THERE is something wrong with leaders of a political party, when they seek legitimacy for their beliefs from the promo of an American TV show. A set of senior BJP ministers – Sushma Swaraj, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Piyush Goyal – rushed to tell the people that the myth of Lord Rama building a bridge to Lanka, has now been “vindicated” by science; or the TV channel called Science.The BJP’s troll brigade and various Fake News websites went to town celebrating the “proof” of Lord Rama’s existence, and his miracle of constructing the Ram Setu.
THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions has inaugurated its P Ramamurti Trade Union Education and Research Centre on December 15, 2017, in the presence of hundreds of its members, supporters, well wishers and leaders of central trade unions. The trade union education centre envisaged to be developed as a permanent school for CITU cadres was named after the founder general secretary of CITU and a legendary leader of the working class movement of the country, P Ramamurti. The day was the 30th death anniversary of P Ramamurti.
THE city of Bhopal witnessed a unique Festival – a festival of diversity, reason and resistance – from November 26-28. Named as Bhopal Utsav, it was organised by various progressive organisations, collectives and movements. The festival brought together activists from diverse movements, cultural activists, science activists and thousands of people from all walks of life. The festival was conceived as a response to the systematic assault on people’s lives mounted by religious sectarian forces and neoliberal economic policies.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on December 18, 2017. THE Gujarat assembly election results show that the BJP has nothing much to celebrate. Although it has won a majority to form a government, it has got the lowest number of seats in the last two decades. It is expected to win around hundred seats compared to 115 last time – a big fall from the “Mission 150” declared by BJP president Amit Shah.
THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), in a statement issued on December 15, has expressed its serious concern at the deteriorating health of Prof G N Saibaba, a person with 90 per cent disability who is in solitary confinement in the infamous anda cell at the Nagpur Central Jail. It is deplorable that despite his facing multiple medical problems, the jail authorities have refused to shift him to a hospital for treatment.Apart from polio which has affected both his legs, there have been progressive and incurable conditions of his spine and nervous system.
ON February 19, 1881, Karl Marx had written a remarkable letter to NF Danielson, the renowned Narodnik economist who had also gone under the name of Nikolayon and whose work had been much discussed by Lenin. In that letter Marx had said the following:“In India serious complications, if not a general outbreak, is in store for the British government. What the English take from them annually in the form of rent, dividends for railways useless to the Hindus; pensions for military and civil service men, for Afghanistan and other wars, etc., etc.
THE 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala, held from December 8-15, 2017 in Thiruvananthapuram, became an occasion where political statements and debates capturing the spirit of the times we live in today attracted as much attention as the films.Acclaimed actor Prakash Raj gave a powerful speech at the festival's Opening Ceremony, condemning the intolerance and hatred that are being foisted upon the country by the ruling RSS-BJP dispensation."When I come to Kerala, I don't come with a script to talk, because there is no censor here.
THE BJP and the Sangh Parivar stood thoroughly exposed in spreading communal hatred against Muslim community at Honnavar town in coastal Uttara Kannada district. The saffron brigade made all-out efforts to capitalise on the mysterious death of an 18-year old youth Paresh Mesta, whose body was found on December 8 in a tank in Honnavar town.
Greetings on CPI(M) Victory in TheogCPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on December 18, 2017.THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) congratulates the people of Theog assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh for electing the CPI(M) candidate Rakesh Singha.
AS the election to the Tripura assembly is expected to be held in February next year, hectic preparations are being made by the election authoritiesas well asall the political parties.The full team of the Election Commission visited the state on November 28. The commission met leaders of all the national political parties separately and herd the issues raised by them. They also supervised the administrative preparedness.