Below we publish the statement issued by the Maharashtra state committee of CPI(M) on May 10TWO accused, Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, who shot anti-superstition crusader Dr Narendra Dabholkar dead, have been given a sentence of rigorous life imprisonment by a Special Court in Pune on May 10, 2024. While hailing this verdict, the Maharashtra state committee of the CPI(M) expresses its sense of anguish and dissatisfaction at the prosecution's failure to convince the court of the culpability of the three other accused, viz., Veerendra Tawade, Adv.

“A DISSENT in a court of last resort is an appeal to the brooding spirit of law to intelligence of a future day, when a later decision may possibly correct the error into which the dissenting judge believes the court to have been betrayed”.These are the words of justice H R Kanna, made in his dissenting judgment in a five member bench of the Supreme Court in an appeal in 1976.

THE experience of democracy in India has been largely synonymous with electoral democracy. The principle of ‘for the people, by the people and of the people’ has been manifested through the formation of governments composed of parties and coalitions which command support of the majority of the people. Of all the countries where electoral democracy has been in place after the end of the Second World War and retreat of colonial governments, the principle of electoral majority has remained in course despite strains and even setbacks.

THE current protests in US university campuses demanding “divestment” from firms linked to Israel’s military machine, are reminiscent of the protests that had swept these campuses in the late sixties and early seventies demanding an end to the Vietnam war. There is however a major difference: the US had then been directly involved in the war, while today it is not. This had meant a draft then in the US while today there is none, which makes the current student protests completely free of even a shadow of self-interest.

AFTER the fourth phase of the parliamentary elections, there is widespread talk of a massive defeat for the BJP, JD(U) coalition, and its smaller allies in Bihar. It is no coincidence that Modi had to rush to Bihar for a roadshow in Patna to bolster the sagging spirits of NDA leaders and cadres after the first three phases of the parliamentary elections, which have sent a clear message of impending defeat at the hustings.