THE Bank Employees Federation of India in a statement issued on October 22, has congratulated the bank employees all over the country for making the all India bank strike on October 22, a huge success. The strike call against the merger of public sector banks and related issues was given jointly by the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) and All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA).BEFI expressed gratitude to the All India Reserve Bank Employees’ Association, All India Regional Rural Bank Employees Association and organisations of officers, viz.

THE BJP’s election manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly election has proposed that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the father of the Hindutva concept, be conferred the title of ‘Bharat Ratna’.  This is part of the ongoing strategy of the BJP-RSS combine to legitimise the Hindutva ideology and to create icons out of rabid communal figures such as Savarkar.  In order to do that, the RSS and the BJP are busy myth-making about Savarkar being a great freedom fighter and nationalist par excellence. It is necessary to debunk this myth-making and expose the designs of the Hindutva forces in this regard

TELANGANA State Road Transport Corporation employees have been on strike since October 5, but there is no resolution in sight due to the government’s irresponsible stand and unilateral action. All opposition mass organisations, parties, and employees, teachers and workers’ unions have announced their support and solidarity. The protests have been continuing in many ways. The RTC Joint Action Committee has announced the future course of action. All parties, including the CPI(M), have agreed to participate in the programme in support of the strike and make it a success.

THE Narendra Modi dispensation, in its second term, is advancing its privatisation drive at a perilous speed. The government is on a selling spree getting rid of public sector industries, which are the backbone of our economy, one by one. The move to sell majority shares of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is the latest in the list. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has already invited request for proposals from eligible parties to work as transaction and legal advisors, and asset valuers for five PSUs, including BPCL.

THE Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue (“the Quad”) between India, Australia, Japan and the US has got a fresh lease of life. In a significant development for the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region, Quad held its first minister-level meeting on September 27 in New York.The efforts to build an Indo-Pacific security architecture was initiated in 2007, when for the  first time the four countries met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum summit in the Philippines.