ML Update 32 / 2013

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol.  16        No. 32                                           30 JUL-5 AUG 2013

UPA Government:

Stop Appeasing US Bosses!

The Parliament is scheduled to meet for the monsoon session in August and the government says it wants to transact serious legislative business in this last major session before the forthcoming general elections. As many as 99 Bills are pending in the two Houses of Parliament including the much talked about Food Security Bill which has already been promulgated as an ordinance. With the Parliament session just round the corner, parliamentary convention required the government to come up with the Bill first and not circumvent the parliamentary process by resorting to a Presidential Ordinance. Yet in its desperation to make electoral capital of the chronic problem of mass hunger, the UPA government has done precisely that.

The real moves of an utterly discredited and desperate UPA government are however not limited to the pretentious tokenism of a food security legislation. The government is working overtime to appease the American bosses hoping to impress the angry Indian electorate with an American certificate of 'good conduct and excellent performance'. With the exchange value of the Indian rupee nose-diving to 60 per dollar, India's import bill is becoming increasingly unmanageable. Short-term compulsions of debt repayment are also exerting great pressure on India's forex reserves. It was a similar scenario in early 1990s that led the Indian policy establishment to opt for the neoliberal package of liberalization, privatization and globalization. And after twenty-two years as the Indian economy finds itself in a deeper mess, Indian policymakers can think of no other course but to extend still greater concessions to global capital.

As elections draw nearer and the shadow of economic crisis grows darker and longer, frantic parleys are on between key architects of the Indian policy establishment and their American counterparts. Just as Chidambaram, Anand Sharma and Montek Singh Ahluwalia returned from their appeasement mission to the US, there came the announcement of an across-the-board hike in FDI limits in a dozen sectors of strategic importance including telecommunications, insurance and defence. This has of course made the US establishment hungry for more, as became glaringly evident from the wish list presented by US Vice-President Joe Biden during his recent visit to India. Biden's visit was preceded by the visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry and will be followed by another Manmohan-Obama meet in Washington later this year.

The Congress had signed the Indo-US strategic partnership and the subsequent nuclear deal during its first tenure. Before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, it now seeks to push the country deeper into the policy trap laid by the US. Biden's wish list gives us an idea of the kind of concessions the Americans are demanding and the Congress may well end up extending. The US wants not only greater FDI concessions in every sector but a lenient tax regime and still greater Indian reliance on American imports. In particular, the US wants India to completely open up the insurance sector, accept the intellectual property right claims of US pharmaceutical companies and weaken, if not altogether waive, the liability clause in civilian nuclear trade. The US-India Business Council has also written to President Barack Obama complaining about India's 'archaic laws in land acquisition'.

Economic interests apart, the US wants assured Indian assistance in implementing its AfPak policy. As the US and its NATO allies contemplate 'withdrawal' of their combat forces from Afghanistan by 2014, the US wants India to step in and fill the void. Indian involvement in Afghanistan in compliance with the US game-plan is fraught with dangerous consequences. It will make India an automatic target of Taliban resistance and terrorist attacks. And it will invariably open up another front of tension and possible conflict with Pakistan. It is one thing for India to extend assistance to Afghanistan within a framework of bilateral as well as South Asian cooperation, but India footing the economic, political and military bill of US design in Afghanistan is a completely different proposition.

The pro-corporate pro-US policies pursued by successive governments over the last two decades have already landed India into a deep economic and foreign policy crisis. The frantic election-eve measures now being taken by the UPA government can only aggravate the crisis. The country must resist these disastrous moves tooth and nail and get ready to vote out the discredited UPA government along with its entire policy baggage.

W Bengal Panchayat Polls: A Report

The spate of violence unleashed by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) leading to the death of at least 24 people in poll-related clashes in the nomination and voting phases continued in the counting phase too, as the blood-soaked five-phased Panchayat elections in West Bengal rolled to a close. Amidst widespread instances of booth jamming, snatching of valid votes, beating up counting agents of political opponents, the use of force, violence and terror seems to have been normalized, being fueled up by hate speeches from the TMC leadership perched on podiums. As results started emerging, it is clear that the TMC is all set to form Zila Parishads (upper tier of the 3-tiered Panchayati Raj) in 13 out of 17 districts - Nadia, West Midnapore, Howrah, Cooch Behar, South Dinajpur, Bankura, Burdwan, Birbhum, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Purulia, East Midnapore and Hooghly. The CPI(M) and the Left parties are in a position to win ZPs of North Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri. The Congress is set to capture Murshidabad ZP, whereas in Malda, it's a hung verdict. There the Congress and CPI(M) are tied with 16 ZP seats each, whereas TMC has got just 6 ZPs in this district.

As overall trends, it is clear that the TMC has summarily routed the CPI(M) from its traditional rural citadels in South Bengal, which remained practically resistance-less in face of terror unleashed by the TMC during the entire run-up and election period. With the consolidation of Birbhum, the TMC completes its sweep that begun in the State Assembly elections of 2011. The Left Front partners are also confronted with major crisis. In Cooch Behar, Forward Bloc lost a lion's share of GPs to TMC, whereas the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) conceded its hold over South 24-Parganas and South Dinajpur. The CPI, which had already lost grip over its areas of influence in North 24-Parganas and Midnapore, has no encouraging results either. The Congress is able to retain majority in Murshidabad only, amongst its traditional footholds.

CPI(ML) has been able to form the Gram Panchayat in Naupara 2 (in Dhubulia block of Nadia district), winning 7 out of 12 GP seats. In the Panchayat Samiti level (middle-tier), the party has won a seat in the same block and lost in another by a narrow margin of 12 votes. Naupara GP is witness to an ongoing land struggle. When the CPI(ML) was in power during 2003-2008 in this GP, people under the Party's leadership had distributed river banks among villagers. But after the change of guard in the state, TMC had captured the banks, and ever since CPI(ML) has been leading a struggle to wrest back the land that belongs to the people. The Party has also won six GP seats in Hooghly, but has lost the lone GP that it had formed in Goswami-Malopara in Hooghly. Apart from Nadia and Hooghly, CPI(ML) has won a new GP seat (Kelai-2) in Murshidabad - this area also witness to a long history of political struggle and sacrifice by activists - and two GP seats (Kalna-2 and Memari-2) in Burdwan. In North 24-Parganas, CPI(ML) candidates were leading and all set to win three GP seats (Khanarhat, Sibdaspur/VI and Sibdaspur/VII) in Sibdaspur Gram Panchayat of Barackpore-1 block. But armed TMC goons attacked CPI(ML)'s counting agents and forced them out while trashing a portion of the party's valid votes into the box of invalid ballots. A classic example of state power backing grassroots cadres to turn a democratic process into a complete farce. The candidates and district and state leadership of the party have registered complaints with the Election Commission and Regional and State administration demanding redress.

