The 16th conference of CITU decided to take the lead in intensifying struggles and to organise a massive ‘Jail Bharo’ of working women on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020. March 8, 2020 being a Sunday, it was decided to organise the jail bharo on March 6, 2020.
THOUGH finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman laboured for well over two hours when delivering her budget speech, it is likely that the aspect of the speech that will receive popular attention would be the restructuring of income tax slabs and reduction in rates that would benefit the tax paying middle class. That was obviously also the intention of the exercise.
THE Delhi Union of Journalists, in a statement issued on February 19, has expressed its deep concern at the prolonged denial of high speed internet to journalists in Kashmir. DUJ regrets this attempt to stifle the press in the region. Media organisations are barely able to function in the absence of high speed internet facilities. The government’s announcements that fixed line/broadband facilities have been restored are a sham. Facilities in the government’s media room are limited, with journalists queuing up to use the computers there.
WASHINGTON Post, the German and Swiss broadcasters ZDF and SRF have revealed that German Federal intelligence Agency BND and NSA-CIA jointly owned a Swiss company called Crypto AG. Through Crypto AG, they hacked into encrypted communications of a huge number of countries.
ON February 14, 2020, the Supreme Court has lashed out at the government, for shielding the private telecom companies, which are dodging the payment of their licence fee dues. The private telecom companies, viz, Vodafone Idea, Airtel and Tata Teleservices have also come under fire, for not complying with the order of the Apex Court.
RAISING slogans like: “go back trump”, “hands off Indian agriculture”, “no to opening up of poultry and dairy market to US products”, the AIKS has decided to build a strong opposition to the visit of Donal Trump, president of the United States of America. The AIKS in a statement issued on February 17, has opposed the decision of the Narendra Modi led BJP government to invite US president to India on February 24 and 25, 2020 and facilitate the signing of trade agreements to open up the dairy and poultry market to US products.
THE All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), in a statement issued on February 19, has welcomed the judgment of the Supreme Court that all women officers in short service commission are eligible for permanent commission and command posts in all branches of the army irrespective of the number of years of service. Women in the army have been fighting for this for the last ten years when the Delhi High Court granted them permanent commission in the army. However, the government had refused to act on the Delhi High Court judgment.
TWO judgments delivered by two High Courts have forthrightly upheld the fundamental right of citizens to protest. The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court set aside an order by the additional district magistrate against allowing protests in Beed against the CAA. The Karnataka High Court, two days earlier, held that the prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) imposed by the Bengaluru police to prevent protests against the CAA were illegal.