Southern Ministers' Meet Demands Change in Finance Commission's Terms of Reference

AN unusual gathering of finance ministers from South Indian states demanded the centre to change the terms of reference of the 15th finance commission which is expected to lessen the powers of the states. The meeting held on April 10, at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala has decided to prepare a memorandum on this regard. The five ministers will again meet at Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to finalise the draft of the memorandum and invitation will be sent to finance ministers of other states too.

Fixed Term Employment for Promoting Ease of Doing Business

THE World Bank’s ease of doing business index in 2018 ranked India at 100, up from 130 a year ago. Buoyed with this report, the BJP government has reportedly targeted 90 reforms to further climb up the ladder to reach the top 50.Extending Fixed Term Employment to all sectors is undoubtedly one such measure.On March 16th this year, the government issued a Gazette notification amending the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946, allowing Fixed Term Employment in all sectors.

18th Conference of Association of Indian Communists

THE AIC conference was held on March 31 and April 1, in the historic industrial city of Manchester for the first time. Delegates and friends representing the diverse Indian diaspora from cities across UK and Ireland assembled in the Comrade Avtar Singh Nagar for the rally and conference.General secretary of the CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury was joined in solidarity by leaders of the Communist Party of Britain and Awami Workers’ Party from Pakistan and local dignitaries.A resolution expressing condemnation and outrage at the cold blooded killing of Palestinian people was unanimously adopted.

Young Women’s Convention Resolves to Build a Gender-Equal Youth Movement

THE Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has resolved to step-up progressive youth’s struggle for gender equality. All India Young Women’s Convention organized by the DYFI central executive committee in Chennai from April 1-3 has charted out a plan of action towards this end.Apart from the CEC members, 97 delegates from various states took part. The convention began on April 1 with the garlanding of Ambedkar statue, an impressive procession from Vyasarpadi to Mahakavi Bharathi Nagar followed by a public meeting.

Some Comments on the Draft National Forest Policy 2018

THIS note on behalf of the CPI(M) is to record our opposition to the main thrust of the Draft National Forest Policy 2018 which is to privatise and commercialise forests. We see the policy document as a continuation of the unjust and pro-corporate process established by the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act (CAFA). This highly flawed law had eliminated the rights of tribal communities, other traditional forest dwellers and gram sabhas for access and management of forests and their produce. The draft policy takes this approach even further.

Hyderabad All-Set to Host 22nd Congress of the CPI(M)

HYDERABAD is gearing up towards hosting the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Party state committee and the reception committee have taken the opportunity to host the Congress in the newly formed state of Telangana to campaign extensively against the twin dangers of neo-liberalism and communalism. The Party state committee is utilising the Congress preparations to implement the direction given by the Kolkata Plenum – to build a revolutionary party with a mass line.It is after sixteen years that Hyderabad is once again hosting the Party Congress.

India’s “Open Door” Policy for US Military Liaison Officers

INDIA and Ghana, the two main allies of the United States are now closer to the US than ever before in their postcolonial history. The two have signed the agreement with the US, which will give easy access to their respective land and airwaves. American forces can move in and out of Ghana and India with minimum paper work and with minimum restrictions. The Ghana-US defence cooperation agreement was ratified by the Ghanaian parliament on March 23, 2018.

AILU Demands Justice in Unnao Rape Case

THE All India Lawyers Union, in a statement issued on April 10, has expressed shock and dismay at the incident of a girl accusing a sitting BJP MLA from Bangarmau in Uttar Pradesh and attempting suicide infront of chief minister Yogi Adityanath's residence. More shocking is the silence of the chief minister on the incident and the custodial torture and resultant death of the father of the girl suggesting involvement of the brother of the MLA. The police of concerned police station is complicit.

Repression and Violence in Tripura

IT is five weeks since the Tripura election results were declared following which the BJP-IPFT state government was formed. From the evening of March 3, when the results were announced, a spate of attacks on CPI(M) and Left parties offices, houses of supporters and trade union offices began. Since then, there has been no respite in the attacks by the BJP-RSS gangs.

Electoral Setback in Tripura and its Causes

THE outcome of the recently held Tripura legislative assembly elections was utterly disappointing. Left and progressive people, not just in Tripura but all over India, could not believe that the Left Front would be defeated in this election. The Tripura state committee of CPI(M) in its initial reaction said that election results were totally unexpected.The reasons behind this observation by the Party are discussed below.

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