The Week in Parliament

SPEAKING on the Manipur Appropriation Bill 2025 in the Rajya Sabha, Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharyya asked what prompted the Manipur Budget to be placed in Parliament? We talk about being the ‘mother of democracy’, but democracy has been shattered when you find that the Indian Parliament has to take up the Appropriation Bill for Manipur. Our prime minister has given a new theory, that of ‘double-engine sarkar’. Are we going on reverse gear? Manipur was the first place where Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose came with INA for India’s Independence and that was really a historical event.

The Return of Mccarthyism

THE Trump administration’s current clamp-down on free speech in the United States is eerily reminiscent of the 1950s when there had been a witch-hunt led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that had not only victimised a whole generation of artistes and intellectuals on the charge of being Communists, but had also left a deep negative imprint on the creative life of that country for decades to come.

Advancing the Boundaries of Science: From Oparin, Haldane, Bernal to Today

ONE of the arguments in favour of a divine power – or god – is that life could not have arisen naturally and needed a touch of the divine to come into being. While Oparin, Haldane and Bernal had argued how organic life forms can arise naturally, experimental proof that this is indeed the case was lacking, though the Urey-Miller experiments in 1953 came quite close to it.

Maha: Withdraw Anti-Democratic Jana Suraksha Bill Forthwith

THE NDA state government of Maharashtra led by BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis has introduced legislation in the state assembly called “Special Jana Suraksha Bill” (Special Public Safety Bill) aimed at brutally suppressing dissent and organised resistance to any of the state government policies and decisions. The purported objective of the Bill, in the words of CM Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, is to curtail “Urban Naxals”. The real objective of the Bill is to suppress the voice and acts of organised democratic resistance.

Maha: Communal Violence Aimed at Drawing Political Mileage

COMMUNAL forces have hatched a well-planned conspiracy to cover up the state government’s failure to solve people’s livelihood issues and also to further its communal agenda in Maharashtra.

Protests by Electricity Contractual Workers in TN & Telangana

THOUSANDS of contractual workers in electricity departments in Tamil Nadu and Telangana staged big demonstrations on March 25, demanding job regularisation and fair wages. The protests, organised by the Electricity Employees Federation of India (EEFI) and its constituents, witnessed significant participation from contract workers across both states.In Tamil Nadu, the COTEE led a day-long dharna at 13 Regional Chief Engineers' Offices and three thermal power stations, drawing over 6,300 workers.

A Media Council for Media Control?

THE recent recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology to create a Media Council to bring in different forms of media under one umbrella body needs to be viewed with caution warn media unions.

Protest against Israeli Attacks on Gaza

HUNDREDS of people gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on March 21, to participate in a protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Organisation against Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza. The demonstration saw significant participation from students, who raised their voices against the atrocities committed by Israel on the Palestinian people.Addressing the protest, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Subhashini Ali sharply criticised the Indian government’s silence on the ongoing Israeli aggression.

Urban Company Should Pay Domestic Workers Minimum Wages

All India Coordination Committee of Domestic Workers (CITU) demands a legal framework for the protection and regulation of the rights of domestic workers as per Supreme Court directivesTHE new service for domestic “maids” offered by the Urban Company which “promises” to make available domestic services within 15 minutes for Rs 49 per hour is yet another example of the continuing exploitation and dehumanisation of paid domestic workers in our country.It is well known that such platforms charge a commission from the workers, which successively increases over time, leading to

Kerala: Budget 2025-26 Road Map for Future Keralam

THE 2025-26 Kerala Budget anticipates revenue generation of Rs 2 lakh crore and proposes an expenditure of an equivalent amount. This means Kerala’s budget has grown to the size of Rs 2 trillion.Even minute changes in society have been analysed, and the global situation has been accurately assessed while formulating strategies for Kerala’s future. The budget takes a serious view of key trends in the state, such as rapid urbanisation, a growing senior citizen population, increasing emigration, and a drastic decline in birth rates.

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