THE union government recently approved a new, poorly conceived Rs11,040 crore National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) with an ecologically damaging focus on oil palm plantations in the North-East and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, presumably due to the favourable rainfall and temperature conditions in these regions.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on September 16THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep shock and grief at the sudden death of Gautam Das, member of its Central Committee and secretary of the Tripura state committee of the Party. He died this morning at a Kolkata hospital where he was undergoing treatment for Covid. He was 70 years old.Right from his school days, Gautam Das was active in politics as part of the student movement in the state. Even while in college he joined the Party’s weekly Desharkatha.
Below we publish the extracts of the interview given by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and former chief minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar to G Mamatha, People’s Democracy correspondent, in New Delhi on September 13. 1. Why were there widespread attacks on CPI(M) offices and on the houses of the cadre, on September 8. Why did this happen. What is the background?On 6th September, there was a programme in Kathalia block in Sonamura subdivision – a mass deputation to the block development officer of Kathalia block.
On September 15, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Brinda Karat, visited the relay hunger strike pandal organised by the Visakha Ukku Parirakshna Porata committee at Kurmannapalem Junction against the sale of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant by Modi government.At the outset, she congratulated the united struggle of the steel employees, officers and contract workers which is continuing for the last 216 days. She said this struggle is for protecting the national assets.
IN the garb of privatisation and monetisation, the BJP government is handing over national wealth like the railways, roads, gas pipelines, BSNL, oil companies, power sector, airports, ports, warehouses and stadia to corporate bodies at throwaway prices, said BV Raghavulu, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member.Addressing a public meeting in Vijayawada on September 14, he said that Modi’s misrule had crippled the country’s economy and the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic had worsened the situation.
ON February 18, 2010, Anadarko Moçambique – a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum (bought by Occidental Petroleum in 2019) – discovered a massive natural gas field in the Rovuma Basin off the coast of northern Mozambique. Over the next few years, some of the world’s largest energy corporations flocked to Cabo Delgado province, where the basin is located. These included corporations like France’s TotalEnergies SE (which bought Anadarko’s project) and the United States’ ExxonMobil.
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has once again used his favourite analogy of “double engine growth” delivering “double profit” in Uttar Pradesh. Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of the Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University in Aligarh, the underlying theme of the speech also made it clear what ‘double engine’ actually means. It is a combination of rank communal and caste appeal.With the Uttar Pradesh assembly election drawing nearer, the BJP, under Modi and Adityanath’s leadership, have embarked on the twin engine of communal and caste mobilisation. Narendra Modi’s speech mus
ON September 8, Tripura witnessed widespread attacks on CPI(M) offices and the houses of CPI(M) cadres across the state. More than a score of offices were burnt down or ransacked. Even the state committee office in Agartala was not spared. Vehicles in front of the offices were burnt. Many houses of Party leaders and activists were set on fire or ransacked. These coordinated attacks by mobs of BJP men were meant to suppress the CPI(M) and stop its activities among the people.These fascistic type of attacks are an onslaught on democracy and a brutal attempt to suppress the opposition.
“THE message of September 27, ‘Bharat Bandh’ must be taken to every house and aftermath of its success shall open up scope of bigger battles in the country. We must mobilise peace-loving, democratic-minded and patriotic countrymen behind the issues of ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by the SKM,” said Manik Sarkar, Polit Bureau member of CPI(M). He was addressing a massive convention in Agartala Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhavan on September 21, 2021 at the call of five Left parties, namely CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FB and CPI(ML).