THIS article is an attempt mainly to assess the direction of the Union Budget for 2017-18, whether it will help the peasantry to come out of the present systemic crisis and end rising peasant suicides. This is important especially in the context of substantial increase in the rate of peasant suicides in the over two years of the NDA government.

THE Rajya Sabha took up short duration discussion on electoral reforms. Speaking on this, Sitaram Yechury said there is a need to fine-tune the electoral process. Because of money power and other such things, democracy is at stake. These infirmities need to be corrected. The government, in the Union Budget for 2017-18, has made two proposals -- the cash donations to political parties would now be restricted to Rs 2,000 each person and the introduction of electoral bonds. These are a mere eyewash. It is a mockery.

THE TRS government in Telangana has been continuing its autocratic measures and repression on democratic protests against its failures of commission and omission. The police arrested hundreds of leaders and workers of the Left parties, including the CPI(M), and mass organisations at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram and foiled their attempts to conduct two kilometre run protesting against the KCR government’s undemocratic decision to shift the dharna chowk from Indira park to the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on March 23.THE Modi government has indulged in the height of duplicity to hoodwink the people of this country with its loud pronouncements to cleanse corruption, particularly in the electoral process. This is clear from the amendment slipped into the  provisions of Finance Bill 2017 where the “limit of 7.5 percent of net profit of the last three financial years” and “the requirements of a company to disclose the name of the political parties to which a contribution has been made” has been deleted.

THE RSS’ Akhil Bharati Pratinidhi Sabha in a meeting held from March 11-13, 2016 repeated that, “only (the RSS) creates awareness about our ancient cultural values among people.” The reality is that the highest organisational pillar  of the RSS regularly reviews the working of its 44 affiliates; prominent among them BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad,  Bajrang Dal, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarathi Parishad etc.