CPI(ML) Holds Protest In Front Of Bihar Assembly 

Holding the State government entirely responsible for the Mashrakh mid-day meal tragedy, CPI(ML) avers that the Government has no right to remain in power in Bihar. Instead of taking responsibility, Nitish Kumar is indulging in mischievous political blame games. This Government has attained the peak of irresponsibility, injustice, and insensitivity. Due to lack of rain, the whole of Bihar today is reeling under drought, but the Government shows no concern for this. Bihar must be declared a drought hit state without delay and farmers must be given immediate relief. These were some of the points raised by the leaders of the CPI(ML) addressing a one-day protest rally in front of the Assembly on R Block crossroads. The rally was addressed by CPI(ML) State secretary Com. Kunal, Politbureau member Dhirendra Jha, Chairman of Central Control Commission Ramjatan Sharma, Central Committee member Com. K.D. Yadav, General Secretary of All India Kisan Mahasabha and former MLA Rajaram Singh, AIPWA General Secretary Meena Tiwari, AIPWA State President and Secretary Saroj Choubey and Shashi Yadav, State Committee member and former MLA Arun Singh, Kamlesh Sharma, Com. Anita Sinha, Rita Baranwal, Chhapra District Secretary Com. Ram Iqbal, Sabhapati Rai, AIALA leader Gopal Ravidas and others. The meeting was chaired by State standing committee member Com. Rajaram and conducted by Com. Rambali Yadav.

CPI(ML) leaders pointed out that the Chief Minister has no compunctions about wasting public money in various yatras like Sewa Yatra, Nyay Yatra etc but he could not be bothered about reaching the scene of the tragedy in Mashrakh or visiting the victims in Patna Medical College Hospital in spite of being in Patna at the time. This is not the first time the Nitish Government has refused to accept accountability; rather, it has a long track record for this. They said that the Bihar Government has shown the greatest possible insensitivity in the Forbesganj, Madhubani,Paraiyya (Gaya), Bagaha, Purnea,and many other instances of brutal  Police firing cases. Till date no action has been taken on the police which is brutal and trigger-happy in dealing with common citizens, women demanding punishment for rapists, students and youth demanding educational and employment rights, teachers demanding regular wages, Mahadalits and tribals demanding their rightful  land, and minority youth; on the contrary the guilty police personnel have been rewarded with promotions. False cases have been slapped against AIPWA and CPI(ML) leaders protesting and demanding the release of hundreds of adivasis languishing in jail in Purnea. False cases have been lodged in Siwan against former CPI(ML) MLA Satyadev Ram and RYA National President Amarjeet Kushwaha whereas no action has been taken against the BJP MLA who brutally attacked Dalit landless people in Chilmakha village (Guthni), Siwan. The Bihar Human Rights Commission has found the Government guilty in the Aurangabad police firing case but instead of taking action against the guilty SP, this shameless Government is bent on oppressing the leaders of the protest. This Government has never acknowledged its accountability in any of the cases like deaths due to hunger, carnages, custodial killings, the tragedy during Chhat festival in Patna.

On the one hand the poor, dalits and minorities are being given injustice in the name of 'justice'; on the other hand, agricultural land is being taken away from farmers and adivasis and they are being jailed on false charges when they fight for their traditional rights. Crimes like jailing on false charges, rape, gang rape (even of children as young as 6 months), gouging out eyes, acid attacks, have become common in Bihar.

The Government is boasting about development in education and health fields but the Mashrakh incident has brought out the true and horrific conditions of these sectors. The school system is in tatters. 8600 schools in the State are without school buildings and open to the risk of major tragedy any day. This incident has also thoroughly exposed the failure of the medical and disaster management services of the Government. From the inspection of the mid-day meals to disaster management, the ugly truth of the bad governance of the Bihar Government stands exposed. The speakers pointed out that the Nitish Government surpassed even the previous Governments in corruption. Extensive and gigantic looting is going on through BIADA land scams, residential lands for mahadalits, MNREGA, and other development projects. The Mashrakh mid-day meal tragedy also indicates corruption and a scam of enormous proportions. The mid-day meals had a big part in the recent AC/DC scam. The Chhapra incident is not surprising; such incidents can occur any time anywhere in Bihar, for there is no Government worth the name in the State. The people of Bihar have long struggled against this unjust, irresponsible, and insensitive Government but the murder of the school children in Mashrakh has brought the failure of the Government into sharp focus. The Bihar Government has no right to remain in power as it has lost all credibility.

Comrade Charu Mazumdar Martyrdom Day

On 28th July this year, Com. Charu Mazumdar's martyrdom day was observed in Delhi and neighbouring States Rajasthan and Haryana as a Pledge-Taking Day.

A public meeting was organized in East Delhi and Party workers' meetings were conducted in Narela and Wazirpur areas of Delhi.

Addressing the meeting in Mandavali (East Delhi) Party Polit Bureau member Kavita Krishnan called upon the comrades of the East Delhi Party committee to make full preparations for organizing a people's resistance movement on issues concerning the common citizens. The meeting was also addressed by Delhi State Secretary Com. Sanjay Sharma, RYA General Secretary Ravi Rai, Surendra Panchal, Om Prakash Sharma, and was conducted by Com. VKS Gautam. 

In the Narela Party workers' meet a plan was put forward for strengthening the Party and people's organizations and also for organizing people's movements against the Congress' anti-people policies. In the Wazirpur Party workers' meet it was resolved to fulfill the objectives of increasing party membership, fixing accountability and gherao of errant people's representatives, increasing membership of general labour unions, and organizing a conference on August 28.

Addressing the party activists' meet in Asand block of Karnal district in Haryana, the Party in-charge of Haryana State Com.Prem Singh Gehlawat garlanded the portrait of Com. Charu Mazumdar. He said that proactive political steps have to be taken to counter the anti farmer-worker policies of the Congress for solutions to the present problems cannot be achieved without a strong organization. In this context a plan to strengthen the activities of the Party through the Asand block organization. Krishna Saini, Ishwar Pal, Satyavan, Johnny Kashyap, Ram Kumar, Lalit Saini, Prem Singh, Com. Balkar and others were present at the meet.

