MORE than six lakh saplings were planted across the country at the call of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) on the occasion of World Environment Day. The response has been very huge.The campaign was enthusiastically carried forward across the country including Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and elsewhere.

SOON after the Narendra Modi-led BJP secured an emphatic victory in the parliamentary election, reports about targeting of Muslims and dalits started trickling in from various parts of the country. The second consecutive win for the BJP, riding on a narrative built around communal nationalist jingoism, has emboldened right-wing goons and vigilantes.Mohammed Barkat Alam experienced it first-hand in Gurgaon. On May 25, two days after the Lok Sabha election results were declared, a group of men accosted Alam when he was returning from a mosque after evening prayers.

ALL indications are that the second term of the Modi government will mark a further reinforcement of its role as a junior partner of the United States. This will, in turn, quicken the implementation of the neoliberal agenda and the consequent adverse impact on the lives of the people.In the period 2014-19, the Modi government took substantial steps to further interlink India strategically and militarily with the US. Agreements for logistic support and integration of military communication equipment were signed.

THE CPI(M), Delhi state committee, in a statement issued on June 4, has welcomed the decision of the Delhi state government to provide free travel for women in the metro and state run buses. This will especially provide welcome relief to lakhs of women working in the unorganised sector who are deprived of even minimum wages.    The state government should extend benefits of the above scheme to male workers in the unorganised sector as well as to senior citizens. Similarly school and college students should be exempt from paying any fare in both the metro and buses, the statement said. 

WORKERS in Andhra Pradesh observed the golden jubilee celebrations of CITU with vigour. Flag marches, rallies, meetings and blood donation camps were organised in this connection. Golden jubilee meeting was held in Kalabharati at Visakhapatnam, which was presided over by Ch Narasinga Rao, CITU state president. He explained the historical background for the formation of CITU and narrated the ebbs and flows of the movement. In any tough situation, CITU stood to safeguard the interests of working class, he explained.