DEMANDING remunerative prices for pulses and seeking curbs on import of pulses as well as sugar, a delegation of farmers from Karnataka met the prime minister on February 7, 2014. The delegation was accompanied by Basudeb Acharia, leader of the CPI(M) group in Lok Sabha, and Vijoo Krishnan, joint secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). Maruti Manpade (president, Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha), Basavaraj Ingin (president, Karnataka State Red Gram Growers’ Association) and Moula Mulla (leader of the AIKS, 4 Windsor Place) too were part of the delegation.
ASEEMANAND’S “description of the plot in which he was involved became increasingly detailed. In our third and fourth interviews, he told me that his terrorist acts were sanctioned by the highest levels of the RSS — all the way up to Mohan Bhagwat, the current RSS chief, who was the organisation’s general secretary at the time. Aseemanand told me that Bhagwat said of the violence, ‘It’s very important that it be done. But you should not link it to the Sangh.’
* Among the 16,000 applicants who were interviewed for 21 posts of court peons in Chandigarh, there were 40 jobless post-graduates who had applied for those posts that required formal education of up to only the eighth class.
* 240 graduates, including B.Techs, had applied for sweepers’ jobs at a municipal corporation.
(Recent news reports from Hindustan Times)
TEN lakhs employees and officers of commercial banks - both public sector banks and private sector banks - and one lakh employees and officers of regional rural banks were on 48 hours strike from 6 am on February 10, 2014 to 6 am on February 12, 2014 demanding immediate and fair wage revision and opposing the so-called reforms of the banking industry. The strike call was given by UFBU (United Forum of Bank Unions) an umbrella organisation consisting of five unions of employees and four unions of officers.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on February 11, 2014.
THE explosive material revealed in the article based on interviews given by Aseemanand to The Caravan magazine raises very serious questions which require further investigation. Aseemanand has revealed his links with the top leadership of the RSS while planning the series of terrorist bomb blasts on civilian targets.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on February 12, 2014.
THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its deep concern at the continuing attacks on people from the North-East in Delhi. After the death of the Arunachal student, Nido Taniam, several other incidents have occurred, including the rape of a minor girl from Manipur and physical attacks on other young men.
THE employees pension scheme (EPS), related to the employees provident fund (EPF) and being implemented from 1995, is to be amended to ensure a minimum pension of Rs 1,000 and also to increase the eligibility wage ceiling to Rs 15,000 per month from the existing Rs 6,500. The decision about it was taken in an urgently called meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) on February 5.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on February 8, 2014.
THE Polit Bureau considers the letter written by Comrade V S Achuthanandan, as leader of the Opposition, to the chief minister of Kerala on February 7, 2014, as a wrong step and not in conformity with the stand of the party.
THE interim railway budget presented by the railway minister has disappointed the people of our country. This was the opinion the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) expressed through a statement issued from New Delhi on February 12.