A convention was organized in Vuhana tehsil of Jhunjhunu  district in Rajasthan to commemorate the martyrdom day of Com. Charu Mazumdar. Attended in large numbers by activists and citizens the convention began with garlanding and paying tributes to Charu Mazumdar and other revolutionaries who were martyred for the cause of people's struggles. Conducted under the leadership of a 5 member board, the chief guest of the convention was Polit Bureau member Com. Prabhat Choudhary. The convention was also addressed by District Secretary Com. Phoolchand Dheba, national councilor of All India Kisan Mahasabha Ramchandra Kulahari and Om Prakash Jhadoda. On this occasion it was resolved to achieve the objective of forming 20 Party branch organizations for undertaking future work. The Party office in Vuhana tahsil was also inaugurated on this occasion.

AICCTU holds its First Punjab Level Convention

The Punjab unit of AICCTU held its first state level convention and a state level body was formed on 28th July, the Martyrdom Day of Com Charu Majumdar and Baba Bujha Singh. The session started with a minute long silence for the martyred comrades.

The twenty one member body was elected by a house of nearly one hundred fifty leading comrades representing various unions affiliated to AICCTU, namely The Sugar Mill Workers Union Punjab, The Textile Majdoor Union, The Foundry Workers Union, Krantikari Kamkazi Mahila Sangathan, Chandiagarh, PGI contract Workers Union, PEC Mess Employees Union, TBRL contract Workers Union, PGI Safayi Karamchari Contract Union, the Lal Jhanda Bhattha Majdoor Union, Construction Workers Union, apart from our groups working among the paramedical health workers, postal employees, palledars. The convention was inaugurated by AICCTU General Secretary Com. Swapan Mukherjee and was addressed by the leaders of various fraternal organizations including Ruldu Singh Mansa, president,

AIKMS, Jasbir Kaur Natt of AIPWA, Harvinder Singh Sema of Majdoor Mukti Morcha. Others among the speakers were Gurmeet Singh Bakhtpura, Gurpreet Singh Rureke, Kanwaljeet Singh, Gulzar Singh, Satish Kumar, Sukhdev Singh, Om Parkash, Eisha, Pritpal Singh, Gurjant Singh Mansa. The convention was also addressed by Com. Rajvinder Singh Rana, State Secretary of CPI(ML).

The convention elected Com Gurmeet Singh Bakhtpura as President, Gurpreet Singh Rureke as General Secretary and com Satish kumar as the treasurer.

Citizen's Gathering At Jantar Mantar Demands Truth and Justice for Batla House

Students from Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and concerned citizens gathered today at Jantar Mantar at the call of AISA and RYA. Campus Front of India also joined the gathering. A march at the Jantar Mantar road also took place. Protesters also lit candles, symbolizing that the struggle for truth and justice would refuse to be extinguished.

Protesters said that the court's verdict on the involvement of Shehzad in the Batla 'encounter' case ignores the glaring gap in the prosecution story and leaves many questions unanswered. We still do not have a satisfactory answer – that meets all the facts - to the question of who killed Atif, Sajid, and Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma.

The prosecution failed to show any proof of Shehzad's presence in the L-18 flat on the day of the 'encounter.' They failed to show any spent bullet that could match with a gun that was not already accounted for among the guns attributed to Atif and Sajid (the two boys killed that day) and the police officers. Moreover, the prosecution's claim about how Shehzad 'escaped' from the flat unseen by anyone is ridiculous. He would have to be Spiderman to be able to leap from the fifth floor building. The defence asked the judge to come and view the building himself. The police testified that no one was seen coming down the stairs – how, then, could Shehzad have passed them, armed with his gun?     

The gathering was addressed by CPI(ML) Polit Bureau member Kavita Krishnan, Sandipan, AISA Delhi President, Sandeep, AISA National President, Shakeel, JNUSU General Secretary and others. The protesters, pointing out that the Supreme Court had set up a Commission to enquire into fake encounters in Manipur, asked that a similar Commission be set up to enquire into the Batla House 'encounter'. They condemned the doublespeak of the Congress party, whose leaders shed crocodile tears for the victims of the 'encounter', and demand a judicial probe, while their own Government and Home Ministry block the possibility of a probe and defend the 'encounter'!

Celebrate 100 years of the Great Ghadar Movement!

Uphold the Ghadar Movement's Legacy of Anti-Imperialism and Secularism!

 Join

  Convention

To Commemorate the Centenary of the 

Ghadar  Movement

 11th August 2013

Mavalankar Auditorium

(Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi)

 4 pm – 8 pm

 To be addressed by

Prof. Chaman Lal

Justice (Retd) Rajinder Sachar

JPS Kohli, Grandson of Ghadar Party leader Dr. Mathura Singh 

Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML)

Mangat Ram Pasla, Secretary, CPM Punjab,

Bhimrao Bansod, Lal Nishan Party (L)

and other scholars, activists, and Left leaders

(Posters and photographs of the Ghadar movement's glorious history will be displayed)

As we resist the anti-poor, anti-people, pro-imperialist policies today

As we fight for justice, truth, and the rights of all Indian citizens

As we fight for an India where minorities can have respect and equality, not fear and abuse,

Ghadar di goonj

still rings in our ears,

and strengthens our resolve to struggle for a truly free, democratic and secular India!

Please join a Convention to commemorate the Centenary of the Ghadar  Movement on 11th August 2013 at Mavalankar Auditorium, (Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi), 4 pm – 8 pm.
- All India Left Coordination (AILC)

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ML Update A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine U-90 Shakarpur Delhi - 110092 INDIA PHONE: 91 11 22521067 FAX: 91 11 22442790 Web: http://cpiml.org

ML Update 31/2013

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol. 16, No. 31, 23 – 29 JULY 2013

Midday Meal Tragedy in Bihar – Innocent Victims of Callous Governance

T

he midday meal tragedy at Gandaman village of Masrakh block of Bihar's Chhapra district has come as a severe blow to the tall claims of the powers that be in both Delhi and Patna. The central government treats the midday meal (MDM) scheme as a great innovation that has improved enrolment and retention rate of students at primary level in rural areas while ensuring some basic nutrition to children. And Nitish Kumar is always busy congratulating himself for the great turnaround he claims to have brought about in Bihar. Both these claims lie shattered in the wake of the Masrakh MDM massacre of at least 25 kids (some local people however claim the figure is no less than 29).

The state government instituted a routine probe but even before the probe could reach any conclusion, the education minister of Bihar who recently lost in the Lok Sabha by-poll in the same area, started invoking the conspiracy theory. The school principal who fled away the moment children began to fall ill is apparently related to some leader of the RJD and the minister would want us to believe that the whole tragedy was actually a grand conspiracy hatched by the opposition to discredit and destabilise the government of Bihar. Forensic reports have indicated the presence of a pesticide in the food served to the children, and chances are that the soyabean curry served to the children was actually cooked in pesticide and not edible oil.

