Restore Articles 370 and 35A

Below we publish the statement issued by the signatories to the Gupkar Declaration – Farooq Abdullah, JKNC; Mehbooba Mufti, JKPDP; G A Mir, JKPCC; M Y Tarigami, CPI(M); Sajad Gani Lone, JKPC and Muzaffar Shah, JKANC. THE signatories to the Gupkar Declaration of August 4, 2019 have barely managed to establish basic level of communication with each other, in the face of a series of prohibitive and punitive curbs imposed by the government, aimed at impeding all social and political interactions.

CPI(M) Campaign Evokes Good Response

AT the call of the Central Committee of the CPI(M), a week-long campaign from August 20-26, followed by protests, was held throughout the country on 16-point demand charter. Below we publish reports from the states:KERALAAs per the call of the Central Committee the protest satyagraha against the anti-people policies of the central government was held on August 23 evening from 4 pm to 4.30 pm and it was a thundering success in Kerala. The satyagraha was conducted fully complying Covid-19 protocol.

CPI(M) to Take Election Campaign to Grassroots in Bihar

THE state committee of CPI(M), Bihar met online on August 7. The meeting was addressed by Polit Bureau member Hannan Mollah. He highlighted the main developments in the international and national arena and underlined the superiority of socialist system which has come to the fore during the coronavirus pandemic.

AP: Survey of Unorganised Labour in Eluru Town

AS many as 51,500 workers from 23 sectors have lost income in the last four months, only in the town of Eluru of West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, since the imposition of Covid-19 lockdown.

TELANGANA: CPI(M) Demands Compensation, Houses to Flood-Hit Farmers

TELANGANA committee of CPI(M) leaders toured in the flood-hit districts of Warangal, Karimnagar, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam and Mahabubnagar to study the crop losses caused by recent heavy rains.The state has recorded a 51 per cent additional rainfall this year due to the floods leading to heavy crop losses. Hundreds of tanks and culverts were damaged and crops like paddy, pulses, cotton were lost in the heavy flood water. Transportation to tribal agency areas in Bhadradri and Kothagudem districts has come to a halt and villages in the vicinity of Godavari river have come under water.

Surprising and Disappointing Ruling on Hate Speech Case

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Brinda Karat issued a statement on August 27, on the dismissal of the hate speech case against Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma, by the magistrate court. She termed the ruling as surprising and disappointing. She said, “We had filed a complaint with Delhi police in January against the hate speeches made by BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma and asked for filing of a FIR under relevant provisions including Sec 153 of the IPC.

Paltry Increase in Sugarcane Prices

THE Narendra Modi led BJP government has announced the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for the season 2020-21 as Rs 2850 per tonne for a recovery rate of 10 per cent. The government which did not make any increase in the sugarcane price last year has now declared only Rs 100 increase per tonne. This increase is pittance when compared to the huge increase in input costs and overall costs of cultivation. It also makes a mockery of the plight of farmers who, due to the unplanned lockdown, have suffered huge losses in income and are in acute distress.

Disturbing Trends in Supreme Court

THE conviction of senior lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, of criminal contempt of court by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court has lowered the image of the institution. It shows the highest court of the land in a bad light as being intolerant of criticism and using the contempt law to punish dissent. The two tweets of Prashant Bhushan, which were found to be scandalising the court, do not warrant any such conclusion. There have been numerous criticisms and charges made by former judges of the Supreme Court on various judgments and aspects of the court’s functioning in recent times.

J & K: A Year after 370, Belie the Euphoric Pronouncements

THE euphoric reverberations sounded by the BJP and its cohorts immediately after the shredding of Article 370 of the Constitution of India did not last long. August 5, 2020 will mark one year of the dismantling of the state into two union territories, Ladhak and Jammu & Kashmir.

TELANGANA: Left Parties Pledge to Protect Constitution on I-day

THE Left parties in Telangana marked Independence Day by pledging to save the constitution of India. In the programme held across the 34 districts, members of the parties raised slogans to save the Indian constitution and its secular fabric. They also raised slogans against communalism and resolved to drive away the disruptors of the constitution of the country.The members of the parties took an oath to protect the democratic and socialist and secular values.

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