parliamentary Standing Committee recommendations.

Remove the clause of minimum 20 employees in private sector and 50 in co-operative sector for eligibility to become member of EPF.

Reduce the percentage reduction for early pension to 1% from the present 4%.

Extend the benefit of pension to workers in the period of unemployment for various reasons, including retrenchment and closure.

Expedite the settlement of claims. Guarantee PF right to the contract workers.

 
Rally and Demo at Salumber
 
CPI(ML) organised a rally and demonstration at the Salumber Sub-divisional Office in Rajasthan on various pressing issues affecting workers and common people. The protest programme was led by Party's State Secretary Com. Mahendra Chaudhary and Dist. Secretary Com. (Dr.) Chandra Deo Ola. Meeting was addressed by comrades Gautam Lal Morila (Sub-Division Secretary), Nathu Lal Gameti, Onkar, Tejki, Mohan Maharaj, Gautam Dhawra and AISA leader Yogesh Rawal.
 
A march in the form of rally began after the demonstration and meeting participated by 400 party members, activists and people. The march passed through main streets and busiest places of the town. The rally reached Sub-Divisional Office and gheraoed it. A memorandum of demands was later handed over to Dist. Officials.

 

Edited, published and printed by S. Bhattacharya for CPI(ML) Liberation from U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi-92; printed at Bol Publication, R-18/2, Ramesh Park, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92; Phone:22521067; fax: 22442790, e-mail: mlupdate@cpiml.org, website: www.cpiml.org

Thursday, March 24, 2011

ML UPDATE 13 / 2011

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol. 14, No. 13, 22 – 28 MARCH 2011

US Agent UPA Government Must Quit Immediately!

The leaked Radia tapes revealed how corporate houses control crucial decisions made by the Central government, and exposed several UPA Ministers as corporate appointees. Now, US embassy cables leaked by the whistleblower website Wikileaks have revealed clear evidence of the lengths to which the US monitors and influences the functioning of Government and Parliament.

 
A U.S. Embassy cable dated January 30, 2006 sent by Ambassador David C. Mulford to Washington observed that in January 2006, the Manmohan Singh Government appointed Murli Deora (described by the Ambassador as "pro-US" ) as Petroleum Minister, removing Mani Shankar Aiyar, who is described as a "contentious and outspoken Iran pipeline advocate". Mulford adds that "The UPA inducted a large number of serving MPs (among them Deora), including seven from the IUPF (Indo-US Parliamentary Forum) who have publicly associated themselves with our strategic partnership." Mulford therefore concludes approvingly that the Cabinet reshuffle is "likely to be excellent for US goals in India (and Iran)," signifying the Manmohan Singh Government's "determination to ensure that US/India relations continue to move ahead rapidly."
 
Another official US cable dated July 17, 2008 reveals that when the US Embassy's Political Counselor visited Congress MP Satish Sharma, Sharma's political aide reported on how MPs were being bought for Rs 10 crore each, and is quoted as saying that "money was not an issue at all, but the crucial thing was to ensure that those who took the money would vote for the government." Further, to convince the US representative that the Congress was indeed doing its utmost to ensure a pro-Nuke Deal vote, Sharma's aide showed him chests full of crores of cash which was meant for buying the votes of MPs! The American representative also quotes Sharma as saying that he would persuade "former Prime Minister Vajpayee's (foster) son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya to speak to BJP representatives."
 
Other cables testify to the fact that the UPA Government lies to the Indian public on the real nature of its relationship with Israel and Iran. One cable makes the assessment that India's seemingly warm engagement with Iran meant for "public consumption," mostly to please the "domestic Muslim and Non-Aligned Movement audience." Another cable quotes then National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan as saying that India would like to vote against Iran when the matter came up in the IAEA a second time, was worried about the reaction in its "domestic political constituency." The US cables also record that US representatives warned India that failure to vote against Iran at the IAEA would jeopardise the Nuke Deal. Events show that the Manmohan Singh Government ably served their US masters by voting as directed by the US.
 
In Parliament, Pranab Mukherjee and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have declared that they "cannot confirm the veracity, contents or even the existence" of the Wikileaks cables. Their protestations however sound completely hollow when faced by the statement of the former US Ambassador David Mulford who has indicated that the leaked cables, many of them authored by him, are genuine and generally accurate. The Prime Minister has further made the arrogant claim that the victory of the UPA in the 2009 elections was proof that the people have rejected allegations of bribery in the confidence vote, and therefore the matter merits no re-investigation. It is time the PM faced up to the fact that the cables offer fresh and explosive evidence – not just of bribery but of the much more serious charge of undermining India's own interests and subverting democracy to meet the demands of the US. Such evidence cannot be brushed under the carpet.
 
One set of cables has also exposed the duplicity of the BJP, proving that in matters of subservience to the US, the BJP and the Congress are birds of a feather. A senior BJP leader is quoted assuring the US representative that the BJP's political resolutions criticising the United Progressive Alliance's 'subservience' to the US should not be taken too seriously since it is "only political rhetoric meant to score easy points against the UPA." Another cable refers to L K Advani's playing down of the BJP's stated opposition to the Nuke Deal, and promising 'continuity' in Indo-US relations and the Nuke Deal too, if the BJP were to come to power.
 
