Six Left parties, the CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML)-Liberation, AIFB, SUCI(C) and RSP have issued the following statement on January 3, 2015.

THE Modi government and the BJP have unleashed the forces of Hindutva which threaten the secular and democratic values of the Indian republic. It is at such a juncture that the government has invited President Obama of the United States of America to be the chief guest of the Republic Day on January 26.

NEARLY 40 percent of girls are in higher education in our country. Many of us take our education as granted – as something of a normal progression. If at all some of us are forced to discontinue our studies, we think it is because of the economic conditions of our families. Of course, many of us are also forced out of education, due to the lecherous behaviour of our so-called 'stronger sex', eve-teasing and sexual harassment. In other words, those of us fortunate enough to continue with our education, think that it is thanks to our familial support, we are able to pursue our dreams.

AS we were going to the press last week, reports came in that Mohd Yusuf Tarigami, CPI(M) Central Committee member and secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir State Committee, had won the Kulgam Assembly seat for a fourth consecutive term by polling a total of 20,574 votes and defeating his nearest rival Nazir Ahmad Laway of PDP, who got 20,240 votes. In the 2008 elections, Tarigami had polled 17,175 votes and defeated Nazir Ahmad Laway by a margin of 237 votes. That means this time there is an increase in actual votes of CPI(M) by 3,399.

THE All India Kisan Sabha, in a statement issued on December 31 has condemned the BJP government’s undemocratic move to amend the Land Acquisition legislation through an ordinance by subverting the parliament. The move smacks of authoritarianism and is clearly aimed to promote profiteering and real estate speculation by the corporates and land mafia. It further dilutes the existing Act which itself was flawed and loaded heavily against interests of the peasantry, land owners and dependents on land. The ordinance ignores genuine concerns of farmers and millions of persons dependent on land.

SPEAKING at a function to release the book Destruction of the Babari Masjid: A National Dishonour, eminent historian Professor Romila Thapar said that the present book, which is third in the series on the issue, has shed further light on this shameful incident and the divisive politics surrounding it. The preceding two volumes of the series have also been penned by A G Noorani.