ROAD transport workers and small vehicle operators conducted struggles across the country over their various demands including wage revision.Road transport workers of Maharashtra went on a surprise strike from June 9 against the unilateral announcement of a meagre increase in wages. The authorities threatened the workers that those who did not accept the wage revision should leave their jobs, paying the way for the government to engage contract workers in the arising vacancies. This provoked the workers and they went on the surprise strike without waiting for a strike call from the unions.
TO commemorate the bicentenary of Karl Marx, CPI(M) West Bengal state committee has initiated statewide study circles on Communist Manifesto. As part of ideological-political training of Party members, study circles in all units of the Party were organised twice in 2017. The first topic was Party Programme, while the second was on Party Constitution. It was decided this year to observe 200 years of Karl Marx in a meaningful way. The study circle on Manifesto, the unparalleled revolutionary document, was scheduled to be held on May 5-6, on the birthday of Marx.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, in a statement issued on June 17, has said that he is joining the protest rally to the prime minister’s residence on June 17, to express serious condemnation over the manner in which federalism, a fundamental feature of our constitution, is being undermined by this BJP central government.Utilising the office of the governors and Lt. Governors, the BJP central government is seeking to destabilise non-BJP democratically elected state governments. This is happening with the democratically elected governments in Delhi and in Puducherry.
IT is to highlight the issues of crores of workers, peasants, agricultural workers, artisans and other toiling people, to emphatically voice their demands for better work, better working conditions, better lives and better future for their children, that CITU, AIKS and AIAWU have jointly called the ‘Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally’ on September 5, 2018 before the parliament.
EMS Smrithi 2018 this year was without its founder and driving spirit, Chandradutt; or Duttmash, as he was fondly called. He passed away on March 20 from the recurrence of cancer that he had fought for the last 22 years. Even though he was not present at the final event, his was the plan for this edition of the series. It was he who pushed for the focus to be on Marxism, Science and Technology, and guided us in selecting the speakers. For all of us, this year’s EMS Smrithi was our tribute to Duttmash.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on June 19THE decision of the BJP to withdraw from the coalition government with the PDP in Jammu & Kashmir at this particular moment has the potential of creating greater political instability in the state. It signifies the total political failure of the BJP’s approach in Jammu and Kashmir.This alliance was untenable since the beginning.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on June 19THE decision of the BJP to withdraw from the coalition government with the PDP in Jammu & Kashmir at this particular moment has the potential of creating greater political instability in the state. It signifies the total political failure of the BJP’s approach in Jammu and Kashmir.This alliance was untenable since the beginning.
BILLIONAIRE financier George Soros has set financial markets aflutter by suggesting that a new world financial crisis is in the offing. In a speech he gave recently to a think-tank, he underscored the outflow of finance capital from the third world which is likely to catch these economies in a cycle of exchange rate depreciations and austerity. And he talked specifically of the European Union facing an “existential crisis” on account of three factors: its territorial disintegration as exemplified by Brexit, austerity, and the refugee crisis.
THE political and economic situation in Tamil Nadu remains in a state of crisis. The ruling government led by Edappadi Palanisamy has been completely indifferent to the serious problems that the people of the state are facing.
AFTER years of wavering by India despite continuous prodding by the US, first under the UPA and then even by the BJP, it appears that another of the “foundational agreements” between the US and India on military collaboration is on the verge of being signed. Three such agreements are part of the package required to be signed by all US allies to allow the latter to acquire and effectively operate advanced US military equipment inter-operably with US forces.