THE Delhi State Committee of CPI(M), in a statement issued on June 1 noted that the Modi government has decided to appoint former Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which is a constitutional post with a term of five years. Bassi was directly involved in the police action on the JNU students in February and later on was also seen giving unsubstantiated statements claiming JNU to be a den of anti-national activities.

A three-day extended State Committee meeting of the CPI(M) Madhya Pradesh was held in Amarkantak, the famous cultural centre of Madhya Pradesh. The meeting, held from May 26 to May 28, proved to be fruitful in rejuvenating the Party and its mass organisations. The meeting critically reviewed the organisational setup of the Party and decided on concrete steps to be taken to intensify struggles on people’s issues.

THE CPI(M) has taken up the cudgels for a fair compensation and rehabilitation for people affected by land acquisition on a large scale by the TRS government in Telangana in the name of encouraging setting up of projects and industries, deciding arbitrarily to pay lesser compensation and take inadequate rehabilitation measures in violation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

THE death of an African student from Congo, Masonda Kitanda Olivier, after being brutally assaulted on May 21 in South Delhi has brought to the fore the deep-seated racism which exists in India. There are thousands of students from Africa studying in various educational institutions in the country. It is a shameful fact that these black students are often subject to racial discrimination and attacks.

MODI government’s single biggest failure – betrayal is a better word for it – is on the jobs front. Two years ago Modi was voted to power because he promised again and again in his campaign speeches that the days of joblessness are going to be over soon, “achche din” (good times) are coming. In a country which has been reeling under ‘jobless growth’ for the past several years, and ever increasing number of people, especially youth were severely under-employed, Modi’s words were welcomed by many.