Till now it was evident that the Manmohan Singh Government had presided over scams and corporate loot of epic proportions. Now, to cap it all, it is shamefully apparent that the UPA Government 'fixed' Cabinet appointments and corrupted the process of voting on the floor of Parliament to ensure that the outcome suited US interests. Confirmation of the cash-for-votes information (already exposed on the floor of Parliament) as well as for the UPA Government's 'hidden agenda' of effecting a far-reaching pro-US shift in the country's policies and priorities, now comes straight from the horse's mouth - the records of the Government's own trusted 'strategic partner' and master, the United States of America. No self-respecting country can allow a government to remain in power which has so shamefully been caught in the act of selling out the country's interests to imperialist forces. Enough is enough, the UPA Government must quit now!

 

 
Condemn the NATO Air Strikes on Libya
 
The CPI(ML) strongly condemns the air strikes on Libya by NATO allies France, Britain and the US. Once again after Iraq, this is an act of aggression by the US and its allies on an oil-rich country in the Arab-African region, being conducted in the name of ushering in democracy and toppling a dictatorship. While the UN Security Council Resolution on Libya called for "protection of civilians" and not for regime change, it is clear that the resolution is serving as a pretext for military aggression by imperialist forces. 
 
The uprisings in a series of Arab countries have unseated a large number of dictators backed by the US and have thus created uncertainty for continued US hegemony in the region. The uprising in Libya too reflected the aspirations of Libyan people for democracy, and the brutal suppression of this uprising by Muammar Gaddafi and massacre of civilians is highly condemnable.
 
But military aggression by the Western countries is not inspired by concern for democracy (the same countries have supported suppression of popular uprisings in Bahrain, for instance). Rather, through military intervention in Libya, these countries are seeking to reassert an imperialist foothold in the region and rollback the impact of the wave of democratic uprisings that have thrown off the yoke of decades-old, US-backed despotic regimes.
 
Imperialist wars can never be a route for democracy. Genuine democratic change that can only be brought about from within countries themselves. The Libyan people have the sovereign right to determine their own future free from imperialist intervention. The CPI(ML) demands that the US and its allies keep their hands off Libya and call an immediate end to the aerial bombardment of Libya. We also call upon the Indian government not to be a silent spectator to the US-led aggression but rather to play an active role to stop the aggression on Libya.
 
CPI(ML) Central Committee

 

 
Resign Yeddy-led BJP Government!

'Vidhana Soudha Chalo' at Bengaluru!

 
Coinciding with the March to Parliament in Delhi on 14th March 2011, the CPI(ML) organised a 'Vidhana Soudha Chalo' rally on 14 March 2011 demanding resignation of the corrupt and anti-people BJP government in Karnataka. The rally culminated in a public meeting in front of the Town Hall.
 
Corruption, price rise and state repression were the focus of the rally and was organised in association with AICCTU, AIALA, AIPWA and AISA. CPI(ML) Central Committee member Com. V Shankar, State Secretary E Ramappa, AIALA State President J Bharadwaj, AICCTU State Secretary C Javaraiah, AIPWA state Vice President Ranjani, Secretary Gandhimathi, AISA State Convener DM Prasad, and AICCTU Bangalore District Secretary G Somu addressed the public meeting.
 
Com. Shankar called upon the people of Karnataka to put an end to the anti-worker, anti-people BJP government in the state and demanded resignation of the Yeddyurappa-led BJP government. He also said that the secular nature of Karnataka must be rescued from the regressive and reactionary RSS and BJP. BJP's mantra of development is not for the development of the society as a whole but a development of mining mafia and the families of its leaders. He criticised the central leaders of BJP for defending Yeddyurappa's corrupt Govt.
 
He exposed the BJP Government's claim of 'a separate and special Budget on agriculture' as hollow and devoid of substance. The budget claims to increase the rural income and to slow down migration to urban areas, but, in reality, the budget is focusing more on agri-business and capital investments in agriculture. It is trying to make Karnataka an attractive destination for global and domestic capital. Bellary district is divided between Reddy Brothers and Mittals. Jindals are also offered their share of hundreds of acres of land. Haveri district is being offered to POSCO. Now, the Yeddyurappa government is planning to sell off remaining lands also to agri-business corporate companies. The budget has offered to formulate Agri-Business Development Policy and also to organize a "Global Agri-Business Investment Meet" for the first time. He said the 'Krishi' Budget is nothing but a 'Corporate Budget and has offered nothing to small and marginal farmers and to the vast majority of agricultural labourers.
 
He said that neither the BJP nor the Congress and JD(S) have any moral right to fight corruption. He also condemned the Somashekhara Commission report which covered up the Sangh's attacks on churches. He accused the BJP government of promoting state terrorism against minorities in the state. He called the rally a signal of the determination of revolutionary Left forces in Karnataka to assert themselves and intensify the fight for justice and secular democracy.
 
