ON December 16, the leaders of various political parties in parliament, in a letter addressed to the prime minister, had condemned the government action in cancelling the FCRA registration of NGOs critical of its policies. 

The licenses had been earlier renewed showing that in the normal course these NGOs had fulfilled the criteria required for registration. The decision to cancel the registration is therefore a decision motivated by the politics of vendetta, victimisation and an effort to bully them to silence.

THE general secretary of the CPI(M) and leader of the CPI(M) group in Rajya Sabha, Sitaram Yechury characterised the government decision to abolish the import duty on wheat as anti-national. He had given a notice under rule 267 for a discussion on the subject. When he appealed to the chair to accept the notice, the BJP members tried to stop him by raising a din. This was opposed by Anand Sharma of the Congress, Satish Chandra Mishra of BSP and Sharad Yadav of JD(U).

SITARAM Yechury has written to the Prime Minister raising concerns over the finalisation of ‘Major Defense Partner’ designation to India by the US. In a letter on December 12, the CPI(M) general secretary wrote, “This is a significant departure from India’s longstanding policy on defence relations and it has been done without taking Parliament into confidence.” This move also fuels serious apprehensions about the government compromising India’s sovereignty and strategic autonomy.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on December 9, 2016.

THE Modi government has taken yet another step in entangling India in a military alliance with the United States of America. The terms for India being accorded the status of a major defence partner of the US has been finalised during the visit of the US secretary of defence Asthon Carter.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on November 29, 2016.

THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) greets the lakhs of people who came out into the streets on November 28 to protest against the attack on their livelihoods and the burdens imposed upon the people through the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.