JUST recently, the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has welcomed the decision of the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) to regularise 1,797 unauthorised colonies (UAC) in Delhi. There is a wave of cheer in the city amongst the residents in these UACs, but there is also deep scepticism. The residents are aware of the history of such decisions taken in the past, some of which were partly implemented, some decisions taken only during elections and never implemented.

THE CPI(M) vehemently opposed the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament. The party said that the government, under the garb of enhanced road safety, is handing over the entire road transport sector to corporates and directly encroaching upon the powers of state governments.In Lok Sabha, P R Natarajan said five amendments are directly encroaching upon the powers of the states and will have serious impact on the states’ revenue, functioning of state transport undertakings and motor vehicles departments.

A WIDE swathe of rocky hills and forests stretches from Mirzapur to Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh, home to various tribal groups – Gonds, Kols and Bhils.  The area is rich in minerals and water-resources and has seen the establishment of cement factories, Hindalco,  large power plants, the Rihand and Kemur dams at the cost of the poor and their land.  Promises of compensation and jobs never materialised.The attacks are unrelenting.  Powerful politicians, bureaucrats, babas and strongmen regularly occupy their land forcibly.  Every year sees the death and maiming of a few poor people.

BRUTAL hate crimes against minorities have become more frequent and more widespread after the Narendra Modi government got re-elected. Hindutva storm-troopers are imparting to ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Bharat Mata’ slogans etc an aggressiveness that is shocking the nation. The most disturbing aspect of these developments is the complicity of the State machinery. Officials in the civil administration and the police force are coerced to side with the perpetrators of hate crimes.Upright officers who refuse to surrender are silenced.

A DELEGATION of the CPI(M) Bihar state visited Paigambarpur village in Bihar, the native village of Naushad, Raju Nat and Bidesi Nat (all three were lynched on July 19) on July 20. The delegation comprised Awdesh Kumar, state secretary of the Party, Ajay Kumar and Ahmad Ali, state secretariat members and Shivshankar Prasad Rai, district secretary of CPI(M) Saran.FACTS OF THE CASEThe mob lynching case in which all the three were brutally killed occurred in Pithori village.