Against the Privatisation and Commercialisation of Healthcare

The 21st Party Congress of the CPI (M) notes with grave concern the sustained attempts by the BJP government at the Centre to further erode public health services through a variety of measures that are designed to increase the profits of private corporate hospitals and insurance companies, throwing the mass of people at their mercy. At the same time it has permitted the increasing commercialisation of medical education which goes against the interests of public health services.

Misconceptions about Neo-Liberalism

NEO-LIBERALISM is often seen only as an economic policy. This per se might not matter, since a specific set of economic measures do, no doubt, fall under the rubric of neo-liberalism.

CPI(M) 21st Congress Adopts Political-Organisational Report

ON April 18, S Ramachandran Pillai, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member presented the Political-Organisational Report adopted by the Central Committee to the 21st Congress of the CPI(M) held in Visakhapatnam from April 14-19. At the very outset he stated that since the Plenum on Organisation is going to discuss all aspects of the Party organisation and the functioning of the mass organisations, the Political-Organisational Report will be focusing on the state of the Party organisation today and it analyses some of the weaknesses prevalent.

Strengthen Left Unity & Win over the Confidence of People

Below we reproduce the text of the speech of CPI general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy at the inaugural session of the 21st Congress of the CPI(M) at Visakhapatnam

COMRADE S Ramachandran Pillai, chairman of the Presidium, Comrade Prakash Karat, Comrade Debabrata Biswas, Comrade Abani Roy, Comrade Kavita Krishnan, Comrade Prabhas Ghosh, and comrade delegates,

Bomb Blasts under TMC Patronage

ANYWHERE in Bengal, you may suddenly face bomb blasts; in a remote village, in front of polling booths or in an early morning suburban train. The common thread is everywhere you will find a Trinamul connection.The mysterious blasts in Khagragarh are still fresh in mind. On October 2, 2014 an explosion occurred in a house in the Khagragarh locality of Burdwan. Initially the state government and police just brushed away the whole episode as a trivial matter. But the NIA investigations have unearthed even terrorist links, routed to Bangladesh.

Jharkhand Observe Historic Strike against Land Acquisition Bill

THE one-day Jharkhand bandh against the anti-people Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill of the Centre on May 4 was a historic success. The strike was unprecedented and total with participation of people from all sections of the state, despite promulgation of prohibitory orders and imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC by the government. Defeating all disruptive designs of the ruling class, people in their large numbers came out on the streets spontaneously.

Appeal to Higher Court is Absolutely Necessary

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Tamil Nadu state secretariat has issued the following statement on May 12.

A Class Bias in Judiciary?

THE acquittal of Jayalalithaa by the Karnataka High Court in the disproportionate assets case has highlighted an undeniable fact of the judicial system in India -- that the rich and the powerful cannot be brought to justice for corruption and abuse of power. Jayalalithaa and three of her associates had been found guilty by a Special Court in September last year and sentenced to four years imprisonment and a Rs. 100 crore fine. A single judge bench of the High Court has overturned this verdict.

PM MODI’S KOLKATA VISIT: Lethal Political Opportunism

IT was not too long ago that the chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee hurled abuses at the CPI(M)’s Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar for having received, in accordance with official protocol, the prime minister who was visiting Agartala. On prime minister Modi’s recent visit to Kolkata, West Bengal chief minister spread out the red carpet and their new found bonhomie clearly consigned the acrimony between her and the prime minister during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to the records of history.

April 13: We Know How to See You – A Writer for the Poor Celebrating Eduardo Galeano

“FOUR and half centuries before, (on this day) in that very place (the atrium of the convent of Mani in the Yucatan) another Franciscan brother Diego de Landa, had burned the Maya's books and with them eight centuries of collective memory”. This memory of the Mayan civilisation would have been lost, but for Eduardo Galeano's entry for April 13, in his Children of Days. In our books, a post script should be added for this day – the day Galeano left, leaving us to celebrate his memories.“He wrote as if he were saying nothing. And he said everything”.

Search form

Peoples Democracy newsletter