Below we publish the text of the message of greetings sent by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, which celebrated its 80th anniversary on July 3, 2023. G Ramakrishnan, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member delivered the greetings at the meeting held in Colombo.DEAR comrades and friends,On behalf of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), I greet the Communist Party of Sri Lanka on its 80th anniversary. On this momentous occasion we greet the leadership and the members of the Party and reiterate our heartfelt solidarity.

COMRADE R Umanath’s centenary was held on April 25, 2023 at Pudukkottai district. CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan, Central Committee member,  U Vasuki, state committee members S Sridhar, IV Nagarajan, M Chinnadurai MLA, M Jayaseelan, R Raja, Sami Natarajan, Sinnai, Pandiyan, S Kavivarman, district committee leaders and around 1000 comrades participated in the centenary celebrations.Comrade R Umanath who is affectionately remembered as RU was one of the most important stalwarts of the Communist movement in Tamilnadu state. His work had deep imprints beyond Tamilnadu also.

THE Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which aims to accelerate electricity privatisation, will jeopardise the 'Gruhajyothi' scheme. This scheme guarantees 200 units of free electricity to all domestic consumers. The amendment will not only increase the cost of electricity but also pose a threat to the electricity sector and hinder industrial development. Therefore, the Congress government of Karnataka should pass a resolution in the current assembly session stating their refusal to implement the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the state.

What’s happening in Manipur, coupled the deafening silence of the prime minister, indicates a lack of political will or plan to foster reconciliation among the warring communities. Instead of being a peacemaker, BJP chief minister Biren Singh is seen as an impediment to the process of rapprochement    MANIPUR has been on fire for over two months now, while our prime minister remains conspicuously silent.

AT a time when the private telecom companies are speedily rolling out their 5G service, BSNL has not even rolled out its 4G service. As the public sector telecom company is lagging behind in providing high speed data service, customers are leaving the company in large numbers. In 2022 alone, 77 lakh customers have left BSNL. It is at this juncture, two important announcements have been made by the government, regarding the future of the BSNL. The first one is regarding BSNL’s 4G and 5G services. The second one is about the third revival package to BSNL.