Harsh Vardhan Claims Empty Victories as India Becomes Epicentre of Covid-19 Pandemic

SPEAKING in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on September 15-16, Dr Harsh Vardhan, union health minister made a number of self-congratulatory claims regarding the “success” of the government’s lockdown and its Covid-19 policies. What was striking about his claims is its ostrich-like refusal to address the current reality of surging Covid-19 cases.

Comrade K Thangavel

CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state secretariat member and former MLA, Comrade K Thangavel passed away on September 13, 2020. Comrade K Thangavel got admitted to a hospital for coronavirus treatment in Coimbatore on August 30 and since then he could not come out of his illness. CPI(M) expresses its deep sorrow and condoles the death of Comrade K Thangavel. He was aged 68 years and is survived by his wife and daughters.Comrade Thangavel was born in a family with a humble background; he worked as a labourer in a hosiery company.

WEST BENGAL: Student-Youth Rallies

STUDENTS and youth came out onto the streets in large numbers on September 15, demanding end to anarchy in education and demanding jobs for all. At the call of eight student-youth organisations, thousands of students and youth joined in protest rallies and demonstrations throughout West Bengal.In Kolkata, as the rally began from College Street, police tried to stop it. But the militant mood of the rally forced them to clear out. The rally, decorated with yellow umbrellas with demands written on them, marched upto Esplanade.

Cancelling Question Hour Erodes Constitutional Mandate of Parliamentary Oversight over Executive Action

Moreover, such actions prevent the members of Parliament from carrying out their constitutional obligations of questioning, debating, discussing and scrutinising government policies and actions.THE decision to go without “question hour” during the monsoon session of parliament, beginning September 14, has evoked serious concerns about the democratic functioning of the institution. Question hour is not only an opportunity for the members to raise questions, but it is a parliamentary device primarily meant for exercising legislative control over executive actions.

AIDWA Hits the Streets in Protests

THE year 2020 has been one of serious challenges. Masses of the poor and marginalised sections are still trying to put the pieces of their lives together – pieces that have been scattered by the policies of the arrogant and insensitive Modi government. Everyone is trying to find ways and means of adjusting their daily lives to overcome the obstacles caused by the unprecedented Covid-19 upheaval.

Waive SHG Loans during Pandemic

SIX national women's organisations wrote to the minister of rural development, Narendra Singh Tomar demanding immediate withdrawal of the government’s decision to collect the outstanding loans from the Self Help Group (SHG) women.According to reports, the outstanding bank loans to about 54.57 lakh SHGs across the country, amounted to about Rs 91,130 crore at the end of March, of which Rs 2,168 crore or only 2.37 oer cent were NPAs.

A Government Unequal to the Task

A STRIKING aspect of the 24 per cent decline in GDP in the first quarter of 2020-21 compared to the previous year’s first quarter is the decline by 10.3 per cent in public administration, defence and other public services. This is a sector where the GDP is estimated not by the “output” of the sector but by the government expenditure incurred under these heads. The decline in the GDP originating in this sector therefore means a decline in public expenditure.

Shortchanging Farmers

EVER since the three ordinances concerning agriculture and marketing were promulgated in June, kisan organisations and farmers have been protesting against the serious assault on their rights.

Delhi: Subverting the Criminal Justice System

THE way in which the Delhi Police has gone about the investigation into the communal violence in North East Delhi constitutes a brazen exercise in perverting the course of justice.From March onwards, the two special investigation teams entrusted to investigate the widespread violence which led to the deaths of 55 people, have worked in a biased manner with a pre-conceived narrative.The onus for the violence is being put on the anti-CAA protesters and those who played an active role in the peaceful protests which developed spontaneously in many places starting with Shaheen Bagh.

‘Women’s Work is Invisible, Under-counted & Underestimated’

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and former general secretary of AIDWA, Brinda Karat remarked that ‘There was a systematic tendency in academics and policy discourse to make women’s work “invisible.” This applied particularly to the work of rural women.’ She highlighted problems of “under-counting and underestimation,” and “the policy-driven refusal to recognise the problem of unemployment and underemployment of women in rural India.” She made these remarks in a key note address after releasing the book titled Women and Work in Rural India, edited by Madhura Swaminathan, Shruti Nagbhushan, and V

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