THIS week Parliament mainly had discussions on various important Bills. On the first day, the Rajya Sabha discussed the Finance Bill. The government has come under heavy criticism from the opposition for some of the alterations made to the Finance Bill. Being a Money Bill, the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a majority, can choose to accept or reject the changes proposed by the Upper House to the Finance Bill. The opposition leaders claimed that it was an attempt to push through far-reaching, non-financial changes bypassing the Rajya Sabha.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on March 24:THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the atrocious attacks that have been mounted on the minority community in the state of Uttar Pradesh since Adityanath assumed office as chief minister. In the name of closing down illegal slaughter houses, the UP government is targeting all slaughter houses on the specious plea of controlling illegal trade of cow meat.

SOUTH African liberation movement paid tribute to veteran leader Ahmed Kathrada who died on March 28, aged 87 after a long illness. Kathrada was one of the 11 original defendants at the 1963-64 Rivonia trial alongside ANC president Nelson Mandela and general secretary Walter Sisulu. He was imprisoned for 26 years on the notorious Robben Island prison off Cape Town alongside scores of ANC leaders.

THE Nava Telangana Telugu daily celebrated its second anniversary at a function organised at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad on March 21. Speaking on the occasion, eminent journalist P Sainath expressed concern at the spread of corporate media and its role in not articulating the real problems of the people and facts. Corporate media organisations are entering into the field of business and their barons are entering into politics. Political leaders are entering into the field of journalism.

WORKERS across trade union affiliations, came out on streets in hundreds of cities, industrial centres, district headquarters and even in rural areas and demonstrated in support of the Maruti Suzuki workers at the call of the central trade unions, on April 5. In a massive meeting attended by members of the central trade unions as well as more than 55 unions in the industrial belt of Gurgaon and Rewari in Haryana, national leaders of the central trade unions – CITU, AITUC, INTUC, HMS, AICCTU, AIUTUC, TUCC and UTUC attended.