MAHARASHTRA: One Lakh Court Arrest on Burning Issues at Joint CITU-AIKS-AIAWU Call

ON January 19, 2016, over one lakh workers, peasants and agricultural labourers courted arrest at 73 district and tehsil centres in 28 districts of Maharashtra, in response to the joint call given by the CITU, AIKS and AIAWU at a state-level convention at Parbhani on October 31, 2015 (See report in People’s Democracy/Loklahar, November 16-22, 2015).As per information gathered from all the districts, a total of 1,33,127 working people participated in the state-wide action on January 19. Of these, over one lakh courted arrest.

CRISPR: Good Science or Evil Science?

A THREE-YEAR old technology of gene editing called CRISPR is now the focus of two major disputes. The disputes are: who (or which team) will get the Nobel Prize for this discovery, and the other, the patent rights over the technology coming out of this discovery. One is the holy grail of science; not the discovery itself, but the public accolade that goes with it.

For a Financial Transactions Tax

SENATOR Bernie Sanders who is a “socialist” by his own admission and is campaigning with some success for nomination as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the coming elections in the United States, has come out with a proposal for a Financial Transactions Tax, whose proceeds are to be used for making college education free for all students in public institutions.

NPRD Opposes the term ‘Divyaang’ for the Disabled

THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, 2016, noted that on December 27, 2015 during the course of his ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the prime minister had referred to persons with disabilities thus: “Those in whom Paramatma has created a deficiency in the body, those for whom some part of the body does not work properly, we call them ‘viklaang’…….……..‘Why don’t we, in our country, replace the word ‘viklaang’ with the word ‘divyaang’?’ These are those people who possess divinity – divyata – in one or more parts of th

CITU Denounces Govt Decision to Exempt Start-Up Companies from Labour Laws

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions in a statement issued on January 27 has denounced the brazen anti-worker designs of the government of India to grant virtual exemption to the start-up companies, including five year old registered establishments with an annual turnover of not more than Rs 25 crore, from the obligations under nine basic labour laws. It has done this on the plea of “handholding and nurturing” the so-called start-up companies, announced by the prime minister only recently.

Thinking Together

Q. What was the role of the Portuguese Communist Party in the formation of a new government after the elections to the National Assembly? S Prasanth, Chennai ELECTIONS to the national assembly of Portugal were held on October 4, 2015, which threw a fractured mandate. The ruling right-wing coalition of the conservatives consisting of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Peoples' Party (PP) lost 12 percent of the vote and the majority they had enjoyed in the assembly.

Kerala Accords Grand Welcome to Ghulam Ali

BRUSHING aside repeated threats from the Right-wing Hindutva forces, the people of Kerala wholeheartedly welcomed Gazal maestro Ghulam Ali to the state. The Pakistani singer held a concert in the state capital on January 15 and in Calicut on January 15.The programmes were organised by Swaralaya, a socio-cultural organisation. DYFI activists gathered at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to extend a warm welcome to the renowned singer. Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M A Baby and city mayor V K Prasanth received Ghulam Ali at the airport.

Bar Bribery Scam: Kerala Excise Minister Resigns

IN a major blow to the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala just a few months ahead of assembly polls, excise and port minister K Babu was forced to tender his resignation in connection with the bar bribery scam.

Solar Scam: Chief Minister Chandy Deposes Before Inquiry Commission

OOMMEN Chandy has become the first chief minister in the history of Kerala to depose before a judicial commission in connection with a scam.

Left will Rebuild Bengal

SIX day Singur-Salboni march ended with a call for rebuilding West Bengal, after dislodging the TMC regime. The march, with participation of tens of thousands, culminated in a huge rally in Salboni in West Midnapore district. People, mainly from terror-stricken Jungle Mahal areas attended the rally.Addressing the rally, Surjyakanta Misra categorically declared that the Left Front, if elected to power, would revitalise the industrialisation process in the state. Misra said that industrialisation will be done on the basis of revitalisation of agriculture.

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