Constitution and Right to Protest

THE Delhi High Court while granting bail in the UAPA case connected to the north-east Delhi violence, for three detenues, has stated, “it seems, that in its anxiety to suppress dissent, in the mind of the State, the line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred. If this mindset gains traction, it would be a sad day for democracy.” This applies to numerous cases in which any form of dissent is termed anti-national.

Coercive Centralisation, NOT “Cooperative Federalism”!

THE Economic Times of June 23, 2021 has reported that, in a blog posting “Reforms by conviction and incentives” on a social media site, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that “an innovative approach to policy making tempered by centre-state partnership during the Covid pandemic helped the states raise an extra Rs 1.06 lakh crore in 2020-21”.

Viewing Covid-19 Pandemic Naturally, Not Conspiratorially

COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has been one of the most devastating pandemics. It has exposed the dark underbelly of the health systems in many developed countries with a dominant privatised system. There has been a massive loss of lives and livelihoods in the US, India, Brazil and several countries. It has also shown that countries with strong public health systems like China and Cuba have withstood the onslaught much better.

BJP’s Stimulus Package another Gimmick: CITU

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) expressed dismay over the Rs 6.28 lakh crore stimulus package announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and said that it is nothing but yet another gimmick to hoodwink the people. It said that the measures announced under the package would neither provide the much needed relief to the crores of people whose livelihoods have been devastated during the second wave of Covid-19 nor can the package help in reviving the economy.

AIFAWH Demands Insurance, Compensation for Covid Warriors

THE All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers (AIFAWH) was assured by the secretary of the ministry for women and child development, that insurance and compensation would be given for frontline workers affected by Covid-19.

Caste Division in MGNREGS a Recipe for Disaster

THE union rural development ministry has asked states for data on caste basis in the works of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The ministry stated that the details of workers belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) sections should be mentioned separately. Since the inception of the scheme in 2006, there was no such circular from the central government to the states. For the first time employment under the scheme is being sought to be divided on caste lines, which reveals the real agenda of the BJP government.

Editorial: Crushing Price Rise

THE blight of the pandemic which has caused mass suffering and deaths during the second wave is now compounded by the manifold miseries inflicted on the people by the Modi government. The people are experiencing unemployment, falling incomes and hunger. On top of this comes the rising inflation and price rise of essential commodities – a creation of the policies of the government. In the months of April and May, 2.2 crore (22 million) people lost their jobs.

The Poverty of Economic Conservatism

IN terms of economic policy, the Modi government must be perhaps the most conservative in the world. During the entire period of the pandemic when millions of people lost their incomes and livelihood support, most governments around the world provided universal cash transfers to the people, but not the Modi government. True, many other third world countries too did not provide such universal cash transfers, but their hands were tied; they had contracted heavy external debt and were enjoined to austerity by agencies like the IMF that helped them roll over their debt.

Political Economy of Higher Prices of Petroleum Product

MANY arguments are floated to defend what is rather indefensible. The unprecedented rise in the prices of petroleum products has the potential to make governments unpopular.The argument often put forth is that prices of petroleum products are determined by global market forces. The governments have no role to play.Prices of petrol and diesel were indeed deregulated in 2010 and 2014 respectively, though India has done away with administrative pricing mechanism (APM) during the first NDA regime in 2002.

On Compensation to Families of Covid Victims

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on June 21THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) rejects the central government’s understanding with regard to compensation to corona victims, as stipulated under the Disaster Management Act, which has been invoked by the central government to deal with the Covid pandemic. Under the provisions of this Act compensation to the victims of a disaster has to be paid.The argument that the distribution of ex-gratia payments will strain the finances of the government is specious.

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