Comrade Prasanna Kumar Is No More

The following is the statement issued by the Centre for Indian Trade Unions on December 23. CITU expresses its profound shock and grief at the sudden demise of Comrade S Prasanna Kumar, its national secretary and general secretary of its Karnataka state committee. He was 50. He was also a member of the secretariat of Karnataka state committee of CPI(M).Prasanna Kumar started his public life at a young age in the students’ movement and was an active member of the Students’ Federation of India.

Kolkata is ready for Plenum

ORGANISATIONAL Plenum of CPI(M) will be held in Kolkata from December 27-31. The plenum will mainly focus on strengthening Party organisation to build up class and mass movements, making Party capable of mobilising people to resist the onslaught of communal forces. Thus, the Plenum is intrinsically linked with struggle for peoples’ interests.With this political call in the mind, preparations for holding this Plenum are in the final stages now.Incidentally, all three Plenums of CPI(M) have been organised in West Bengal.

No Military Bases for US

DEFENCE Minister Manohar Parrikar’s first visit to Washington has led to various initiatives in defence cooperation with the United States. The most serious and disturbing of them is the willingness expressed by the minister for giving US access to Indian military bases and ports.

India Let Down at Nairobi WTO Ministerial Summit

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on December 22, 2015.THE outcome of the tenth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) attended by 162 countries at Nairobi is not merely a disappointment but is a setback. India has been grossly let down by this Modi-led BJP government.India went into the negotiations with the hope of arriving at a solution on the issue of public stock holding programmes for food security, absolutely vital for mitigating the hunger needs of millions of Indians.

Forward to the Kolkata Plenum

THE strengthening of the CPI(M)’s organisational capabilities is of vital importance in today’s conjuncture to create a better India and significantly improve the livelihood status of our people.

Farmers Fight for Compensation for Land Taken Over for Solar Hub

HUNDREDS of farmers belonging to Nambulapoolakunta in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district have been protesting against the denial of compensation to them after their land was taken over for a solar hub. The government of Andhra Pradesh decided to establish the solar hub at Nambulapoolakunta and the responsibility for its construction was handed over to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

An Exclusionary Judgment

THE recent judgment of Supreme Court (Rajbala & Ors. Vs. State of Haryana & Ors) upholding the amendments to the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act has been widely perceived as unjust, anti people, and exclusionary. In effect, it disqualifies a majority of persons including the most poor and marginalised sections of Haryana from contesting elections. These amendments add certain educational and other disqualifications for contesting elections to the three-tier panchayati raj institutions. They stipulate that a person has to pass the matriculation examination to contest.

Founding Conference of Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch (Delhi-NCR) Held

THE founding conference of Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch (Delhi-NCR) was held on November 29, 2015.

Dr Asim Bala, co-convener of the All India DSMM inaugurated the conference by garlanding the picture of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. A three-member presidium consisting of Brahmjeet Singh, Rampal and Sonia Verma was elected to conduct the proceedings. A one member-credentials committee consisting of Maimoona Mollah and a one member-minutes committee consisting of Puran Chand was elected as well.

AIKS, AIAWU & CITU to Jointly Observe Jan 19 as an All India Day

IN view of the urgent need to intensify resistance to the onslaught of the neo-liberal policies and preserve unity of the toiling people, a meeting of the central leadership of All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) was held to discuss possibilities of developing joint actions of these three sections.

Myanmar: Partial Comeback for Civilian Rule

IT has been an electoral sweep for the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party led by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi in the general elections held on November 8. It was the first open elections held in the country after a gap of more than twenty five years. In the last free elections held in 1990, the NLD had won a landslide victory. The military junta ruling the country at the time refused to accept the electoral outcome. Harsh political repression followed. Suu Kyi was first arrested in 1989. In all, she spent around 15 years under house arrest.

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