Com. E Ramappa, CPI(ML)'s State Secretary, called upon the people to fight for the demands like inclusion of all unorganised workers under BPL list and regularisation of Bagarhukum lands apart from other demands. He said that only people's struggle can really be an alternative to the BJP, not the Congress or JD(S).
 
AICCTU workers of Bengaluru came forward on their own to provide lunch to all rallyists coming from faraway places in the state. The effort was not based on any decision but a spontaneous act by urban workers showing maturing class consciousness and their humanism. Solidarity acts like these with the rural toiling masses is comparable to the struggles of '80s when public sector workers of Bengaluru fed thousands of struggling farmers from Nargund and Navalgund with chappatis piled like mountains. Such spontaneous acts of solidarity will surely foster stronger bonds between rural and urban working class.

 

Solidarity Programs in AP in Support of March to Parliament

 
On March 14th, demonstrations and other protest programmes demanding UPA govt to quit office were held in different districts of Andhra Pradesh in which 2000 people participated. In Visakhapatnam protest was led by comrades M Malleswara Rao and B Vasudeva Rao. In Kakinada a colourful rally was organised from Party Office to Collectorate in which 1000 people participated. A protest meeting was organised before the Collector's office addressed by N Murthy, B Bangarrao and others. In Vijayawada 400 people participated in protest held before the Sub Collector's office. Comrades D Harinath, D Viplava kumar, P Satyanarayana, R Nagamani, T Aruna, D Pullarao and others led the programme. In Ananthapur demonstration was led by CKV Siva Reddy and K Gayathri in which 250 people gheraoed the Collectorate. In Khammam, a rally of 100 people was held which culminated as dharna before Collector's Office led by CK Damodhar and K Janardhan. In Jangareddygudem of west Godavari protest was held before RDO office in which 150 people participated and the programme was led by D Parvathi. A dharna was held before mandal office at Nandikotkur led by Lakshmeshwaragoud.

 

Demo in Andamans

 
On 14 March, a protest programme coinciding with AILC's Parliament March in Delhi was held in Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) by CPI(ML) and allies in AILC. AICCTU, A&N Islands, held a demonstration in front of the Secretariat at Port Blair between 3-4 p.m. against soaring prices and rampant corruption of UPA Regime. Comrades M Sadasivan, NKP Nair and P Thatha Rao addressed the gathering.

 

Kakarapalli Police Firing

Yet another Heinous Crime Perpetuated by the Congress Govt

Protests Held all Over AP on March 1st

 
Effigies of CM burnt and protests held at Sattupalli of Khammam dist., Chatrayi and Vissannapeta of Krishna dist., Jangareddy and Gudem of West Godavari dist., Yeleswaram, Prathipadu, Govindapuram and Kakinada of East Godavari dist, Narsipatnam of Visakha dist, & Ananthapuram town.
 
From Sompeta to Kakarapalli: Bloodshed and Bold Resistance: [On 28 February, villagers protesting a thermal power plant in Kakarapalli, Andhra Pradesh, faced severe repression and police firing in which two were killed and many injured. On 2 March, a CPI(ML) team comprising N Murthy, D Harinath, B Vasudevarao, R Nagamani, T Sanyasirao, M Ramarao, P Kameswarrao, K Dushyanth, P Sundaramma and others visited the affected people of the concerned villages. A report follows.]
 
The people of Kakarapalli, Vadditandra, Akasalakkavaram, Seerapuvanipeta of Santha Bommali mandal of Srikakulam district had been waging a determined struggle against a proposed thermal power plant by the East Coast Energy Pvt Ltd, which enjoyed strong political backing. East Coast Energy, promoter of a thermal power plant with an investment of Rs 11,500 crores with the target of 660 MW production in the first phase, claimed to have acquired 2550 acres waste land from the government and initiated work on the plant three years back. Initially the people of the area were promised development, reasonable compensation and employment opportunities. Resolutions were passed in panchayats in favour of the factory by managing representatives of the local bodies. It was claimed that all necessary clearances had been procured in favour of the plant. But the realities are quite otherwise.
 
Devastation of Nature and Agriculture: A village named Thene Neelapuram, very close to the plant site, houses a bird sanctuary visited by migratory birds from Siberia. The acquired area of 2550 acres government lands by the plant authorities is illegal because the said lands were under the lease of nearly 100 fishermen's societies right from 1948 till the present. Now the government is refusing to renew the lease of those lands. Actually these lands are called Thampara Bhoomulu (wetlands created by seven streams including the Vamsadhara river which flow to join the Bay of Bengal) by local people and are breeding ground for a rare variety of tortoise and some types of fish. These are the lands which provide livelihood for nearly 800 families. Forest and environmental Acts and laws are being grossly violated. A detailed report by the Forest department objecting to the project was discarded.
 
As the level of the construction site is raised and a long wall constructed, water flow to the sea gets obstructed due to which 3000 acres of paddy lands were drowned and the crop of 10000 acres partly affected. The livelihood of thousands of peasants was affected as a result.
 
