THOUSANDS of people, in a determined show of resistance, are marching through towns and villages in West Bengal protesting against disinvestment of public sector units and demanding jobs. A ‘long march’, the mainstay in South Bengal, started from the gate of Chittaranjan Locomotive Workshop on November 30 which would traverse 283 kilometres and would culminate in a massive public rally in Kolkata on December 11. This march, at the time of the writing has already crossed 130 kilometres. In Northern Bengal, a march started from Maldaha and is progressing towards Siliguri.

A YEAR-long, statewide struggle has compelled the Tamil Nadu government to revoke a steep hike in property tax implemented last year. The minister for municipal administration, S P Velumani, has announced that the existing property tax collection will be discontinued and the old rates levied before April 2018 will continue.Since the tax hike was announced last year, a series of protests have taken place across Tamil Nadu. The CPI(M) vehemently opposed the announcement. The Party insisted that the steep hike should be withdrawn.

K Chandrasekhara Rao, chief minister of Telangana, after holding a cabinet meeting on November 28, gave orders to TSRTC management to allow all its workers, who called off a 52-day strike, to join duty from the morning of November 29.  Earlier, he did not respond to the strike call off by RTC JAC causing distress to the workers and their families for three days. On November 30, he welcomed five employees from each depot and held talks with them directly. He cautioned them not to believe the union leaders and opposition leaders who he accused of misleading the workers.

A PLANNED protest dharna by disabled persons turned into a victory rally when the government under pressure of the month-long countrywide campaign met most of the demands raised in the course of the campaign.The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) had at its July executive committee meeting decided to conduct a countrywide campaign beginning November 1, 2019 protesting against the non-implementation of various provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, which was passed on December 16, 2016.The campaign focused attention on the myriad problems with the iss

STATEMENT issued by the five CC members of the CPI(M) from Maharashtra has  welcomed the resignation of the unprincipled BJP-led Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government.