The probe must get to the bottom of the tragedy and everybody found guilty or negligent must be punished. But it will clearly be wrong to treat it as an isolated instance – in fact, the very next day there were reports from Madhubani of a similar incident, where children fell ill after taking their midday meal apparently because a lizard had fallen into the food, and from Gaya, where a student died after being administered Vitamin A. The MDM malady is not confined to Bihar – Tamil Nadu too reported a major MDM mishap even as Bihar was reeling under the shock of the Gandaman tragedy. Clearly, the entire MDM scheme is designed and administered in such a flawed and irresponsible manner that the scheme has turned into a scam and tragedies like the Gandaman one can happen almost anywhere anytime.

The Masrakh massacre must lead to a thorough overhauling of the MDM scheme. The midday meal scheme is a key component of the Union government's flagship education programme Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). Yet there is no guarantee that that the materials used for cooking are fresh and the cooking takes place in a hygienic environment. It is also time the school system, and especially teachers, were freed from the MDM burden. Critics of the MDM scheme rightly point out that education has taken a back seat while the whole focus is on implementing the MDM scheme. And above all, there is this all-important question of how the system deals with the people, especially the poor. The utter contempt with which the poor are treated in every sphere of life can be seen most glaringly in schemes like MDM. It is the rural poor who are forced to send their children to MDM schools and the governments think the poor will put up with anything.

As far as the Bihar government is concerned, it has long been known that like the NRHM in UP, MDM has become a victim of official negligence and pervasive corruption. A few years ago when the government was found guilty of a huge mismatch between its withdrawal and expenditure accounts, considerable irregularities were found in the realm of MDM and SSA. Recently the state government returned an unspent sum of Rs. 462.78 crore received between 2006-07 and 2009-10 ostensibly for building kitchen sheds and purchasing utensils for the MDM scheme. Now in the wake of the Masrakh tragedy, the Union HRD Ministry has started talking of systemic failure in monitoring the MDM project in Bihar.

It is not just the MDM scheme and the education system that have nearly collapsed in Bihar, the systems of healthcare and disaster management also stand brutally exposed. The children had fallen ill at midday on 16 July and effective medical care for critical cases could begin only in Patna and that too after an unpardonable lapse of more than twelve hours by which time the death toll had already reached near twenty, and four more died on the way and two more patients died soon after being admitted in the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). This shows the state of the healthcare system in districts and the quality of the disaster management response of the state government. Could not the government rush a well equipped medical team to Chhapra from elsewhere? Could not the government use helicopters to airlift critical cases patients to Patna?

The biggest crisis that is being felt in Bihar today is the crisis of governance – the very plank that had brought Nitish Kumar to power. And underlying this crisis of governance is a total absence of sensitivity and accountability. Nitish Kumar who treats the people as subjects who must come to him in the 'Darbars' he holds in Patna or in the course of his periodic 'yatras' (the petitions submitted in such 'darbars' seldom yield any result though) is never to be seen by the side of the people when they are aggrieved, be it a case of police repression or any disaster or calamity, natural or man-made. And ever since the BJP ministers were 'dismissed' it is Nitish Kumar who is holding on to all those ministries and that includes the crucial department of health. Pushed into the opposition, the BJP is now obviously desperate to make political capital of every failure of the government, but it has had an equal share in promoting the official culture of apathy, arrogance, negligence and non-performance masked by phrases like 'good governance' and 'development with justice'. It is significant that the people of Masrakh turned away BJP leader Sushil Modi.

Redesigning of the MDM scheme, a thorough overhaul of the welfare mechanism, and fixing of appropriate accountability for the enormous crime that led to the MDM tragedy at Masrakh – that's the least that we owe to the innocent children whose lives were cut short so tragically by the 'welfare' arm of the state.

CPI(ML) GS Attends Dharna Against Custodial Killing in UP

CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on 22nd July attended and addressed a dharna organized by the Rihai Manch, a platform struggling for the release of innocent Muslims framed in false terror charges and demanding probe into the role of security agencies in it. This indefinite dharna that completed 62 days on the 22nd July, has been demanding justice for Khalid Mujahid, a youth jailed on terror charges and killed in police custody even after the UP Government had recommended his release.

Addressing the dharna Comrade Dipankar said that after killing Khalid Mujahid, the UP government is trying to bury the report of RD Nimesh Commission, which had found discrepancies in arrest of Khalid Mujahid and Tariq Qasmi, accused in 2007 serial blasts.

Questioning the role of security agencies, he said there are many instances in which the security agencies have framed innocent people in fake terror charges, and demanded more transparency and reform in functioning of police and security agencies.

Accusing BJP and RSS of trying to polarize people on communal lines, he said that the country cannot be run on Modi's model of mass murders and culture of fake encounters, which were a smokescreen to draw attention away from Modi's policies promoting corporate plunder.

He also said the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, like the Congress nationally, is also hoping to benefit from the polarisation of communities in the state. This explained the SP's collusion with communal forces. "There is Khalid Mujahid in UP, Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat, Qateel Siddiqui in Congress-ruled Maharshtra; the pattern everywhere is the same, regardless of the party in power. It has become a pattern of the Government of India, which only highlights its pro-US policy of Islamophobia," he said.

He also said that Rihai Manch's protest is a "fight not just about the release of innocents who are locked in jails, it is as much about the release of democracy".

 AICCTU's Country wide protests held on 18 July

Picketing in front of showrooms/offices of Maruti Suzuki

All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) held Country-wide protest demonstrations by Picketing in front of showrooms/offices of Maruti Suzuki and organizing rallies in several major cities on 18 July 2013- the day which marks the completion of one year of the determined resistance of workers Maruti Suzuki, Manesar against all out repression and blatant attack on their rights by nexus of Haryana's Hooda government and Maruti management.

On 18th July, several workers of AICCTU and students and youth of AISA and RYA from Delhi and NCR participated in the call of "Manesar Chalo" (Go to Manesar) given by Maruti worker. On this day again the Haryana government and administration exhibited their loyalty to the Maruti administration by imposing section-144 in Manesar region and several parts of Gurgaon. In this situation a mass meeting and demonstration was held near IFFCO Chowk, Gurgaon in which large number of people from civil society also participated. A memorandum was submitted to DC of Gurgaon from this demonstration.

Notably, at the initiative of AICCTU, in Chennai, a massive all-TU joint demonstration was held in which members of AICCTU, CITU, AITUC, HMS, LPF, INTUC, AIUTUC and WPTUC took part. Also, in Mumbai, workers from various trade unions and mass organizations including AICCTU, Sarva Shramik Sangathan, AISA and unions of Blue Star, Reliance Energy, Godrej, Jagruk Kamgar Manch, Kamgar Aghadi, Kachara Vahatuk Sangathan held a rally and convention.

