Kisan Samman Divas Observed across Country

THE enthusiastic and single-minded participation of lakhs of peasants, agricultural workers and rural poor to observe Kisan Samman Divas on May 16, 2020, as per the call given by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Samanway Samiti (AIKSCC), the largest platform of peasant and agricultural worker organisations of the country, is a clear cut warning to the authoritarian Narendra Modi-led government.

US Declares Vaccine War on the World

DONALD Trump launched a new vaccine war this week, but not against the virus. It was against the world. The US and UK were only two hold-outs in the World Health Assembly on the declaration that vaccines and medicines for Covid-19 should be available as public good, and not under exclusive patent rights. Having badly botched his Covid-19 response, he is trying to redeem his electoral fortunes in the November elections this year by promising an early vaccine.

Enough of Flowers, Give Us Safety Gear: Frontline Workers Demand

AT the call of the CITU, more than four lakh workers across 400 districts in the country took part in protest activities on May 14, the Demands Day. They raised the crucial question of safety of the frontline workers and those working in industries risking infection during the Covid-19 pandemic.The protests took place in 10,000 places and while many workers came on to the streets to express their protest, many others protested from their homes demanding safety gear.

Health is No Priority Still

THE Covid-19 pandemic has brought out the stark inadequacy and abysmal neglect of the public health system in India. Even after 50 days of the lockdown, the Modi government seems to have not learnt from the experience of tackling the deadly virus. In state after state, government hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of patients and the lack of treatment facilities. The state of government hospitals in the hotspot of Mumbai provides a grim illustration. The Modi government displays a smug satisfaction by turning a blind eye to the actual state of affairs.

Fighting Covid-19: The Kerala Model

KERALA’s fight against the deadly Covid-19 pandemic has been multi-pronged.

AP: Sundarayya Skill Development Centre Shelters Migrant Workers

SUNDARAYYA Skill Development Centre, a three-storied building in the capital region of Andhra Pradesh has been turned into a shelter for migrant workers. This building at Vaddeswaram has become a shelter for 47 migrant workers belonging to Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts of AP, bordering Odisha. Due to lockdown, these workers lost their livelihood and decided to go back to their native places in AP. They were coming from Chennai on foot as there was no travel facility.

AP: LG Polymers Gas Leak – A Corporate Crime

IN the wee hours of May 7, the unusual foggy dawn surprised people living around the LG Polymers India Ltd plant in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. They were caught unawares by the pungent odour and breathlessness. People came out of their homes and ran helter-skelter, with many of them falling unconscious and collapsing on roads. It was a run for survival for many as panic gripped the area. Twelve people died in the gas leak.

The War on Labour

EVEN as millions of migrant workers are wearily trudging back to their villages with no money, no food and no shelter, or are locked up en route in shoddy quarantine camps, a war has been unleashed on the rights of workers under the cover of the lockdown. The BJP, true to form, is the political formation leading this class war through its state governments. The Uttar Pradesh government has through an ordinance suspended all labour laws (except just four) for a period of three years.

Withdraw This Retrograde, Anti-People “Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020”

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on May 11THE CPI(M) opposes the proposed “Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020” which is designed for the complete privatisation of the power sector.This is a proposal for complete centralisation of authority, a frontal attack on the federal principle of our constitution. Electricity is in the concurrent list of our constitution.

Condemn Criminal Treatment of Migrant Workers

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on May 8THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep shock and anguish over the tragic death of 16 migrant workers who were travelling from Jalna in Maharashtra where they were walking to their native place in Sahdol district of Madhya Pradesh.

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