Resistance and Repression: The bloodstains at the Beela lands in Sompeta are yet to fade, where the people of Sompeta fought a heroic battle to protect lands, livelihood and environment from the Nagarjuna Construction Company and the government which involved prolonged hunger strikes of 570 days. Even at the cost of severe repression and bloodshed the people there continue to struggle. Thus Sompeta showed the way to Kakarapalli.
 
On 15th August 2010 people of 20 panchayats affected by the thermal power plant formed a struggle committee and a camp was opened for hunger fasts. Alongside the hunger fast, construction work at the plant was stopped by a road blockade. Determined to suppress the movement, the Government mobilised around 2000 police to seize the entire area, not allowing the people to leave the villages even for medical emergencies. The police destroyed the hunger fast camp and arrested the people. They raided the villages and arrested the people including women.
 
Police resorted to firing rubber bullets on 25 February as people's resistance soared against the police repression in which many were injured. Even this firing couldn't terrorise the people for withdrawing from their struggle.
 
The police then began raiding the villages to arrest the leader of the movement named Ramireddy who is also a sarpanch of Akasalakkavaram village. On 27 February people involved in the resistance faced indiscriminate firing by the police, in which two people died and number of people got injured. Police fired tear gas shells on the villages in which 27 houses were burnt and paddy crop of 100 acres was destroyed by the fire. After the police firing, police raided the villages, beat up people and arrested them. Even old women were not spared and all were implicated in many false cases.
 
People's Determination: Even in the face of severe repression and bloodshed, people of the area are determined to continue the struggle until the thermal power plant is scrapped. After the police firing when leaders of the ruling parties arrived in the villages to console the people, they were heckled and questioned by the people. When a Congress minister, Pardhasaradhi visited the villages he was gheraoed by the people. Even Chandrababu Naidu, ex-chief minister of TDP was not spared by the people. People demanded that Chandrababu expel TDP leader Yerram Naidu who has stakes in the factory and is a strong supporter of the thermal plant. People have already reopened the hunger fast camp. Srikakulam has been earmarked for 6 thermal power plants and 1 atomic power plant. People of Sompeta and Kakarapalli have shown that people will reject these destructive projects in Srikakulam and the rest of Andhra Pradesh.

 

More IWD Reports

 
International Women's Day was celebrated by the All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA) and participated by party's various mass organisations across India. Programmes held in some states were reported 2 issues back. More report follows:
 
Uttarakhand – Seminar on "100 Years of Women's Movement and Challenges" was organised by AIPWA at Pithoragarh. AIPWA has begun functioning in Pithoragarh recently. AIPWA's District incharge Sangeeta Munaula gave the inaugural speech and Pushpa Martoliya conducted the seminar. Many others spoke at the seminar.
 
Jharkhand: AIPWA's State unit observed 8th March as "bring prices down" day and was preceded by a week of "women's assertion week". On 8th March and during the women's assertion week, programmes were organised by AIPWA across Jharkhand highlighting various local and broader issues of women.
 
A procession was taken out in Bundu by hundreds of women led by AIPWA's State Secretary Sunita. Procession was also held in Ranchi on 6th March. 300 women marched in Mandu block's Kedla on 10th March led by AIPWA's State President Gunni Oraon. Another programme wa held in Mandu where 100 women participated led by Rupa Besra. A programme was held in Hazaribagh's Dandi block led by Soni Tiriya. In Bagodar of Giridih dist. 500 women participated in IWD celebration led by Punam Mahato. Protest march and meeting was held in Rajdhanwar where 250 women participated led by Kaushalya Das. Block office was gheraoed by 150 women in Jamua led by Meena Das. Marches were held in Deoghar, Patratu, Dumka (300 women led by Bitiya Manjhi), Dhanbad, Garhwa (500 women), Panki in Palamu, Nawadih in Gumla (200 women) and Bishunpur apart from several otherplaces in Jharkhand.

 

Uttarakhand: AIKM's 1st State Conference

 
First Uttarakhand State Conference of All India Kisan Mahasabha (AIKM) was held on 9-10 March at Almora. Conference venue was named after legendary hero of Bhojpur's peasant movement Comrade Ram Naresh Ram and venue entry was named Comrade Chandra Singh Garhwali after the hero of Peshawar rebellion. About 85 delegates participated in the Conference.
 
Comrade Raja Ram Singh, General Secretary of AIKM and addressing the conference as the main speaker said that small-scale and marginal farmers are being constantly thrown out of agriculture by making it unrewarding and farm work is being transferred to big corporate houses. Governments are acquiring agricultural lands for SEZs, hydropower projects and all other things by evicting the poor from their land. On the other hand poor are also being driven away from cities in the name of beautification of cities. The question then is where will the poor go? He asked whether the Country belonged to a bunch of corporates and more than 800 million poor people have no right and claim in this Country and its resources.
 