The Chennai demonstration was presided over by Com. Kumaresh, state VP of AICCTU and was addressed by Com. Iraniappan, state secretary of AICCTU, among others. More than 500 workers participated including workers from sectors like Railways, State transport, Electricity board, Ashok Leyland, TI Diamond chain, Carborendum, Gymkhana Club, and some Hospitals and Hotels and also from unorganised sector. In rest of Tamil Nadu, programmes were held in 12 districts. There was a public meeting at Sriperumputhur of Kanji district in which workers including Hyundai participated. At Coimbatore, there was a demonstration at gate of both plants 1 and 3 with a large participation of workers. A strong demonstration was held at Salem with participation of HMS, AITUC and TUI and addressed by Com. Chandramohan, state VP of AICCTU. Also, there were demonstrations at Namakkal and Kanyakumari. In Tanjore construction workers wore demand badges when they assembled for the day's work. In Tirunelveli too, workers of unorganised sector like auto drivers, washer men and others wore demand badges. In Tiruchi Ordnance factory, both permanent and contract workers wore badges in support of Maruti workers' demands.

On 18 July, Bangalore City Committee of AICCTU organized an impressive demonstration in the city centre in solidarity with struggling Maruti workers as a part of the all-India call. The demo was addressed by AICCTU leader Comrade Shankar said that the case of Maruti is the worst example of central and state governments openly siding with MNCs and corporate capital against the working class in the era of globalization and liberalization. Com. Appanna, state secretary, district leaders Krishna Golla, Ashok Gowda and Raghavendra also addressed the demonstrators. Com. Puttegowda, district secretary led the demonstration.

On the same day, another demonstration was organized at Ganagavati in front of Maruti Show Room. Com. Bharadwaj, state president hailed Maruti struggle as a symbol of unity of entire working class defying artificial divisions of contract and permanent. Com. Basavangowda, NCM, Virupakshappa, taluk president and Raghavendra of RYA addressed the demonstrators among others.

In Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand, a strong demonstration and a mass meeting, preceded by a rally, was held in front of show-room of Maruti company, led by leaders of AICCTU including Shubhendu Sen, Sukhdev Prasad and Bhuneshwar Kewat. The demonstrations were also held at steel city of Bokaro and coal belt of Dhanbad and Ramgarh.

In Bhagalpur, Bihar a big demonstration, led by Com. SK Sharma, national VP of AICCTU, was held and an effigy of Hooda government and Maurti management was burnt with participation of hundreds of workers, particularly unorganized workers. In Puduchery, a massive demonstration was held in front of Maruti Showroom in the leadership of AICCTU state secretary, Com. S. Motilal and national secretary, S. Balasubramanian.

The demonstrations were also held in front of Maruti showrooms in Kanpur in U.P. in the leadership of AICCTU's national VP, Hari Singh and in Bhilai, Chattisgarh in the leadership of national leaders of AICCTU JP Nair and Rajendra Parganiha.

Memoranda were sent to CM and Governor of Haryana, Union Labour Minister and Chief Labour Commissioners (Central) from various states.

The demands raised in these country-wide demonstrations were:

Immediately reinstate all terminated workers of Maruti Suzuki Manesar Plant, Suzuki, Powertrain India and Suzuki Motorcycles; unconditional release of the 147 workers lodged in Gurgaon Jail for the past one year and 10 workers and other people lodged in Kaithal jail since 18th May 2013 and withdrawal of all fabricated charges against them; a high level Judicial probe into the violation of labour laws by Maruti and other employers in Gurgaon Manesar belt; an independent, high level Judicial enquiry into the incident of 18 July 2012; Prohibition of the employment of bouncers by employers and regularization of contract labour and other non-regular workers who are engaged in works of a perennial nature and equal pay for equal work.

Mashrakh MDM Massacre:

Nitish Government Has Blood of Children on Its Hands

(A report by CPI(ML)'s Bihar State Secretary Kunal)

The massacre of 23 school children through the mid-day meal on 16th July in Dharmasati Gandaman village of Mashrakh block in Saran district has not only completely exposed the Nitish Government's empty boasts about development, it has also brought to the fore the total insensitivity and irresponsibility of the Government.

When the CPI(ML) team led by General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya reached the place on 17th July afternoon, the village was grief-stricken and also seething with anger. 4 government vehicles had been torched and reduced to cinders by the roadside. In the open maidan of the Dharmasati temple, JCB cranes had been employed to dig graves for the burial of the children. Two children had already been buried and 21 had been placed in the burial pits.

As soon as we entered the village we came upon the house of cook Manju Kunwar whose family was wailing for their dead. 9 children from the family had been killed. We were told that immediately upon consuming the meal, the children tottered, fell to the floor and lost consciousness. They were immediately taken to the Block level hospital at Mashrakh. Seeing no facilities for treatment there, the children were taken to the District HQ in Chhapra. By evening a dozen children had lost their lives. 4 more children died on the way to Patna Medical College Hospital. 27 children were admitted to the hospital, of whom 2 died on the morning of 17th July. 25 children survived the tragedy.

Dharmasati Gandaman village has a population of about 200 families, most of whom are poor and small farmers from the Yadav and Noniya castes. The primary school has no building of its own and is run in the small community hall situated in the open temple complex. Meals were prepared and eaten in the open. On the day of the incident, the cook complained about the foul smell of the oil, and many children refused to eat the food due to its bad smell and poison-like taste but the Principal Meena Devi threatened the children and forced them to eat the food. Now the forensic report has confirmed the presence of large quantities of the pesticide organo-phosphorus in the meal. This pesticide has been banned in 50 countries including the USA but it is still widely used in India. It is so poisonous that it can even enter the body through the pores of the skin and cause death. The villagers tell us that one of them, Bigeshwar Mishra, had submitted a written complaint 6 months ago to the district education officer regarding the pathetic state of the mid-day meals but the authorities took no notice.

The incident has exposed the wretched condition of school education in Bihar. The school education system has failed completely due to lack of an independent system for organizing the mid-day meal scheme, as this has now become one of the main duties of the schools themselves. The State has 8600 primary schools which have no buildings but function under trees, in dilapidated houses, community halls, back yards etc. Moreover, these schools are open to the risk of tragedy at any time through the mid-day meal. There are no arrangements for hygienic cooking and serving of food to the children. There is also huge corruption and scams involved in the scheme.

The mid-day meal played a big role in the recent AC/DC scams which flourish under the politician-bureaucrat-village chief-Principal nexus. The meal is cooked for 100 children but the attendance register records show 200-300 children. Nowhere is the meal cooked according to the prescribed menu. Neither is the directive followed that the cook and teachers must taste the food before it is served to the children. Nowhere in the implementation of the scheme is there any sense that the purpose of the scheme is to feed nutritious food to little children. That is why from all across Bihar (and other states) we get reports of worms in the food, children falling ill and even dying from eating the food.

