THE unending list of  martyrs of Left Parties in West Bengal, after Trinamul government came to power,  has crossed hundred on June 23 when two CPI(M) workers were killed in Rejinagar in Murshidabad disatrict. In Rejinagar, a group of CPI(M) activists were attacked when they were returning after campaigning in panchayat elections. Comrade Debsharan Ghosh and Comrade Amar Ghosh were shot dead on the spot. The Congress party backed miscreants were behind the murderous attack in which two more CPI(M) workers including a candidate suffered serious injuries.

On behalf of the whole council of ministers in the state, a group of ministers from Tripura submitted on June 21, 2013 the following memorandum to the president of India, when he was on a visit to the state. The memorandum sought to draw the president’s attention to the myriad problems the state has been facing ever since the partition of the country.

IN this connection, V A N Namboodiri, convener of the Forum of BSNL Unions & Associations, too has informed that, motivated by the said Forum, employees of the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have taken due note of the serious situation in Uttarakhand and the requirement of funds for rehabilitation of the affected people, and have unanimously decided to donate one say’s pay each to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. This will be deducted from the employees’ salaries for the month of June and remitted to the PM’s Relief Fund.

THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on June 26, the All India Kisan Sabha has expressed its condolences to the families of the victims of unprecedented national calamity in Uttarakhand. The tragedy is of a hitherto unheard of scale, and the destruction of homes and livelihoods is massive. As the tragedy unfolds, it is bringing forward the fact that the actual number of dead could be much higher. Parts of Himachal Pradesh have also been affected. The AIKS has conveyed its solidarity with the millions of the affected people.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on June 21, 2013.

THE horror and immense tragedy of the loss of human lives and unprecedented destruction of homes and livelihoods in the Kedarnath, Chamoli and other regions of Uttarakhand is still unfolding. The numbers of those killed is rising every day. The urgency of immediate rescue and evacuation operations for the thousands who are stranded cannot be emphasised enough. The central government must extend its full support to the state government including for funds and materials.