Supreme Court Failings

THE Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Ranjan Gogoi, retired on November 17. Justice S A Bobde has taken over charge as the new chief justice of India. This is an appropriate time to look at what is happening to the highest judicial court of the land. The Supreme Court is entrusted with the duty of ensuring that the laws adopted by Parliament are in conformity with Constitution and that the constitutional rights of citizens are safeguarded. Unfortunately, over a period of time, there are disturbing signs of the Supreme Court failing to live up to its responsibilities and to act as the c

Economy is in Virtual Recession: Modi Government in Total Denial

ON the first day of the winter session of Parliament, the finance minister has stated that though the economy has slowed down, it is well on the target of reaching a $5 trillion economy by 2025. At the current rates of growth, notwithstanding all the data fudging and efforts to show the economy is recovering, the reality is that India’s growth rate is declining steadily and dangerously. The NCAER has now projected the current growth rate at below 5 per cent(4.9 per cent). The PTI had filed a story on October 31 reporting a US think tank (Centre for Global Development) assessment that “Ind

Electoral Bonds: Danger to Democracy

IF there was any further proof needed about the toxic nature of electoral bonds, it has been provided by the revelation that both the Reserve Bank of India and the Election Commission had strongly objected to the proposal. The Huffington Post has carried reports based on RTI queries that set out the objections raised by the RBI and the Election Commission and how the government summarily rejected their views and even lied about the Election Commission’s comments in Parliament.The objections of the Election Commission to the amendments being proposed to various laws to facilitate electoral b

Condemn Hasty President’s Rule in Maharashtra

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on November 12THE Polit Bureau strongly condemns the abrupt manner in which president’s rule has been imposed in Maharashtra. The governor had given time till 8.30 pm tonight to the NCP leader, Sharad Pawar, to claim support of the majority of the elected MLAs to form the government. Even before the deadline set by him was over, he recommends the imposition of Article 356 by the president of India.A hurriedly-called union cabinet meeting, just before the PM’s departure abroad, endorses the governor’s recommend

Bolivia Coup Condemned

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on November 11THE ouster of Evo Morales from the presidentship of Bolivia is actually a coup against the lawfully elected president.The rightwing forces backed by the United States refused to accept the result of the election held on October 20 and unleashed largescale violence.

Retain JNU’s Universally Affordable Higher Education Character

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on November 12THE Polit Bureau condemns the police action against JNU students who were peacefully protesting against the recently announced massive hike in hostel fees. This hike will only ensure that JNU will become an elitist university as against its current character that promotes students from diverse backgrounds to afford higher education.

TAMIL NADU: Chennai Convention Calls for Equal Status to All National Languages

AS part of Sangh Parivar’s agenda, the Modi government is vigorously pursuing the promotion of Hindi and Sanskrit in every possible manner. Its Draft National Education Policy 2019 openly promotes Sanskrit to the detriment of several other Indian languages deemed to be national languages under Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution.

Telangana Transport Workers’ Protest

ON the call of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation Joint Action Committee (TSRTC JAC), thousands of workers lay siege to the famous Tank Bund in Hyderabad on November 9, braving unprecedented repression and police restrictions. Barricades, fences and lathi-wielding policemen could not deter the workers who challenged the government and shouted slogans like “this is the beginning of KCR’s downfall”. Hundreds of people joined the workers in their protest. Police used teargas shells and lathis to stop the workers from reaching the site.

The Argument about Competitiveness

WITH the government being forced to withdraw from the RCEP agreement, an argument has arisen: if India is not competitive with other countries in producing a whole range of goods, which is why the producers of such goods within the country objected to the agreement in the first place, then why should it go on producing them?

US Sponsored Coup in Bolivia

EVO Morales, elected president of Bolivia, was overthrown in a coup carried out by the opposition oligarchic forces, aided and abetted by the US. With grave threats to his life, Morales was forced to seek asylum in Mexico. Bolivia now joins the long list of countries where the US had intervened and aided the overthrow of progressive, Left leaning presidents in Latin America. Morales was forced by the army to resign, though he had clearly won the elections by attaining 10 per cent votes more than his nearest opponent, Carlos Mesa.

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