After this incident children in hundreds of State government schools have refused to eat the food and the mid-day meal scheme is closed at present. What is needed is to develop a system (independent from the teaching work) to cook and serve hygienic and nutritious meals to the children. The administration should be made accountable and stringent action should be taken where regulations are violated.

This incident has also exposed the poor state of the medical system in the State. Apart from the capital (Patna), there are no basic life-saving emergency facilities available anywhere. There were no facilities even for a saline drip in the District hospital at Chhapra and no compounder was available to administer drips. Even in the Patna MCH, the leakage of gas in the AC system caused a panic and the parents/guardians of the children from Mashrakh had to run out of the hospital with the sick children in their arms. Nitish Kumar has repeatedly made announcements of opening a new medical college and increasing the number of seats but these remain on paper only. The Mashrakh incident has thoroughly exposed the sorry state of the medical facilities in Bihar.

The Mashrakh incident has also exposed the pathetic state of Disaster Management in Bihar. Nitish Kumar boasts of having constructed good roads by which one can reach the capital from any corner of Bihar within 4 hours. Then why did it take over 14 hours to bring these children to Patna? Helicopters are available for the CM and his Ministers to tour extensively but not for saving the lives of the poor children of the State. A team of doctors could have been sent to the place or the children could have been shifted to Patna without delay, saving many lives.

The whole of Bihar falls within the risk-prone earthquake zone. There had been a destructive earthquake in 1934. Geologists have warned that at any time Bihar could be the epicentre of a future earthquake. Floods occur and boats capsize every year but the Disaster Management of the State works not to save lives but to fish out dead bodies and is unsuccessful even in this endeavour.

This incident has also exposed the utter heartlessness of the Nitish govt. The CM, who embarks on various yatras at the drop of a hat, neither visited Dharmasati to console the victims nor went to the Patna hospital to meet them. All his Ministers were busy in preparing for the coming elections. All limits were crossed when the Education Minister shamelessly put forward the theory of the incident being the result of a political conspiracy to malign the government. Nitish Kumar considered his duty over when he announced a compensation of 2 lakhs each to the victims.

In all, the repeated acquittal of perpetrators of carnages, the incidents at Forbesganj, Aurangabad, Madhubani, Bagaha and Purnea and now the murder of school children at Mashrakh have brought out the total failure of the Nitish govt. Nitish Kumar has no right to continue to remain in the seat of power in Bihar.

Women Protesters Arrested in Purnea

On 20th July, 1000 women under the banner of AIPWA had protested in Purnea demanding schooling, education for girls who are rape survivors, and freeing of Purnea's adivasi women who remain in jail. The SDO stopped the procession by force, snatched AIPWA flags and banners and beat up the protesters. Following this the women surrounded and soundly beat the SDO, broke the gates of the DM's office and entered the DM's office in full strength. The administration did not have the courage to arrest the women then. But when the women were returning from the city, police picked up some 150 women from various places on their way home! Most of the women resisted the arrest boldly, and were eventually released under pressure from local people. As we go to press, around 50 women are still in custody.

 

 

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

ML Update 30 / 2013

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol. 16, No. 30, 16 – 22 JULY 2013

Modi-Vani is the Voice of Communal, Corporate-Backed Fascism in India

I

n an interview to the international news agency Reuters – his very first since becoming Chief of BJP's Campaign Committee – and in a subsequent speech, Narendra Modi has exposed his communal fascist character more thoroughly than any political opponent could have done. Modi's image-managers claim he is a hero of 'development', far above any communal politics. But Modi has brazenly affirmed that contempt, hatred, and violence towards the Muslim minorities is inextricable from his imagery, his metaphors, and his politics.

When asked about the Gujarat massacre of Muslims in 2002, Modi used the analogy of 'kutthe ka baccha' (a phrase that translates as 'puppy' but is also a common term of abuse in Hindi). The ominous implications of the analogy are inescapable. By comparing it with the death of a pup in an accident, Modi is trivialising the 2002 Gujarat massacre and mocking its victims who are seeking justice. He is clearly indicating that in his 'Hindu nation', the cold-blooded killing of Muslims – in communal massacres in which Modi's top Ministers, police officers, and even he himself are implicated, or in staged 'encounters' – will have no more consequences than the 'accidental' death of pups under wheels.

In the interview, Modi has proclaimed that he is a Hindu nationalist; and this, he claims, follows from being a Hindu and a nationalist. This is a complete fallacy. In the history of India's freedom struggle and since, there have been many Hindu who have been Indian nationalists to the core, but have expressly rejected any notion of 'Hindu nation.' The 'Hindu nation' was always a figment of the fascist imagination of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, of which Modi is a proud product.

In the same interview, Modi equated authoritarianism with the qualities of a 'decisive leader'! From advocating 'Hindu nationalism' to justifying authoritarianism, Modispeak is a brazen and arrogant attempt at corporate marketing of fascist imagination. Contrary to BJP's claims, Modi's words are not being twisted out of context; it is he who is seeking to twist India to suit his fascist model marked by genocide, fake encounter killings and unbridled corporate plunder.

On the heels of his 'puppy' analogy, Modi used the 'burqa' metaphor in a speech, saying that the Congress is hiding its failures behind the 'burqa' of secularism. Again, the use of the 'burqa' (rather than the word 'purdah' which is used by Hindus and Muslims alike) metaphor is a very deliberate jibe aimed at the Muslim minority. It is a metaphor calculated to provoke contempt for 'secularism' by equating it with Muslims. Modi's 'sadbhavna' and 'India First' posturing just can't hide the fact that for him, the very thought of 'Muslims' and 'secularism' are associated with 'kutte ka baccha' and 'burqa.' Clearly Modi considers secularism to be a dispensable veil, but India needs it as an essential ingredient for survival and progress. The Congress says it prefers the 'burqa' of secularism to naked communalism. The Congress thus concurs with the BJP that secularism belongs to the realm of form and not essence. For all democratic people, however, secularism must be a non-negotiable aspect of the essence of modern India.

In an earlier phase of BJP's life, Advani was assigned the task of communal fascist hate-speech, while Vajpayee was the 'mukhauta' – the mask of 'governance', or the fig leaf that could allow allies like the JD(U) to justify their support for a BJP-led Government. Even then, the 'mask' was a farce, and both Advani and Vajpayee were simply two sides to the same communal fascist coin. Today, Modi is trying to play both roles: to appease the core Hindutva constituency by brazen boasts of communal violence, fake encounters, and hate-speech, while also posturing as the representative of 'development' and 'governance'.

