Finance Bill Anti-constitutional, Modi Govt Undermining Parliamentary Democracy: Yechury

Following is an edited excerpt of CPI(M) Leader in the Rajya Sabha Sitaram Yechury’s speech on the Finance Bill, 2017: I am extremely worried about this discussion because I do not think this is really the Finance Bill. As somebody had said, this is a financial bully, not a Bill, that has been brought about by the government and passed in an extreme hurry in the other House (the Lok Sabha).There are an unprecedented 189 amendments that have been made in this Finance Bill. Out of these, 129 relate to tax proposals.

With Westinghouse Bankruptcy, the Nuclear Energy Story Nearly Over

WITH Westinghouse announcing its bankruptcy, India's pledge to buy at least 10,000 MW as a part of the India US Nuclear Deal and reiterated by Modi last year, should be given a decent burial. Any agreement with Westinghouse now means that India would be bailing out Westinghouse and the US nuclear industry with Indian peoples' money.This also draws to a close all talk about a nuclear renaissance. The three major reactor manufacturers – Toshiba-Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi and Areva, France are all in major financial difficulties.

AIAWU Bengal Committee Holds Its First Meet

THE newly formed West Bengal state committee of the AIAWU met in Kolkata on March 23, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh. The meeting was presided over by Tushar Ghosh, state president of the union. The report was placed by Amiya Patro, state secretary. 19 representatives of the different districts of the state reported on their struggles and membership.The launch of an independent All India Agricultural Workers Union in West Bengal is a significant development.

UTTAR PRADESH: Farming Communities, Meat Trade & Tannery Industry Face Attack

INDIA is one of the largest meat producers and meat exporters of the world. The most populous state of the country, Uttar Pradesh, is responsible for about 60 percent of this trade. In the last two years, due to the vigilantism of ‘cow protection groups’ and the fear they generated, the trade, farming communities and the tannery industry have all been adversely affected.With the accession to power of Yogi Adityanath, the new BJP chief minister, all three – the meat trade, farming communities and the tannery industry – are facing an attack that is threatening their very existence.Those in

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

THIS week Parliament mainly had discussions on various important Bills. On the first day, the Rajya Sabha discussed the Finance Bill. The government has come under heavy criticism from the opposition for some of the alterations made to the Finance Bill. Being a Money Bill, the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a majority, can choose to accept or reject the changes proposed by the Upper House to the Finance Bill. The opposition leaders claimed that it was an attempt to push through far-reaching, non-financial changes bypassing the Rajya Sabha.

SKS Haryana Holds March to Assembly

AT the call of Sarv Karamchari Sangh Haryana, about 15 thousand employees of the state marched to the assembly on March 7. SKS Haryana has been continuously fighting for demands of employees and against outsourcing and privatisation policies of the state government. The BJP government is not only indifferent to the demands but it is suppressing the rights of employees and people.

UP: Government Must Stop These Attacks1

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on March 24:THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the atrocious attacks that have been mounted on the minority community in the state of Uttar Pradesh since Adityanath assumed office as chief minister. In the name of closing down illegal slaughter houses, the UP government is targeting all slaughter houses on the specious plea of controlling illegal trade of cow meat.

On the Ideology of RSS – III

MOHAN Bhagwat, the Sarsangh Chalak of the RSS, while addressing the RSS workers at Kanpur on July 16, 2016 observed that Narendra Modi is our man and he is doing a good job. It is not only that Modi, the prime minister, has a RSS background and linkages, Bhagwat assured the RSS workers that along with Modi “RSS workers are ministers” and the RSS agenda of the rewriting of text books will be implemented by the Modi government. The presence of RSS workers is not confined to the Modi government at the centre; the state chief ministers of the BJP states are highly trusted and committ

Veteran Anti-apartheid Fighter Ahmed Kathrada Passes Away

SOUTH African liberation movement paid tribute to veteran leader Ahmed Kathrada who died on March 28, aged 87 after a long illness. Kathrada was one of the 11 original defendants at the 1963-64 Rivonia trial alongside ANC president Nelson Mandela and general secretary Walter Sisulu. He was imprisoned for 26 years on the notorious Robben Island prison off Cape Town alongside scores of ANC leaders.

CITU Condemns BJP Govt’s Move to Withdraw Welfare Benefits to MGNREGA workers

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued on April 3, has strongly condemned the decision of the government of India to withdraw the benefits under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, for the MGNREGA workers.The government of India has directed all the state and UT governments to withdraw registration of MGNREGA workers under the Building and Other Construction Workers (RECS) Act vide labour ministry's order dated February 10, 2017.It is to be recalled that the decision to include MGNREGA workers who ha

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