THE CBI Special Court on April 9, 2015 sentenced Satyam Raju and his brother to spend seven years in jail for “forging documents and falsifying accounts in the country, in the biggest ever corporate accounting fraud” and on March 14, 2015 the CBI made arrests of a few government functionaries for stealing confidential documents for multinational consultancy firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers and arrests of few others continued till the end of March for “Corporate Espionage”.

THE Summit of the Americas held in the second week of April in Panama City has been an eventful one. Besides the handshake and meeting between the American and Cuban presidents, what was on show was the unity shown by the Caribbean and Latin American countries on key issues. The trend has been continued form the last Summit held in 2012 in the Colombian port city of Cartagena. That summit was notable for the solidarity extended to Cuba. Barring the United States, all the other countries in the continent were united in their opposition to the American economic blockade on Cuba.

SECRET ballot was held at the Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Generation Station of NTPC on May 6. The CITU union there has won the election conclusively. It was for the third time the secret ballot took place in the power station. In the first election held in March 2008, the CITU union won. In the second election held in May 2012, BMS union won. And now in the third time, the CITU union again won the elections defeating the BMS and INTUC unions.

CITU Union Fought for
Secret Ballot System

HAVING once failed to get the nod of Rajya Sabha for its anti-farmer land bill, the government made another attempt to get it passed by Parliament and introduced the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which seeks to replace the re-promulgated ordinance, in the Lower House. In its attempt to push through the land bill and other legislations, the government even extended the Budget Session of Lok Sabha by three days till May 13.

ON May 26, the Modi government enters its second year. Without any doubt, one can assert that this government has created a record for its assault on the rights of the working people of this country. In its eagerness to satisfy the investors – foreign and Indian – the offensive against the hard won rights of the working people had begun in right earnest. The modus operandi has been to chant Shrameva Jayate (victory to labour) and attack the workers.It is now a three pronged attack.