BJP Flaring Communal Polarisation

SPEAKING in a seminar on May 2 in Bhopal , Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the CPI(M) said that in the last five years there has been a twin attack on the people of the country. On the one hand, the democratic values and constitutional provisions were incessantly attacked at the behest of the BJP government. On the other, there was severe attack the livelihoods of the people; economic hardships and inequity in the country increased.

WEST BENGAL: Chowkidar of Crony Capitalism Must be Defeated

BUDDHADEB Bhattacharjee, former chief minister of West Bengal, in an exclusive interview to Ganashakti, said that the demolition of the Modi model, a concoction of virulent communalism and crony capitalism, is the most important responsibility of the people of this country.

WEST BENGAL: CPI(M) Worker Protesting Vote Loot Killed

CPI(M) worker from West Bengal, Comrade Sk Kamrul, was killed and five others were grievously injured after members of Trinamool Congress (TMC) assaulted them at Khandaghosh in East Burdwan district on May 5. They were attacked for organising a protest against the ‘vote loot’, the capturing of election booths by the ruling party, in Khandaghosh, Bishnupur Lok Sabha constituency, where elections would be held on May 12.Growing resistance against vote loot has become a striking phenomenon of this election in West Bengal.

World Press Freedom Day on May 3: DUJ Demands Free & Fair Media

IN the 70 years since the national capital’s journalists came together to form a union, the nation’s media and the media community have grown by leaps and bounds. We have seen change, growth, attrition, expansion, retrenchments and closures of media establishments as well as the sprouting of start ups. While the media’s outreach and power has never been as extensive as it is today, the challenges before journalists have never been as stark.Seven journalists were killed in 2018.

BEFI Welcomes SC Order on RBI Disclosure Policy

THE Bank Employees Federation of India has welcomed the Supreme Court’s order on April 26 directing the Reserve Bank to stop blocking disclosure of documents such as the list of loan defaulters and annual inspection reports of banks under the Right to Information Act.The apex court asked the RBI to amend ‘Disclosure Policy’ in line with its earlier ruling on December 16, 2015. The order is part of relentless attempts to extract information in the backdrop of mounting corporate bad debts in banks with the RBI and the government resisting such attempts.

An Economic Paradox

STATISTICS show that the period of neoliberal economic policy in India has witnessed a much higher rate of GDP growth compared to the earlier dirigiste period, indeed almost double the previous rate. They also show that the rate of agricultural growth, especially of foodgrains, in the neoliberal period has been distinctly lower than in the previous period.In per capita terms, the contrast is even sharper.

Another Airline Takes a Dive in India

IT is ironic that in India, the fastest growing air travel market in the world, yet another private airline, this time Jet Airways, collapses and folds up.

Less Participation of People in Election Warrants Introspection from Political Leadership

The following is the statement issued by CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, on May 7.THE indiscriminate arrests of youths across Kashmir and particularly in southern districts of the Valley in the recent times will erode people’s trust in the government further and widen the gulf which would be difficult to bridge.As the response of people in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections was not so encouraging in south Kashmir, it warrants introspection from the political leaders, particularly from those who are at the helm of affairs in Delhi.

CITU Pays Homage to Com N Venkateswarlu

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions, in a statement issued on May 7, has expressed its deep sorrow at the shocking demise of Comrade N Venkateswarlu (Kiran), general secretary of Telangana United Electricity Employees Union and office bearer of EEFI. He breathed his last in the early hours of May 7, 2019 in a hospital in Hyderabad after fighting cancer for the last one year.Comrade N Venkateswarlu known as Kiran joined Kothagudem Thermal Power Station (KTPS) in 1990 as a boulder breaker in the coal plant. Soon he joined CITU Affiliated UEEU.

A Significant Victory

Below we publish the statement issued by the All India Kisan Sabha on May 3PEPSICO’S expression of intent to withdraw lawsuit against farmers is a significant victory in the struggle for protecting farmers’ seed freedoms. However, nothing concrete has been done by them yet in that direction. AIKS demands that the company come clear and walk the talk or brace for more intense protests. The Gujarat state government should also come clear on what are the negotiations that it is having with the company.

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