State's Party incharge Com. Raja Bahuguna inaugurated the Conference and stressed on creating new wave of peasant struggles. Com. Purushottam Sharma presented the discussion paper and noted that anti-farmer policies of successive governments in the State have resulted in shrinkage of agriculture sector to less than 10 %. The paper was passed unanimously after enthusiastic debate. The summing up remarks of the 2-day Conference were presented by CPI(ML)'s CC member Com. Rajendra Pratholi.
 
The Conference resolved to spread the AIKM to all 13 districts of Uttarakhand in next two years and raise the membership to fifty thousand from the present ten thousand. The Conference also elected 27 member State Council and 7 member State Executive. Comrades Purushottam Sharma and Jagat Martoliya were elected State President and Secretary of AIKM respectively. Comrades Indresh Maikhuri and Ghulam Nabi were elected Vice Presidents.

 

Edited, published and printed by S. Bhattacharya for CPI(ML) Liberation from U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi-92; printed at Bol Publication, R-18/2, Ramesh Park, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92; Phone:22521067; fax: 22442790, e-mail: mlupdate@cpiml.org, website: www.cpiml.org

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

ML UPDATE 12 / 2011

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol. 14, No. 12, 15 – 21 MARCH 2011

Quake and Tsunami in Japan:

Questions for India

 

The intense earthquake followed by devastating tsunami in Japan has taken a massive toll of human life. This natural calamity of enormous proportions is estimated to have taken the lives of some 10,000 people in that country, while the number of those who are in relief camps, having lost their homes and loved ones, is about 30000. Japan is facing a huge humanitarian crisis with shortage of food and water.

 
It is doubly tragic that the devastation has been compounded by nuclear explosions in two of Japan's nuclear power plants, with the threat of another meltdown hovering over a third. Japan is the bearer of the grim legacy of the nuclear holocausts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Once again this time, the people of Japan will undergo the trauma and tragedy of nuclear disaster. At this hour of grave crisis, the worst since the WWII devastation, the people of India stand wholeheartedly by the people of Japan and share their grief and tragedy.
 
For us in India and in fact for the whole world, the tragedy of Japan should also serve as an urgent wake-up call about the unpredictability and inherent dangers of nuclear technology. It must be remembered that Japan, after all, has what was said to be the best quake-resistant nuclear technology in the world. Their preparedness and response for natural disasters too is second to none in the world. Yet, in the wake of the quake and tsunami this time, they were unable to avert explosions in their nuclear power facilities and the resultant radiation leaks which are likely to have grievous long-term consequences.
 
If this is the case in Japan with its superior technological expertise and preparedness, it is alarming to imagine the consequences of a similar situation in a country like India, which is not known for its prompt or effective response to disasters or for effective regulatory and safety mechanisms in any sector. Questions are rightly being raised about the safety of existing nuclear installations in India, as well as about the advisability of expansion to fresh projects like the proposed project at Jaitapur, Maharashtra. Jaitapur is known to be in a seismic zone, and is on the coastline. India has already suffered one tsunami, which reportedly caused damage to the nuclear plant at Kalpakkam.
 
The Maharashtra Government has promptly got former Atomic Energy Commission Chairperson Anil Kakodkar to give a presentation to the state Assembly, at which he assured that existing nuclear plants were safe, and that the Jaitapur plant was safe from a tsunami. On what basis can Kakodkar make such a declaration? He speculates that Jaitapur's elevation makes a tsunami 'unlikely.' But natural calamities are calamities precisely because they strike without clear warning, and preparedness and precaution consist in factoring in the 'unlikely'!
 
Kakodkar tells us there is "no need to doubt" reactors of the government-owned French company Areva, which are to be commissioned at Jaitapur. How can Kakodkar vouch for the Areva design, which is known to be new and untested anywhere in the world? The unseemly haste with which such assurances are being touted is highly irresponsible, and must not be allowed to divert the country's attention from the demand for a thorough review of India's existing nuclear facilities and the proposals for further expansion.
 
The Prime Minister has promised both houses of Parliament that a review will be conducted to "ensure that (India's) nuclear reactors would be able to withstand the impact of large natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes." The question is, how can we be sure that this review will be impartial, given that India lacks any independent nuclear regulatory body? The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board in India is subservient to and answerable to the very institution it is supposed to regulate - the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)! Regulatory processes are shrouded in secrecy and the Indian public are restricted by draconian legislation like the Indian Atomic Energy Act 1962 even from asking questions.
 
A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman, AERB has pointed out that the "collusion" between the PMO, the Indian nuclear establishment and corporate houses in the wake of the Indo-US Nuke Deal, and opined that the "continuity of this closeness between corporate houses interested in nuclear power and the concerned supervisory government agencies is distorting and damaging the independent government decisions to be taken in the public interest, whether it be in the choice of import of reactors and their cost, the environmental impact of such imported reactors or their potential deficiencies and dangers."
 