A leading newspaper has advised Modi to 'improve' his communication and avoid 'gaffes' like his puppy analogy, which the paper admits is 'insensitive' and 'atrocious'. Modi's 'puppy' and 'burqa' remarks are not 'gaffes' – they are the core of his communal fascist temperament and agenda, that no 'development' mask can hide. Modi's corporate well-wishers, as well as the likes of Yashwant Sinha in the BJP, know this all too well – but they still advice that he mask his language and intentions sufficiently enough to pass off for a contender for India's PM, rather than just the 'Hindutva Hriday Samrat' (King of Hindutva Hearts). The likes of Yashwant Sinha – who can perhaps be said to represent the 'Advani' school of thought' – are concerned that Modi is falling into the Congress trap and allowing questions of governance and corruption to be eclipsed by the communalism-secularism debate. But the fact is that secularism and justice cannot be incidental to governance in any democracy. And Modi, just as much as Congress, would like to deflect attention from the questions of corporate plunder that underpin every massive scam that has been promoted by the UPA Government and Congress and BJP states governments alike.

We must resist the attempt by the Congress and BJP alike to turn the Lok Sabha polls into a choice between an outright communal and corporate-backed fascist on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a corrupt, authoritarian regime for whom 'secularism' is simply a cynical, opportunist alibi for all its crimes.

Solidarity with Maruti Workers

A Convention in support of Maruti workers was organized by AICCTU at Coimbatore, marking a year since their incarceration in jail and continuing struggle. N Krishnamurthy, District President of AICCTU, presided over the Convention. NK Natarajan inaugurated the convention. Other speakers included Comrade V R Balasundaram, District President of INTUC, Comrade Arumugam, District General Secretary of CITU, Comrade Sivasamy, District Secretary, Mill Workers' Union affiliated to AITUC, Comrade Subramanian, District President of HMS, Comrade Thiruvengadam, District President of LPF, Comrade Sundaram, President and Comrade Chandran, Treasurer of LMW workers and staff union. Comrade Kumarasamy, National President of AICCTU concluded the convention with his address. Hundreds of workers belonging to various industries attended.

The following resolutions were adopted at the convention signed by all participatory unions.

1) The Convention prevails upon the Haryana Government to take immediate action to get bail for the jailed workers.

2) Government should cancel the unfair labour practice of contract system of employment in Maruti.

3) The Convention unanimously declared its solidarity for the fighting workers of Maruthi.

A protest rally was organized by AICCTU in favour of Maruti Manesar's sacked employees on 11th July in Rally Ground, Chandigarh. Workers associated with various unions affiliated with AICCTU participated from Mansa, Sangrur, Bathinda, Gurdaspur and Chandigarh. Workers of Maruti also participated in large numbers. More than 400 workers from PGI Contract Workers Union, PEC Contract Workers Union, Krantikari Kamkaji Mahila Sangathan, Ordinance Cable Factory Employees Union, Chandigarh Club Employees Union, Punjab Kisan Union, AIPWA participated in the protest. A delegation including Mahaveer Dhiman, Rajpal from Maruti Union and Gurmeet (AICCTU), Sukhdev and Sanjeev went to give demands letter. Demand letter was received by Mr. Kapoor, OSD to CM Haryana, who though assured of arranging a meeting with CM Haryana but was speaking the same language of Maruti Management. Addressing the gathering Com. Kanwaljit said that the victory of Maruti workers will be victory of Indian working class and defeat to neo-liberal policies. A fund of Rs. 50,000/- was also handed over to Maruti workers Union as support from AICCTU. Among others Com. Gurmeet Singh Bakhtpura(AICCTU), Com. Satish(AICCTU), Com. Sanjeev(PGI Union), Com. Sukhdev(PGI Union), Com. Isha(KKMS), Com Gurnam Bhikhi(PKU), Com. Jasbir Kaur Natt(AIPWA) and leaders of Chandigarh Club addressed the rally. Adv Harish from Punjab & Haryana High Court also participated in the rally.

Ambattur Residents Strike for Hospitals, Schools

(report appeared in The Hindu, July 14)

Residents and members of various associations sat on a day-long hunger strike in Ambattur on 13th July, demanding a government hospital and government schools in the locality.

Nearly 250 persons participated in the demonstration organised jointly by All India Students Association, Uzhaipor Urimai Iyakkam and Revolutionary Youth Association. People living in western suburbs between Padi and Tiruvallur either have go to Tiruvallur government hospital or Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for treatment.

There are no government hospitals on the 35 km-stretch between these two localities connected by the accident-prone Chennai Tiruvallur High Road.

R. Mohan, district president of Uzhaipor Urimai Iyakkam, said that the few health posts of Chennai Corporation or the Avadi municipality were not sufficient to meet residents' requirements. Several residents, who cannot afford treatment in private hospitals, travel for over an hour on the CTH Road for medical care in the nearest government hospital. A government general hospital in Ambattur was necessary.

Other long-pending demands included the sanction of more government schools, especially for boys and a government college. He said that Ambattur had only a government girls' higher secondary school. Boys, who cannot afford education in private and government-aided schools, tend to drop out, he added.

At least four government schools were essential for students in Kalyanapuram, Mangalapuram, Kamarajapuram, Indira Nagar and Thiruvalluvar Nagar.

K. Bharathi, national secretary of Revolutionary Youth Association, said that many Chennai Corporation-run schools in Ambattur were either primary or middle schools. The civic body must upgrade some of them to higher secondary schools. The private schools must also display on notice boards information about the admissions made under the Right to Education Act. Residents said they had to travel for over an hour to get access to quality healthcare.

AISA-RYA Spearhead Protest against Changes in Banking Exam Criteria

AISA and RYA have spearheaded countrywide protest against the newly imposed criteria of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS). IBPS, which conducts a common entrance test for recruitment in almost all nationalized banks of India except SBI, has changed its criteria for appearing in Bank P.O./Management Trainee Examination. The new criteria says

• The Candidate must be having degree (Graduation) with 60% (55% for SC/ST/PWD) marks in any discipline from a recognized University or any equivalent qualification recognized as such by the Central Government. Earlier it was a degree (graduation) in any discipline.

• Minimum: 20 years Maximum: 28 years i.e. a candidate must have been born not earlier than 02.07.1985 and not later than 01.07.1993 (both dates inclusive). Earlier the maximum age was 30 years.

This arbitrary move will exclude lakhs of students from the chance to even appear in the exam and elitise the whole process of selection in banks that is the biggest nationalized sector in India. This kind of arbitrary criteria has been brought in such a time when lakhs of student are preparing for this examination from last 3-4 years. Most importantly, IBPS is taking this step oblivious of the fact that it already has a standard entrance examination for recruitment. Banks like SBI have done away with such criteria.

