THE healthcare sector has been consistently grabbing headlines in recent weeks. First came the reports of how two prominent private hospitals in Delhi – Max and Fortis – fleeced patients in blatant disregard of all ethical norms.  Bills were inflated with impunity and relatives were harassed even after the patient was dead. Then came private hospitals.

THE Kerala state conference of CPI(M), a prelude to the 22nd Party Congress, has culminated after scripting a new history of unity and a great advancement for the mass movement. Thrissur, the city of Pooram, has witnessed people turning up in lakhs for the public rally on February 25, the culminating day of the conference.In Kerala, the right-wing forces are trying to impose their agenda on the society and their primary goal is to destroy the Left movement.

INDIA is witnessing a spring of massive agitations on different fronts against the anti-people policies of the Modi regime. These agitations clearly indicate that the people who were suffering under the policies of economic liberalisation and privatisation are mounting significant resistance as their means of livelihood are under direct threat from government policies. Young people of the country including students, workers and farmers are participating in these agitations in large numbers.

THE meeting of the Central Trade Unions held on February 22 at the INTUC Office in New Delhi expressed indignation and strongly condemned the government of the day for their intensified attack on the lives and livelihood of the people and seriously compromising the national interest. In a statement issued on February 23, they said attacks on working class centering around dismantling labour laws which are designed to completely casualise employment conditions through various routes like amending Contract Labour Act, introducing Fixed Term Employment etc, have assumed aggressive proportions.

SIXTEEN days of agitation and strike has forced the state government of Haryana to hold talks with the leadership of ASHA workers and CITU on February 1 and concede the workers demands.  The next day, that is on February 2, victory processions were taken out in all twenty one district head quarters by nearly 20,000 ASHA workers to celebrate their huge victory.As we all know National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)  was launched by the UPA-1 government in 2005 to provide some relief in the government provided health services in the rural sector.  This was the time when the Left parties were supp