We have seen how Union Carbide-Dow succeeded in influencing government and even judicial processes at Bhopal. We have also seen how so-called regulatory bodies in the case of Bt Brinjal and soft drink industry were infiltrated in a big way by people who were on the payroll of the very same MNCs like Monsanto, Coke, Pepsi etc that they were supposed to assess and regulate! The Nuke Liability Bill passed by Parliament as it is bore the marks of severe pressure by the US nuclear industry backed by the US Government. This legislation means that in the event of a nuclear disaster in India, the lion's share of the costs of clean-up and repair will be borne by India while the human cost of life and health will be borne, as at Bhopal, by the Indian people.
 
Japan reminds us that the scale of a nuclear disaster is likely to be far more vast and far-reaching than other industrial disasters. If the pressures of corporate and MNC interests as well as the UPA Government's commitments to the US or France are allowed to influence the review process, then the fallout could well turn out to be devastation and disaster borne by the people of India. It is therefore absolutely urgent and imperative that a thorough and independent, time-bound review and reassessment take place of India's existing nuclear installations, and a moratorium declared forthwith on all future nuclear projects in India including the one at Jaitapur.

 

Thousands March to Parliament under the banner of

All India Left Coordination (AILC) to demand 'UPA Government Quit Power!'

for Soaring Prices, Mega Scams, Assault on Democracy

 

On 14 March, thousands of people from all over the country marched through the streets of Delhi to Parliament demanding that the UPA Government quit in light of unprecedented corruption, backbreaking price rise, rampant unemployment and assault on people's movements. The 'People's March to Parliament' was organized by the All India Left Coordination (AILC), a platform comprising four Left parties - the CPI(ML) Liberation, CPM Punjab, Left Coordination Committee (Kerala) and Lal Nishan Party (Leninist) Maharashtra. For two consecutive days prior to the 14th, rallyists from various states thronged the Capital city to participate in the March. On 14 March, he procession – well decorated with red banners and flags, colourful festoons and placards and reverberating with slogans demanding 'UPA Government Quit Power' – marched from the Ramlila Grounds at 11 am. Participants in the March were from all over the country including Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The procession culminated in a mass meeting at Parliament Street where a big dais was put up.

 
The mass meeting began with rousing revolutionary songs against corruption, rendered by the Jharkhand Sanskritik Manch (Prerna). Senior leaders, leaders from various states of the four parties graced the dais. The main speakers at the meeting were the main leaders of the constituent parties – Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of the CPI(ML), Comrade Mangat Ram Pasla, General Secretary of the CPM Punjab, Comrade Bhim Rao Bansode, Secretary of Lal Nishan Party (Leninist), and Comrade Hariharan from LCC (Kerala). The meeting was also addressed by Comrades Vinod Singh (CPIML's MLA in Jharkhand), Krishna Adhikari (CPIML Leader from UP), Harkanwal (CPM Punjab), Mahendra Chaudhary (CPIML's Rajasthan State Secretary), Uday Bhatt (LNP-L, Maharashtra), Bhagwant Samao (CPIML, Punjab) and peasant leader Rajaram Singh (CPIML, Bihar) among other left leaders of the four parties. The mass meeting was presided over by a presidium consisting of the leaders from the four left parties which included Comrades Rameshwar Prasad (CPIML), Rajendra Baooke (LNP-L), Vimla (LCC-Kerala) and Ratanlal Randhawa (CPM Punjab). The proceedings were conducted by Comrade Swapan Mukherjee, Central Committee member of CPI(ML). The sea of demonstrators was welcomed by Delhi State Committee member Com. Ravi Rai.
 
Addressing the meeting, Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of the CPI(ML) Liberation said that the UPA Government which had claimed to be a government of the aam aadmi had proved to be a Government of corporate looters and scamsters. The Government has been caught red-handed colluding with corporate agents to allow the billionaire Ambanis, Mittals, Tatas etc to loot the country's land, minerals, oil, gas, spectrum and other resources and bleed the country's treasury through black money, and then appointing a tainted CVC in a bid to ensure the cover-up of these scams. Those protesting against this plunder – be they ordinary peasants and tribals or intellectuals like Binayak Sen – are being branded as 'seditious' and subjected to severest repression. The Congress-led UPA Government and the Prime Minister have no moral authority to rule and the people of the country demand that they quit.
 
Comrade Dipankar said that while the Government was mired in corruption, the main opposition too was unable to offer any alternative. BJP-NDA ruled states, be it Jharkhand or Karnataka, presented the same story of Governments in liaison with mining mafia. He said that on the same day as the March to Parliament in Delhi, the CPI(ML) was holding a March to the Assembly in Karnataka, the BJP-ruled state infamous for a CM mired in land scam and BJP Ministers who are mining mafia. Pointing out that the policy regime of liberalization-privatisation was responsible for the unprecedented crisis of inflation, unemployment and corruption, the time had come to punish and oust those responsible for this crisis and demand a reversal of the disastrous anti-people policies. He said that the All India Left Coordination (AILC) platform had been formed to offer a fighting Left alternative to the people in the current crisis.
 
