BY ruling not just that privacy is a fundamental right but that it is an integral part of the right to liberty, a nine judge bench of the Supreme Court, on August 24, held unanimously that the right to privacy would come under both the right to life, liberty (Article 14, Article 21 of the Constitution) and therefore part III of the constitution. The fundamental reasoning behind the verdicts delivered separately and as a collective was that these rights are the inherent rights of man, born with him, not granted by statute (even the constitution) and hence cannot be suspended or taken away.

‘TOILET vigilantism’, being practised in different parts of the country, has made the already vulnerable social divide starker. The government under the Swachh Bharat Mission has set a goal of constructing toilets to make the country open defecation free (ODF). Recently, a Hindi film too dealt with the importance of construction of toilets in villages. There is nothing wrong in it and in fact there is a dire need to have toilets in all households. But the desperation shown and the draconian method of ‘toilet vigilantism’ has even widened the social gap in the countryside.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau met in New Delhi on September 6-7. It has issued the following statement on September 7.DISMAL ECONOMIC SCENEAll the latest data coming in show that the economic slowdown has accelerated after demonetisation and the threat of recession is looming ahead. The estimated GDP growth in the quarter of the current financial year i.e., April to June is 5.7 per cent. The GDP growth rate has fallen four quarters in a row. The index of industrial production for this quarter shows a growth rate of only 1.8 per cent.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau now in session in New Delhi issued the following statement on September 6THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the cold-blooded murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, outside her home in Bengaluru yesterday.This killing fits into a by-now familiar pattern of eliminating voices that dare to speak out against the current climate of hate and intolerance by the RSS/BJP. The killings of Govind Pansare, Dabholkar, Kalburgi and now Gauri Lankesh – are all interconnected.

NITI Aayog was constituted by the BJP government immediately after it assumed power at the centre. This brought down the curtains on the Planning Commission. The intention behind the establishment of NITI Aayog has been very clear – deepening the neoliberal reforms. It has taken upon the task of international financial institutions like the World Bank, IMF to ensure the transfer of public assets to private players, reduce the role of government in welfare activities and confine the State to cater to the ruling class interests only.