THE farcical election to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has once again exposed the kind of ‘democracy’ being practised in West Bengal. On the day of voting on December 19, TMC gangs captured hundreds of booths and much of the voting process was hijacked. Hoodlums were mobilised from outside the city and entire localities were prevented from reaching to polling booths.The results exposed wide-open this bulldozing of democratic rights of the people. In 34 wards, TMC candidates got more than 80 per cent votes. In another 44 wards, TMC got 70 to 80 per cent votes.

THE farmers must launch a united and determined fight against the government’s farm policies which are against farmers. The recent victory of the farmers in Delhi should serve as an inspiration to all the fighting people, said AIKS joint secretary, Vijoo Krishnan on December 18, at Anantapuramu. He was addressing the participants of the Rythu Coolie Rakshana Padayatra, which culminated in a dharna staged outside the district collector’s office.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote a letter to Ram Nath Kovind, president of India, on December 16, bring to his notice a very serious complaint against Pankaj Mithal, the chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, who has violated his oath and compromised the constitutional office held by him.Mithal addressed a programme organised by an organisation affiliated to the RSS on December 5, 2021 at Jammu and spoke against the Constitution of India.It has been widely reported in the media that Mithal addressed a seminar organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parish

ON December 4, 2021, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) held a crucial meeting to discuss the pending demands of the farmers' movement and the lack of a formal response from the government of India. It was decided unanimously that the farmers' agitation will continue as it is, until formal and satisfactory responses are obtained from the government of India.It will be recalled that the SKM had sent a letter to the prime minister of India on November 21, two days after the prime minister's address to the nation to announce the repeal of the three farm laws on November 19.

 THE 22nd Odisha state conference of CPI(M) held in the Steel City of Rourkela from November 30 to December 2, 2021 (Banamali Dhupal Nagar and Marsha Samad Manch) gave the clarion call to strengthen the Party and mass organisations by developing day-to-day contact with the people of the state on the burning issues they face and to broaden the struggles. A total number of 158 delegates, 46 observers and two special invitees attended the conference.Bonai, the mining hub of Odisha, hosted the open session of the conference (Lili Mohan Gope Manch).