Government-Court Nexus will Embolden Patriarchs

ON July 27, 2017 the Supreme Court of India passed orders that dilute the spirit and the content of the anti-dowry laws. The provision of 498A (protecting women from cruelty by husbands and relatives) was enacted in 1983 after a long struggle by the democratic women’s movement. This victory ensured that the affected women could approach the police and courts without any fear and harassment from their in-laws family and also use the law to protect themselves.

Sardar Sarovar Dam: First Complete Rehabilitation

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statements on August 1 DRAWING a wrong interpretation from the Supreme Court decision, the gates of Sardar Sarovar Dam have been closed. The Supreme Court decision had clearly stated that only after proper rehabilitation of the dam-affected was done and after the affected had been given compensation, could they be removed after July 31.Arrangements for more than 40,000 families of the affected have not been completed. Peasants have not got any compensation.

On Decision on Rajya Sabha Election from West Bengal

The following is the statement issued by the Polit Bureau on July 27.WEST Bengal state secretariat of the Party had requested that Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Party, be re-nominated for the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal on the completion of his term. The Polit Bureau had discussed this matter in its meeting of June 6 and 7, 2017.

The Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government

Lenin’s thesis on the immediate tasks of the Soviet government was discussed at a meeting of the Party Central Committee on April 26, 1918 and approved. The document provides a direction for developing the Soviet Socialist administration and the economic set-up.

North Korea’s ICBM Test

THE two successful test firings of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) by North Korea on July 4 has added a new dimension to the crisis in the Korean peninsula. President Donald Trump had pledged after taking over that he would not allow Pyongyang to gatecrash into the elite club of nations possessing this kind of missile technology under his watch. “It won't happen”, Trump had tweeted in January.

National Convention on Employment and Reservation

A NATIONAL level convention on employment and reservation was jointly organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India and the Students’ Federation of India on July 28 at New Delhi.Inaugurating the convention, Sitaram Yechury , CPI(M) general secretary said that with the current Modi government relentlessly pursuing the neo liberal economic policies, the rich are getting richer and the poor more poorer. 58 per cent of the total wealth of the nation lies with just one per cent rich business houses.

Military Veterans to Modi: ‘Dissent is Not Treason… It is the Essence of Democracy’

A group of 114 veterans of the Indian Armed Forces have written an open letter to the prime minister, chief ministers of states and lieutenant-governors of union territories, expressing their distress at “divisive” recent developments in the country which “go against the secular and democratic values enshrined in the constitution”. The letter is reproduced below.WE are a group of veterans of the Indian Armed Forces who have spent our careers working for the security of our country.

Serious Anomalies and Unjust GST Rate on Essentials Medicines

THE prime minister has been requested to ensure that essential medicines listed in the National List of Essential Medicines are kept outside the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 28, CITU leader J S Majumdar flagged serious anomalies in the tax structure for medicines fixed by the GST Council, disregarding a Supreme Court order and subsequent government notifications.The Supreme Court had in March 2003 issued an order giving two directions to the government – on controlling medicine prices and for preparing the National List of Ess

KARNATAKA: Stop BEML Privatisation

“BEML that has played an important part in defense production is being handed over to private parties at a paltry sum. The valuation of BEML at Rs 518.44 crores is ridiculously low, even less than the value of the land owned by the company. It is unimaginable that the government is selling a company of strategic importance that is running well and the one that had contributed to the exchequer to the extent of Rs 693.46 crores in 2016-17. Stop this privatization,” demanded A K Padmanabhan, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and vice president of CITU.

AIPSN Expresses Grief at the Passing Away of Eminent Scientists

All India People's Science Network (AIPSN) expresses deep grief at the passing away of Professor Pushpa Mitra Bhargava, Professor Yash Pal and Prof U R RaoProfessor PM Bhargava the founder-director of Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) died on August 1. He was 89. Condoling his death, the All India Peoples Science Network issued a statement remembering the life and contributions of the professor.

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