AT the statewide call of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) Maharashtra state council, thousands of farmers came on to the streets in several districts on June 1, just two days after the newly elected BJP regime of Narendra Modi at the centre took office.
MORE than six lakh saplings were planted across the country at the call of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) on the occasion of World Environment Day. The response has been very huge.
The campaign was enthusiastically carried forward across the country including Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and elsewhere. Kerala state committee itself through the extensive organisational structure has planted more than one lakh saplings across the state.
THE US sanctions on Huawei has transformed what started as a trade war between the US and China into a full blown tech war. The US has followed the additional tariffs of 10-25 per cent on $250 billion Chinese goods by putting Huawei, the Chinese telecom and mobile manufacturing giant, on the “entities list”, effectively a sanctions list. This forbids all companies having US content from selling to it.
SOON after the Narendra Modi-led BJP secured an emphatic victory in the parliamentary election, reports about targeting of Muslims and dalits started trickling in from various parts of the country. The second consecutive win for the BJP, riding on a narrative built around communal nationalist jingoism, has emboldened right-wing goons and vigilantes.
After the protracted elections came to a grinding halt on May 19, the nation waited with bated breath for the results. 23rd May was the D day. However, the post poll interregnum was not quiet. The unprecedented acrimony and the divisiveness had marked these elections with most of the exit polls and the corresponding rollercoaster in the share market led to another round of heated argument in the television studios. Since the campaign was hotly contested, this was not surprising.
ALL indications are that the second term of the Modi government will mark a further reinforcement of its role as a junior partner of the United States. This will, in turn, quicken the implementation of the neoliberal agenda and the consequent adverse impact on the lives of the people.
NEARLY 800 e-Sevai and Aadhaar enrolment workers from Tamil Nadu went on hunger strike against the closure of the e-Sevai centres. The workers, on May 31, held hunger strike in 20 district centres across the state, demanding a minimum wage of Rs 18,000. They also took to streets and protested against illegal deduction of salaries, and demanded better working conditions.
THE CPI(M), Delhi state committee, in a statement issued on June 4, has welcomed the decision of the Delhi state government to provide free travel for women in the metro and state run buses. This will especially provide welcome relief to lakhs of women working in the unorganised sector who are deprived of even minimum wages.
WORKERS in Andhra Pradesh observed the golden jubilee celebrations of CITU with vigour. Flag marches, rallies, meetings and blood donation camps were organised in this connection. Golden jubilee meeting was held in Kalabharati at Visakhapatnam, which was presided over by Ch Narasinga Rao, CITU state president. He explained the historical background for the formation of CITU and narrated the ebbs and flows of the movement. In any tough situation, CITU stood to safeguard the interests of working class, he explained.