Protest Against the Massive Rigging of the Kolkata Municipal ElectionsThe elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation being held on April 18 witnessed yet another round of massive rigging organised by the ruling party, the Trinamool Congress, by mobilising goondas from different parts of West Bengal. These hooligans ruled and controlled the entire election process.
DelegatesObserversElected/nominated to attend congress74973Attending congress74171
Four CC Members were not able to attend the Party Congress because of ill health. Gender disaggregation of delegates and observers (number and per cent)
ON the first day of the 21st Congress of the CPI(M) on April 14, the main agenda of the delegate session which began in the afternoon, was the Draft Review Report on the Political-Tactical Line (PTL). The Review Report was introduced by Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Party at the 21st Congress. The main features of the Review Report were highlighted in his two hour presentation.
THE countrywide joint struggle of the peasantry against the Land Acquisition Ordinance is the first largest political ordeal faced by the eleven month old National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. The entire parties in the opposition have been cooperating and taking up independent agitations over this issue based movement. The joint march to Rashtrapathi Bhawan highlighted the unity of opposition on the issue.
VIOLENCE and terrorisation of an unprecedented scale marked the municipal polls in West Bengal, tearing apart the semblance of rule of law. Hundreds of polling booths in Kolkata on April 18 and in 91 other municipalities on April 25 were captured by armed gangs of the Trinamool Congress, in a planned manner and with full help from the state administration.
THE tragic suicide of a kisan during the Aam Aadmi Party rally in New Delhi last week sharply brought out the real face of the deep agrarian distress that has gripped our country. Though these columns were highlighting this growing crisis and distress in Indian agriculture periodically, the depth of what this means to India in general and rural India in particular came under sharp focus with this suicide. Official governmental records show that nearly three lakh farmers have been driven to distress suicides during the last two decades.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on April 25. THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its deep sorrow at the devastating impact of the earthquake in Nepal. It extends its condolences to the families of the hundreds who were reportedly killed in the earthquake. The people of India stand in solidarity with the Nepalese people in this time of calamity. The CPI(M) calls upon the central government to immediately provide all necessary assistance to Nepal. Many parts of India have also been affected by the quake.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on April 27.THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has given a call to all Party units to collect funds to provide relief to the people of Nepal who have suffered from the devastating earthquake which has led to thousands of deaths and massive damage to homes, property and infrastructure.As an immediate response, the Polit Bureau has decided to donate Rs 10 lakh for the relief and rehabilitation work.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on April 26.THE elections to 91 municipalities including two corporations in West Bengal held on April 25, 2015 constitute a total mockery of democracy. In these and the election to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation a week earlier, there was a high degree of people’s enthusiasm and a large number of women turned out to cast their vote.
Dear comrades,We are sending our hearty greetings to you – the delegates of the 21st Congress of the fraternal Communist Party of India (Marxist), to all members of the Party and your supporters. You have got together for your Congress at one of the most crucial moments in the history of the modern world. World economic crisis has had a great impact on the situation of the broad masses of people. Imperialist aggression has intensified. Fascism regenerates. Wars and conflicts are raging in many parts of the world.