BHUMI Adhikar Andolan(BAA) issued a press release on June 19, to roll back the decision to auction 41 coal blocks. BAA said that coal is not a commodity for private profit and it cannot be sold in the name of development. The BAA also demanded implementation of PESA-Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act and Forest Rights Act in its letter and spirit.The coal blocks listed in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are located in regions of dense forest, with several species of valuable tress and a rich wildlife.
ON June 1, Food Corporation of India had 10.4 crore tonnes of foodgrains. Never before has the government hoarded such a large quantity of foodgrains. This is 83.3 lakh tonnes in excess of what the government needs for operational and emergency requirements. The All India Kisan Sabha, in a statement issued on June 24, has said that it is criminal to hoard such a large quantity of grains during a crisis such as the present, when hunger and food insecurity affects a vast majority of people in India.
THE All India Kisan Sabha has decided to send one lakh letters to the president, the prime minister and agriculture minister by email demanding to stop corporatisation of agriculture and ensure income support, health security, food, MSP, jobs and minimum wages. Letters were sent from the all India centre by Hannan Mollah, general secretary and Ashok Dhawale, president, on June 20.
THE clash at the Galwan river valley which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers, including the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, has understandably roused the anger of people in India. The incident was shocking and condemnable as it happened after the June 6 meeting of senior military commanders of both sides where an agreement was reached on de-escalation and disengagement at various points on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on June 17, 2020THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) congratulates all its Party units, members and supporters who have participated in a big way in all parts of the country on the protest day on June 16. The good response to the call shows that the demands raised of the central government are the urgent need of the people.These demands are: (1) A cash transfer of Rs 7,500 per month for a period of six months to all families outside the income tax paying bracket; (2) Free di
CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on June 16, 2020IT is unfortunate that during the de-escalation process on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, a clash has taken place at Galwan valley. This has taken place after the talks between the two sides at a high military level began on June 6 to discuss the process of disengagement.
THE utter failure of the central government to provide meaningful relief to the tens of crores of our people who have lost their jobs and livelihoods following the lockdown imposed by it in the wake of the Covid19 pandemic is by now well documented. The CPI(M) and other Left parties had put forward concrete proposals for providing immediate relief to the people as well as for reviving the economy and putting the country on a path of self- reliant development.
THE local committee of the CPI(M) in Vizag, Aandhra Pradesh, has opened stalls of low price vegetables and other essential items to the people of the city.The CPI(M) in an innovative model has started these low price shops. The Party buy vegetables and other items directly from the farmers who otherwise were unable to sell it in the market because of the lockdown. Then these items are sold through these low price shops. It is a big relief to both the farmers, who get a better price and the residents around these shops who get fresh vegetables at a cheaper price.
General JN Chowdhury of the Indian army boasted that ‘within six weeks he would liquidate communists all over the Hyderabad State.’ Accordingly, some unofficial estimates indicate that the government of India spent as much money and resources in Hyderabad then, as it had spent in its war with Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir during the years 1947-48. Even then, it failed to ‘liquidate communists’ in the Telangana region.
THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), in a statement issued on June 16, has congratulated the disability movement in Tamil Nadu for forcing the Tamil Nadu state government to announce an ex gratia of Rs 1000.Unlike the ex gratia announced by the union finance minister, which covers a mere 3.81 per cent of the disabled population, this ex gratia will be given to the all disabled persons who possess a disability certificate.