Paltry Increase in Sugarcane Prices

THE Narendra Modi led BJP government has announced the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for the season 2020-21 as Rs 2850 per tonne for a recovery rate of 10 per cent. The government which did not make any increase in the sugarcane price last year has now declared only Rs 100 increase per tonne. This increase is pittance when compared to the huge increase in input costs and overall costs of cultivation. It also makes a mockery of the plight of farmers who, due to the unplanned lockdown, have suffered huge losses in income and are in acute distress.

Disturbing Trends in Supreme Court

THE conviction of senior lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, of criminal contempt of court by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court has lowered the image of the institution. It shows the highest court of the land in a bad light as being intolerant of criticism and using the contempt law to punish dissent. The two tweets of Prashant Bhushan, which were found to be scandalising the court, do not warrant any such conclusion. There have been numerous criticisms and charges made by former judges of the Supreme Court on various judgments and aspects of the court’s functioning in recent times.

J & K: A Year after 370, Belie the Euphoric Pronouncements

THE euphoric reverberations sounded by the BJP and its cohorts immediately after the shredding of Article 370 of the Constitution of India did not last long. August 5, 2020 will mark one year of the dismantling of the state into two union territories, Ladhak and Jammu & Kashmir.

TELANGANA: Left Parties Pledge to Protect Constitution on I-day

THE Left parties in Telangana marked Independence Day by pledging to save the constitution of India. In the programme held across the 34 districts, members of the parties raised slogans to save the Indian constitution and its secular fabric. They also raised slogans against communalism and resolved to drive away the disruptors of the constitution of the country.The members of the parties took an oath to protect the democratic and socialist and secular values.

TN: Madras HC Says No to Reopening of Sterlite Plant

REITERATING once again the environmental concerns of the people of Thoothukudi district, the Madras High Court refused on August 18 the request for reopening the Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper smelting plant there. It may be recalled that 13 people were killed in police firing on May 22, 2018 during a peaceful protest raising pollution concerns in connection with the plant.

On Digital Election Campaign & Election Funding

Below we publish the letter addressed to Sunil Arora, chief election commissioner, Election Commission of India by CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, on August 17, on the proposal of digital election campaign and the election funding.AT the outset, we would like to acknowledge the fact that the ECI has put aside its earlier decision to the exercise of franchise through postal ballots to all voters above the age of 64 to abeyance in course of the Bihar assembly election.

Can BJP’s Politics and Facebook’s Business Thrive without Hate?

THE Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article – Facebook’s Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics – on August 14, has blown the lid off Facebook’s unholy alliance with the BJP. In this article, WSJ details how Ankhi Das, Facebook’s public policy director for India, South and Central Asia, opposed action against BJP leaders spreading hate on Facebook that were tagged internally as ‘hate speech’ and ‘dangerous’ with the potential of causing real world violence. The reason: such action would harm Facebook’s business in India, its largest user base in the world.

Smoke and Mirrors: A Corporate Hindutva Project as delusional NEP

ANY worthwhile policy making has to start with an objective assessment of the existing ground reality. Proceeding from this, discerning the challenges, the policy ought to set out a roadmap for overcoming them. However, despite the PM’s loud claims that NEP 2020 was preceded by intense study and research for last 3-4 years, no data or reference to these appear in the policy document! Therefore, the inescapable conclusion is, more than anything else, this is a vision statement.The PM is uncharacteristically pitching for NEP asserting that it faces no opposition.

New Education Policy 2020: A Policy Refuting Federalism and Diversity

EDUCATION is a subject directly or indirectly linked to each and every family of the country irrespective of social, cultural and economic diversity. Hence the National Education Policy should reflect a clear vision on the future of the nation that goes in tandem with the articles and principles set out by the constitution of India. Before proposing new policy, assessment of the success and failures of the action programmes undertaken as a continuation of the earlier policies of 1968, 1986/1992 seems inevitable.

Set Up JPC: Probe FB-BJP Nexus

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on August 17THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the role of global social media behemoth, Facebook, as exposed by the Wall Street Journal, particularly the functioning of its India policy chapter. Facebook is not following its own laid down policy against communal hate content.This confirms the overall apprehensions over the Facebook’s activities across its three platforms: WhatsApp and Instagram. A stinging exposure by New York Times in 2018 revealed its questionable practices.

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