THE LDF government’s budget for the year 2020-21 is best described as an instrument of struggle of the people of Kerala against the regime of neoliberal economic policies imposed on the nation by the union government. The neoliberal onslaught on the nation, commenced way back during early 1990s, reached its zenith under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi.
THE All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has, in a statement issued on February 10, expressed shock and strongly condemned the harassment of girl students by a group of pro-CAA supporters inside Gargi College on February 6.
THE sweeping victory of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly election is a remarkable performance. After winning an unprecedented 67 out of the 70 seats in the 2015 assembly election, the AAP, under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, has repeated this comprehensive victory by winning 62 out of 70 seats.
The big popular support behind this victory is signified by the 53.6 per cent vote that the AAP has garnered this time around, as compared to the 54.3 per cent vote it got in 2015. This is hardly less than one per cent vote share than last time.
THE Modi government has gone on record in parliament that it has not taken any decision till now to prepare the National Register of Indian Citizens. This was the reply given by the minister of state for home affairs, Nityanand Rai, to a written question. This is in line with what the prime minister had said at a rally in Delhi on December 22, 2019 that since his government came to power in 2014, there has been no discussion on the NRC.
THE two-day countrywide bank strike on January 31 and February 1, 2020 was observed successfully. The strike was called by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine all India federations of officers as well as workmen.
AFTER spending 86 days in police and judicial custody as a victim of political vendetta of the BJP- IPFT government, Badal Chowdhury, CPI(M) Central Committee member and deputy leader of opposition in state legislative assembly, finally got bail on February 1. Justice Arindam Lodh of Tripura High Court granted him bail as the police failed to submit chargesheet against him even after almost three months.
THE Tamil Nadu Platform for People's Unity (TNPPU) had organised a historic human chain programme across the state with a participation of over 40 lakh people from all sections of the society, protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), on January 30.
CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, has addressed a letter to the prime minister on February 5, calling for the release of the detained persons in Kashmir, lifting of the clampdown on communications, restoration of the democratic process and honouring of the assurances made to the people at the time of the accession of the state to the Indian Union.
FOR the first time, on two successive days, the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus (2019nCov) have dropped below 4,000 as against the earlier daily figures. The comprehensive measures the Chinese authorities have taken to slow down the transmission, along with larger availability of diagnostic kits, has now started to bite. Wuhan in Hubei province still continues to be the epicentre of the new coronavirus epidemic, with about two-thirds of the total infected in China from Hubei alone.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on January 31
THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the unprecedented incident in Jamia Nagar in the capital city of Delhi, when in full view of a large contingent of police personnel, an armed man fired at students from Jamia University who were on a march to Raj Ghat, injuring a student. Subsequently it is confirmed that the criminal is associated with the Sangh Parivar.