Addressing the meeting, Comrade Mangat Ram Pasla, General Secretary of CPM Punjab said that the same Government that is subsidizing billionaire CEOs to the tune of lakhs of crores is slashing spending on agriculture and subsidies on food, fertilizers and fuel and pushing farmers to commit desperate acts like suicide and burdening the starving poor with ever-increasing inflation and agricultural crisis. Such a Government had lost its right to rule, he said and demanded that the UPA Government step down without delay. He said that the Akali-NDA Government of Punjab too was unleashing agrarian crisis and severe repression on the peasants and poor of the state. While the need of the hour was for a powerful Left assertion against corporate loot, corruption and repression, it was unfortunate that the CPI(M)-led Left Front too had instead chosen to facilitate corporate land grab and unleash repression at Singur and Nandigram. In this backdrop, he said the AILC had proved to be an important platform to unite the forces of struggling Left and launch a united resistance to corrupt and anti-people governments and policies.
 
Comrade Bhimrao Bansode of Maharashtra reminded how Congress leaders of Maharashtra had shamefully connived with top army officials to steal the land allotted to Kargil martyrs' families in the Adarsh scam. He reminded that the UPA Government had appointed the same man as agriculture minister who presided over the record number of farmers' suicides in Maharashtra! In Raigad, people had successfully resisted a land grab attempt by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance, but in Jaitapur in the Konkan region, peasants and fisherpeople resisting the proposed atomic power plant were facing wholesale arrests and repression. He said that the explosion of the nuclear power plant in the wake of the tsunami and quake in Japan had proved that the protests of the Konkan's people had a solid basis and the Government could not be allowed to play with the lives and livelihood of the people.
 
Comrade Hariharan, Convenor of LCC (Kerala) said that the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre had shamelessly persisted in appointing PJ Thomas, tainted in the Kerala palmolein scam as well as the telecom scam, to head the country's apex anti-corruption body. When the SC intervened to prevent this, the Prime Minister said he took responsibility for this 'error of judgement.' Comrade Hariharan said that the Prime Minister and Government responsible for this must quit without any delay. He pointed out that unfortunately in Kerala, even the CPI(M)-led LDF Government had its share of corruption allegations, and had acted to shield its accused leader. He declared the intention of LCC (Kerala) to contest the forthcoming elections in Kerala on the plank of a powerful anti-corruption campaign.

 

The massive assembly of people passed 9 resolutions proposed at the end:

 
1)    Two decades of liberalization, privatization and globalization policies have landed the country in all-round crisis. Relentlessly rising prices are pauperizing the common people while mega scams and growing black money are robbing the national exchequer. Instead of controlling prices and punishing the corrupt, the UPA government is bent upon protecting the guilty and harassing honest and upright people. The Government shamelessly tried to appoint the tainted PJ Thomas as the CVC. When prevented by the Court, PM Manmohan Singh said he took responsibility for this 'error.' There is only one way to take responsibility for such an encouragement of corruption - the UPA Government must accept that it has lost the right to remain in power, and must resign immediately. This Mass Meeting demands that the UPA Government quit power, and also resolves to launch a nationwide agitation for urgent reversal of the policies of liberalization-privatisation-globalisation that are resulting in unprecedented price rise, unemployment and corruption.
 
2)    The Budget this year not only does nothing to curb inflation, it slashes subsidies on food, fuel and fertilizer and therefore further burdens the toiling masses and rural poor. But the same Budget, by cuts in surcharge, and by giving total tax concessions to corporates and the super-rich in the past year to the tune of over Rs. 5 lakh crore, effectively subsidises the corporate class. The disinvestment target has been doubled to Rs 40000 cr. It is obvious that the Government is not prepared to back its promises of food security with actual budgetary allocation for PDS coverage. The meeting resolves that a Government that promotes the interests of corporate houses at the cost of the aam aadmi must go, and resolves to intensify the struggle for effective measures to curb inflation and ensure food security for all.
 
3)    The UPA Government's tenure has seen one mega-scam after another in every sector of the economy. In these scams, the country's precious natural resources – land, minerals, oil, telecom spectrum, all are being looted by corporates with the complicity and connivance of influential people manning different institutions in the country, including the army as well as judiciary and even media. The Radia tapes have shown us how the corporates have a stranglehold on the entire system – be it selection of Ministers, national policies and decisions, court judgements or media stories. On the one hand, it is the policy regime of liberalization-privatization-globalisation (LPG) that is responsible for this scale of corruption and corporate loot. On the other, not only is the anti-corruption machinery in the country toothless, the Government also further renders it ineffective by appointing pliant people – as in the latest instance of CVC appointment. This meeting therefore resolves to demand a decisive change in the LPG policy regime as well as the speedy enactment of transparent, democratic and effective anti-corruption legislation on the lines of the Jan Lokpal Bill as drafted by eminent members of civil society.
 
