No North Korea behind the Sony Hack

THE US, based on FBI reports, has blamed North Korea for hacking the Sony, the entertainment giant. In return, Obama threatened cyber attacks or what he called “proportionate response” against North Korea; the North Korean Internet did go down after Obama's threats. North Korea denied the US allegations and has called for an international enquiry to establish who are behind the Sony attack.

New Data Show Continuing Agrarian Distress For Small And Marginal Farmers

IT is official now. New data released by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) for 2013 show that the agrarian distress in rural India is continuing, and even intensifying for small and marginal farmers. In the last decade, there has been much talk on inclusive growth, revival of growth rates in agriculture, higher public investment in agriculture and the doubling of agricultural credit. Yet, the new data show that all these policies have largely bypassed the rural areas, and particularly the small and marginal farmers.

AICWF Calls Workers’ Strike in Coal Industry

THE coal workers’ federation affiliated to CITU has called one-day strike in the coal industry on January 13, demanding withdrawal of the Coal Mines (Special provision) Act which has been brought through the Ordinance route bypassing suggestions of the central trade unions. The CITU-affiliated All India Coal Workers’ Federation (AICWF) has also extended its support to the five-day strike call by four national federations affiliated to INTUC, BMS, AITUC and HMS, commencing January 6.

Preparatory Meeting for Party Congress Held

A preparatory meeting on the arrangements for the 21st Party Congress of the CPI(M), to be organised at CMR Function Hall in Visakhapatnam from 14-19 April, 2015, was held on 20 December. Andhra Pradesh state secretariat member Ch Narasingarao chaired the meeting and Polit Bureau member B V Raghavulu attended it.

Left Front Delegation Meets PM On Chit Fund Scams

A DELEGATION of the Left Front led by Biman Basu (chairman, West Bengal Left Front committee), Sitaram Yechury (MP, leader of the CPI(M) group in Rajya Sabha), Abani Roy (ex-MP, Revolutionary Socialist Party) Surjya Kanta Mishra (leader of the opposition, West Bengal legislative assembly), Pallab Sengupta (Communist Party of India) and Ali Imran Ramz (member, legislative assembly of West Bengal, Forward Bloc) met the prime minister on December 22, on the issue of financial irregularities and fraud committed by financial companies in West Bengal.

This Poush, No Smiles in Bengal Villages

THIS is the season of smile for the peasantry of Bengal. The month of Poush, traditionally, is the month when peasants celebrate harvest rituals, prepare homemade sweets, exchange pleasantries with neighbours. The advent of winter brings with it whatever little sources of joy for them.

Prohibit Forcible Reconversion

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) now in session in New Delhi has issued the following statement on December 21.

THE BJP and the RSS are indulging in doublespeak by talking about religious conversions. The RSS organisations are conducting a reconversion campaign targeting the minorities. The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has justified this reconversion as bringing back people to their original faith. The episode of reconversion in Agra has exposed how false assurances and inducements were used for reconversion.

On Recent Assembly Election Results

THE results of the elections to the state assemblies have been declared. The BJP has failed to reach its declared target towards achieving which it was furiously campaigning: forming its own government in both the states. Its much advertised `Operation 44 +’ in Jammu & Kashmir did not evoke the enthusiasm amongst the voters that it had worked for. It drew a blank in the Kashmir valley.

Joint Campaign by Left Parties in Delhi

THE Delhi units of six Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, RSP, AIFB, CPI (M-L) Liberation and SUCI (C) conducted a joint campaign on nine demands concerning the livelihood of the people, opposition to the attempts of the RSS-BJP to create communal polarisation and riots and aggressive implementation of neo-liberal policies. The campaign consisted of a four-day tempo campaign in different parts East, North-East, North and North West districts. During the course of this campaign, leaders and activists of the participating parties addressed a total of 70 meetings.

PB COMMUNIQUE

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which met in New Delhi from December 21 to 23, 2014 has issued the following statement on December 23:

STOP RSS
GAMEPLAN
With the Narendra Modi government in office, the Hindutva agenda is being implemented in various spheres. One of them is the reconversion drive aimed at bringing Muslims and Christians ‘back’ to the Hindu fold. The communal aim of this so-called “ghar vapsi” has been spelt out by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat himself. Plans for such reconversion events have been announced for Christmas day.

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