IN West Bengal, the TMC has just won Uluberia Lok Sabha bye election and Noapara assembly bye election. In Uluberia, they have won with a margin of more than 4 lakhs. In Noapara, the difference is more than 63 thousand. It is being touted as a ‘big victory for the development policies of Mamata government’. Even a section of secular political forces are bewildered by these ‘huge’ margins.The fact remains that not even a semblance of free and fair voting took place in both the constituencies. Hundreds of armed TMC activists, even ‘voters’ were imported from different sections.

VARIOUS mass and class organisations have denounced the union budget for 2018-19, placed in parliament by finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 1, as “anti-people, anti-worker and deceptive”. In the last full budget of the NDA government before the 2019 general elections, the finance minister resorted to lies and deceit through high rhetoric and overestimated projections.CITUThe Union Budget turned out to be a deceptive one, meticulously articulated to misguide and confuse the people.

THE central executive committee of SFI, in a statement issued on February 4, has condemned in the strongest possible words the assault of two Kashmiri students by a mob of people in Mahendargarh, Haryana. These students who belong to the minority community had gone to offer Friday prayers. While returning when they were crossing market area they were mercilessly beaten up with sticks, bricks and helmet. What is more shocking is that none of people there or the passersby came to their rescue. The police even refused to register an FIR in the case.

HYPERBOLES are the hallmark of the Modi government, especially empty hyperboles that are passed off as public policy. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s announcement during his budget speech, of the world’s “largest government funded health care programme”, outdid all previous records of the Modi government in making inflated claims. Quickly named ‘Modicare’ by the spin doctors of the BJP, the announcement was lapped up unquestioningly by sections of the corporate controlled media.

FEBRUARY 2, 1943 marks an important date in the history of the Second World War. It was on this day that in the battle of Stalingrad, Germany was handed one of its first comprehensive defeats. This defeat marked the turning point in the War, with the Red Army of the Soviet Union pushing back the German troops, leading to the ultimate defeat of Nazism and Hitler. The leaders of the imperialist countries like US, UK, France and many others have openly lauded the bravery of Red Army and Soviet citizens for this stupendous feat at that time.