COMING down heavily upon the Modi government for relaxing corporate funding to political parties, Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary, demanded the abolition of corporate donations to political parties in the country. Attending the state-level convention organised by the Bahujana Left Front (BLF) on the “Need for Electoral Reforms and Bahujana Government in Telangana – Role of the Voter” at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad, on July 15, he said that the electoral reforms brought about after 2014 only benefitted corporate funded parties like the BJP and the Congress.

THE CPI(M) has decided to take up people’s issues and build up sustained movement in West Bengal. A schedule of protracted struggles has been charted out at the Party state committee meeting on July 12-13.

STATE level conventions on the issues of working class, dalits and on urban issues were held in Andhra Pradesh on July 13, 14 and 15. With the joint efforts of CPI(M) and CPI to bring forth a ‘political alternative’ in AP, these conventions were the first three in the series. Both the parties have decided to conduct state level conventions of different classes and social sections on their respective issues and to mobilise people towards a ‘political alternative’ that differs from TDP, YSRCP, BJP and the Congress.

CPI(M)  Kerala state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, in a statement issued on July 11, has stated that the rumours about CPI(M) observing a “Ramayanam Masam” during Karkidakam, a month in Malayalam calendar, are baseless.

CERTAIN leaders of the central government are making efforts to turn science into forum for nationalistic and religious grandstanding, much like what they have earlier done in Art, History, and social sciences. If present trend of attack on science and technology (S&T) is allowed to continue, future of India is in great peril, warned S Ramachandra Pillai (SRP), vice president of All India Kisan Sabha(AIKS) and CPI(M) Politburo member.