The Importance of Being Julian Assange

ON June 25th, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked out of Belmarsh high-security prison in London, where he had spent the last five years fighting extradition to the US on charges under the Espionage Act which if convicted could have sent him to prison for more than 170 years. Before that, he was confined to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 where he had taken asylum.The hounding of Assange had started even before that. He was first arrested in London in 2010 based on an arrest warrant issued by Swedish police for rape allegations by two women.

Profit Hungry Jio and Airtel Fleece Customers

JIO and Airtel have steeply raised their tariffs. Jio has hiked its tariff from 12 per cent to 25 per cent and Airtel has hiked its tariff from 11 per cent to 21 per cent. The media has projected that the profits of Jio and Airtel would increase by Rs 20,000 crore as a result of these tariff hikes.

Condemn Such Fabricated Slander

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on July 3FOLLOWING the meeting of the Central Committee, a section of the Malayalam media has manufactured totally concocted reports about the meeting. The latest is a report that puts words in the mouth of a member who it claims criticised the political line of the Party and made allegations against the general secretary when in fact the member did not participate in the discussion at all.

One Nation, One Exam – An Unfolding Disaster

Outsourced functions of testing, exclusion of disadvantaged and elimination as the principle objective, have destroyed the exam system.IT has been a long time coming but finally it is here – the great modern examination system, often touted as being in line with global practices, has cracked.

NEET UG Examinations: Tip of the Iceberg

THE first session of the 18th Lok Sabha has highlighted the confrontation between the government and the energised and obviously much stronger opposition. The major focus of this confrontation centered around the big scam that exploded with the publication of the results for NEET UG Entrance Examination for medical colleges in the country. Starting with the outright denial by the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, of any wrongdoing, the facts were out in the open. Large scale manipulation in the examination results was out in the open and went beyond the scope of denial.

Hold These Criminal Laws in Abeyance

THE BJP has ensured that the three new laws passed by the government at the tail end of the last Lok Sabha in a most cavalier and undemocratic fashion have now been enforced all over the country on July 1. These laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam have replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively.It is nothing short of mind-boggling that the entire system of criminal justice has been subjected to major changes without preparation, discussion and deb

DSMM Felicitates its National President

THE Delhi unit of Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch (DSMM) organised a welcome meeting for K Radhakrishnan, DSMM national president, after his election to the Lok Sabha from Alathur, Kerala, in the recently concluded national elections.Coming from a Scheduled Caste family, Radhakrishnan is CPI (M)’s sole member of parliament from Kerala. He has been a minister twice and was the minister of SC/ST welfare, parliamentary affairs, and Devaswoms in the current Left Front government. He previously served as speaker of the state assembly between 2006 and 2011.

Delhi: CPI(M) Protests against Water Crisis

THE CPI(M) Delhi state committee organised a protest on June 28, at the lieutenant governor's office protesting against the water crisis in the city. Addressing the demonstration, CPI(M) state secretariat member, Rajeev Kunwar said the LG is acting as a BJP agent, siding with the Haryana government, and using the water crisis to politically attack the Aam Aadmi Party. CITU state secretary, Anurag Saxena criticised the LG for banning private water tankers without providing any alternative solutions, thereby worsening the crisis.

Central Committee Communique

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on June 28-30. It has issued the following statement on July 1.18TH LOK SABHA ELECTION RESULTSThe Central Committee discussed the results of the 18th Lok Sabha and concluded that these constitute a significant setback for the BJP.

WB: Trinamool's Hawker Eviction Drive

A Desperate Move with Dire ConsequencesTHE Trinamool Congress's recent Lok Sabha election results, despite gains, revealed a 2.25 per cent drop in vote share compared to 2021 assembly polls, particularly a sharp loss of support among the urban middle class and the poor. This decline has triggered a desperate scramble to regain lost ground. In a move aimed at appeasing the middle class and intimidating the urban poor, Mamata Banerjee's government launched surprise hawker eviction drives across the state on June 25.

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