TIME was when the annual budget of the central government used to be a serious affair. It reflected no doubt the government’s class bias, but how exactly this class bias was expressed through the various budgetary proposals had to be established by scrutinising budgetary figures, which did signify something. There was always of course some window-dressing, but only at the fringes; the core of the budget was a matter for serious scrutiny. Such is no longer the case under the Modi government. Little credence can now be attached even to the most significant budget proposals.
AFTER the entry of Reliance Jio in September 2016, the entire telecom sector has undergone a sea-change. Telecom biggies like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and BSNL have gone into loss and are facing a serious financial crisis. Smaller telecom companies like Aircel, Tata Teleservices, Anil Ambani led Reliance Infocomm, Telenor, etc., have either closed down, or have got merged with bigger companies. Vodafone, a multinational giant, is unable to run its business in India and has got merged with Kumarmangalam Birla’s Idea. The merged entity is now called Vodafone Idea.
WHILE working for the implementation of the general task of building proletarian political parties on the basis of the internationalist ideas of Marxism, Marx and Engels at the same time stressed the importance of taking into account the distinctive features of the development of each country, the difficulties and obstacles that confront the working class movement in its progress.
THE interim union budget for 2019-20, placed in parliament by interim finance minister Piyush Goyal on February 1, is a fraudulent attempt to cheat the people in a desperate bid by the BJP-led government to attract votes when defeat in the ensuing parliamentary election is staring at its face.
TENS of thousands of people, in some estimates a million, thronged the Brigade Parade Ground on February 3 at the call of the Left Front, to assert alternative policies and politics. One of the largest ever mobilisations in Kolkata’s historic ground threw up a challenge to the communal and political polarisation in the state, triggering a new stage of confidence as well as struggle.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on February 1, 2019
THE Modi government has now become famous for supressing and manipulating data and offering jumlas to the people. The interim budget for 2019-20 is yet another exercise in the same vein. The acting finance minister made tall claims during his speech about the record of the Modi government and promises of a rosy future for all Indians – which was a cruel joke played on the suffering people of the country.
ON January 29, the AIDWA Kerala state committee had a review meeting of the organisation’s work in the broader campaign for the historic Women’s Wall on January 1 this year. Some of the experiences and the lessons have a wider significance for progressive movements that seek to challenge and change the unequal status quo.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, has written a letter to the prime minister on January 25, on the brazen intervention of United States of America in the internal affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. He urged the PM to declare to the world that India stands committed to both democracy and sanctity of the sovereignty of independent countries and the right of the Venezuelan people to choose their own government.
THE working committee of the All India Fishers and Fisheries Workers’ Federation met in Hingalganj in North 24 Paraganas district of West Bengal on January 22, 2019. More than 40 working committee members and invitees from seven states including Tripura, Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka participated in the meeting. Meetings of the subcommittees on marine, inland and allied sectors, constituted by the AIFFWF working committee met prior to this meeting and discussed the issues of fishers and fisheries workers in those sectors.
LEFT Parties -- CPI and CPI(M) have jointly organised a huge state-level rally in Ludhiana on January 28. People from every nook and corner of Punjab participated in the rally. A big section of the participants were agricultural workers, peasants, MNREGA workers, village chowkidars, artisans, industrial workers and daily wage workers. Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary, and D Raja, CPI secretary, addressed the rally besides state leadership of both the parties.