4)    All over the country we are witnessing an all-out assault on democracy. People's movements challenging corporate land grab have met with severe repression, be it at Kalinganagar, POSCO, Srikakulam or Singur and Nandigram. Operation Green Hunt has proved to be a witch-hunt, with rights activists and intellectuals like Binayak Sen who act as voices of conscience being jailed for 'sedition.' Even courts have proved to make a mockery of the law and deliver political judgements in such cases. There are hundreds of poor people and activists who are facing a similar fate – for instance the 14 CPI(ML) activists who have been jailed under TADA, when the possession of Marxist literature was the only 'proof' of terrorist intent! Draconian laws like the TADA, AFSPA, CSPSA have resulted in an undeclared Emergency in the country, and innocents are being killed in fake encounters daily. This meeting demands the scrapping of the sedition law and other draconian laws, release of Binayak Sen and other activists arrested under these laws, and an end to Operation Green Hunt.
 
5)        Around Rs 240 crore worth of black money flows out of the country every single day. A handful of the super-rich bleed the country's veins to stash away these immense amounts of ill-gotten gains in Swiss banks. Not only has the UPA Government shown no will whatsoever to bring back this wealth to the country's coffers, it has actually left wide open the routes for this plunder by signing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements with tax havens like Mauritius. This meeting demands that every rupee of black money be brought back to the country, and every route for this plunder be plugged without an instant's delay.
 
6)    Women's rights in India are under increasing attack. Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a spate of crimes against women including rapes by several MLAs of the ruling BSP. In Bihar, a woman raped by a BJP MLA was driven by police inaction to take the desperate measure of stabbing him. In Delhi, on Women's Day itself, a young college girl was shot dead. All over the country, young couples are being killed for choosing their own partners. Governments have shown their lack of political will to punish perpetrators of crimes against women. Even courts have often proved insensitive – in a recent instance the Supreme Court let off three gang-rapists on the payment of Rs 50000 each, while many court verdicts have proved lenient towards perpetrators of honour killings. This meeting salutes the legacy of International Women's Day on the occasion of its centenary year, and extends solidarity to the women's movement in its ongoing struggle for equality, dignity and rights.
 
7)    Aseemanand's confession has revealed beyond doubt the role of the RSS and Sangh Parivar outfits in a series of terrorist acts that took the lives of innocents – including the blasts at Malegaon, Ajmer Sharif, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express. Many of these terrorists from the Sangh camp have been people known to be close to top BJP leaders including Advani and Modi. It is a matter of great concern that even army officials have been found to be part of this saffron terror network, providing arms as well as training. In many of the cases innocent Muslim youth faced unfair arrest and torture for the crimes committed by the saffron brigade. This meeting demands a ban on the communal fascist RSS which is the fountainhead of communal violence and saffron terror. It also demands a thorough investigation to reveal the entire network of saffron terror and its linkages with the BJP leadership. The meeting also demands immediate release of, as well as adequate compensation for, all the unfairly implicated Muslim youth.
 
8)    This meeting expresses deep sorrow at the devastation caused to the people of Japan by the earthquake and tsunami followed by the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear reactor. The explosion in the nuclear reactor bears out the apprehensions and concerns about the safety of civilian nuclear power projects in India as well. This meeting demands a thorough and independent review and reassessment of India's nuclear programme in the light of safety standards, costs and performance of all existing reactors in India. It further demands a moratorium on the construction of any new nuclear plants including the one at Jaitapur, Maharashtra, which is based on a hitherto untested design.
 
9)    This meeting congratulates the people of Yemen, Tunisia and Egypt for the popular uprisings that successfully ousted US-backed dictatorial regimes that had ruled for several decades. We welcome this mood of popular awakening on the questions of unemployment, price rise, corruption, trade union rights and democratic rights, that is spreading across the Arab world. We are sure that these will inspire the people's movements on these issues in India too. While hailing these uprisings however, this meeting expresses concern and warns against meddling and military encirclement of Libya by the US and Nato.
 
On 14th March, rally dharna, and mass meeting were also held in some other states demanding that the corrupt UPA Govt must quit office. A dharna was held at Raipur, Chhattisgarh; and a march to Karnataka Assembly at Bangalore, and also well attended protests in various parts of Andhra Pradesh- Kakinada, Vijaywada, Ananthpur, Jangareddygudam, and other places. In West Bengal, protests were held on 11 March at all districts on the same issues, also propagating about the rally in Delhi. In Tamil Nadu solidarity meetings for March 14 People's March were held. On March 12 a public meeting was held in Ambattur. Candidates of the forthcoming assembly elections Comrades S Janakiraman (Madhavaram), K Palanivel (Ambattur), A Socratese (Sripeumbudur) were introduced in the meeting. A public meeting was held in Madhavaram constituency on March 13. Kumarapalayam candidate Com.Venkatachalam was introduced in the public meeting held in Kumarapalayam on March 14. Mettupalayam Candidate Com. R Janakiraman was introduced in the public meeting held in Karamadai. Com. S Kumarasami, CPI(ML)'s PB member addressed all these meetings.

 

Edited, published and printed by S. Bhattacharya for CPI(ML) Liberation from U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi-92; printed at Bol Publication, R-18/2, Ramesh Park, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92; Phone:22521067; fax: 22442790, e-mail: mlupdate@cpiml.org, website: www.cpiml.org