As soon as the changed criteria came to light, AISA and RYA gave a call for countrywide protest on 12-13th July. On 12th July, protesters under the banner of AISA-RYA were lathicharged at Patna. Protests took place at Patna, Ara, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur in Bihar; and Banaras and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. On the 13th, students at Allahabad protested.

On 15th July, a delegation of AISA-RYA met the Under Secretary of Department of Financial Services at the IBPS Headquarters at Mumbai and have given him an ultimatum to take back IBPS's arbitrary decision before the commencement of registration on 22nd July and warned that if this decision was not taken back AISA-RYA will organize nationwide protest and boycott the competitive exams at mass scale.

On 15th July, AISA and RYA assembled at Jantar Mantar and marched towards the department of Financial Services, Jeevan Deep Building on Parliament Street. Students from different localities of cities, who prepare for competitive exams, as well as students from Delhi University, Jawahar Lal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia took part in this protest demonstration.

On 16th July, around 700 students under the banner of AISA-RYA protested at Lucknow. On the same day, vigorous Rail Roko Rasta Roko protests were held at Patna, Ara, Darbhanga, and Bhagalpur.

AISA and RYA have called for a protest in Delhi on 19th July, where protesters will gather at India Gate and march towards the Finance Ministry.

Joshimath Dharna to Save Pack Animals

(Report from The Hindu)

Some mule owners and residents of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district began a fast-unto-death on Sunday evening to press the authorities to rescue over 1,200 mules and horses stranded on the riverside in Govindghat, Chamoli. The protesters, including mule owners, and members of Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), are fasting in front of Joshimath Sub-Divisional Magistrate Anup Kumar Nautiyal's office.

CPI (ML) member Atul Sati, one of those on fast, said: "Around 35 to 40 mules are dying every day due to lack of fodder." The authorities do send fodder for the mules, but it serves only around 400 mules, he said. Some residents held a meeting with Mr. Nautiyal and advised him to build a makeshift bridge to rescue the animals. It was agreed that work on the bridge would start in a day or two.

Representatives of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation, the National Thermal Power Corporation and the Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd. — the hydropower companies operating in the area - agreed to provide financial and technical assistance for the rescue. But, the chief engineer of the Public Works Department rejected the idea, saying the bridge could not be constructed for another 15 days as the work could start only when the construction materials reached Govindghat. That, according to him, would happen only when the Badrinath highway was unblocked. "We have requested the concerned authorities to give strict orders to the PWD to agree on makeshift trolleys to rescue the mules. The hydropower project authorities also have agreed on rescuing the stranded mules through trolleys. However, this idea of trolleys was rejected by the PWD chief engineer who is adamant on bridge construction," Mr. Nautiyal said. Talks were on and a breakthrough would be made in the coming days, he added.

 Dindigul Collectorate Gheraoed by MNREGA Workers

More than 300 workers mostly women gheraoed the collectorate for Government-declared wages of Rs. 148 for the workers and to do away with the practice of measurement system of work done. Women workers told media persons that soil is too hard without rains and it is very difficult to meet measurement guidelines by government. They said Government is paying Rs.40 only when 1 Kg onion is selling at the rate of Rs.40 per Kg.

The Demonstration and Gherao was led by Comrade Manivel, district organiser of AICCTU, Comrade Vallymayil and Janaki and other leading women comrades of the district.

Supreme Court-appointed Panel's Findings on AFSPA in Manipur

(Based on reports in The Hindu and the TOI)

In a severe indictment of the AFSPA and its defence by the Indian Government, a Supreme Court-appointed Judicial Commission has noted that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA has failed to tackle insurgency and is providing a shield of impunity to the armed forces to indulge in gross violation of human rights.

Noting that the use of the AFSPA was being done by making mockery of law, the Commission has noted that there was gross abuse of the Act and encounters being carried out in the North-eastern State were not genuine. "It would appear that the security forces believed a priori that the suspects involved in the encounters had to be eliminated and the forces acted accordingly," the report added.

The Commission, which was headed by former judge Santosh Hegde with former Chief Election Commission J.M. Lyngdoh and retired IPS officer A.K. Singh as its members, was formed by the apex court to investigate alleged cases of extra judicial killings in Manipur. In September last year, the Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families' Association (EEVFAM)) along with Human Rights Alert (HRA) submitted a list of 1,528 cases of killings in Manipur since 1979 before the Supreme Court and demanded investigation into the deaths.

Encounters not genuine: In its 100-page report, the Commission pointed out that the six sample cases of encounters it investigated, it found that they were "not genuine" and that "maximum force" was used to kill people. "Though the Act gives sweeping powers to security forces even to extent of killing a suspect with protection against prosecution, it does not provide any protection to the citizens against its possible misuse…Normally, the greater the power, the greater the restraint and stricter the mechanism to prevent its misuse or abuse. But in case of the AFSPA in Manipur this principle appears to have been reversed," the report added.

In January 2013, the Justice Verma Committee, in its report setting forth measures to curb sexual violence, had also highlighted the misuse of the AFSPA by Army personnel and recommended that "sexual violence against women by members of the armed forces or uniformed personnel must be brought within the purview of the ordinary criminal law."

"We notice that impunity for systematic or isolated sexual violence in the process of Internal Security duties is being legitimised by the AFSPA, which is in force in large parts of our country. It must be recognised that women in conflict areas are entitled to all the security and dignity that is afforded to citizens in any other part of our country," the report said.

Shocked by the report, a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranajana Desai said a major portion of the blame lay at the door of the Centre, saying "This is not the best way to integrate (north-eastern) people. It is the best way to alienate them."

They said security forces and police threw caution to the wind while following guidelines in conducting such "operations". They said the security forces have conducted raids and resorted to firing merely on the basis of source information without bothering to cross-check even once the authenticity of the 'source'. The Bench sought responses from the Centre, Manipur government and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the Hegde panel's report within five days.

The court lauded the effort of the three-member inquiry committee for meticulously collecting evidence from complainant, witnesses, security forces and police before concluding that "none of these six incidents qualified as a genuine one".

It said, "What we find distressing is that the elaborate guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court, series of guidelines issued by Army headquarters, NHRC and the Manipur government have been confined to the papers. Nothing is followed in practice (by armed forces and police while carrying out the operations)."

The bench said, "The Army authorities have issued a series of dos and don'ts. But, unfortunately none of the guidelines or the dos and don'ts is followed in actual operations. One of the issues before the court is how to ensure the state police and security forces follow the guidelines".

 

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