‘Clean India’: Is the Modi Govt Serious?

‘CLEAN India’, this is one of the slogans given by Prime Minister Modi in his much acclaimed speech on Independence Day. Modi announced that by 2019 all habitations will have safe drinking water and each school will have a toilet and all villages will have latrines for women. The basic infrastructure of 500 small towns will be upgraded. While the repeated announcement of a sanitation drive is always welcome, the launching of a total sanitation and Clean India Campaign is not unique to ‘Modi’s vision’.

The CAG Exposes the Plight Of the Urban Poor in Delhi

THE first set of reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in 2014 have exposed the state and local government’s negligence towards the urban poor in the National Capital Region. Though the corporate media has largely highlighted the failures of the previous state government, it must be noted that the BJP run municipal corporations have also been indicted by the CAG.

Increase the Pension for the disabled: NPRD

RESPONDING to the call given by the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) members owing allegiance to various affiliates of the NPRD held demonstrations in various parts of the country on July 23 focusing on the demand for enhancement in the pension (maintenance allowance) paid to persons with disabilities.

CPI(M) Leader writes to Finance Minister on SCSP

K Varadharajan, Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has written to finance minister Arun Jaitley, on July 12 regarding the budget allocations for the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan. Below is the text of the letter.

THE Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) is a crucial initiative in closing the development gap between the Scheduled Castes and the others. One of the most important budgetary issues for Dalits is the allocations for the Sub-Plan.

Adivasi Labour under Contemporary Capitalism: Some Evidence from Census of India, 2011

AS the new BJP government prepares to present its first budget in parliament and the finance minister prepares the citizens for ‘tough days’, the census has released detailed data on the work patterns of the adivasis. This data clearly shows that adivasi workers are entering the labour market in search of employment, but are finding no jobs. They are therefore forced into marginal and low wage work in order to eke out their survival. Though this trend is evident from the beginning of the reforms, it seems to have intensified in the last decade.

NPRD Suggests Measures for the Disabled

ON June 26, the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) submitted several suggestions to the railway minister, Sadananda Gowda, regarding the facilities needed by the disabled persons in the railways. It was the ministry that had invited suggestions from the public in the run-up to the rail budget 2014-15.

Inspiring Experience of Left-Led Tribal Movement in Tripura

THE glorious history and inspiring experience of the Left-led tribal movement in Tripura was highlighted by the newly-elected member of parliament from the Tripura East (ST) seat and former minister in the Left Front government of Tripura, Jitendra Chaudhury, in the CPI(M)’s Thane district study camp held recently in the Comrade Godavari Shamrao Parulekar Bhavan at Talasari. Over 300 leading activists of the Party – most of them tribals – attended this camp which was specially held in the wake of the Lok Sabha poll results.

AIKS Organises Mass Adivasi Wedding in Surgana

THE All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) unit in the Surgana tehsil of Nashik district of Maharashtra continued its three decades old tradition by organising a mass adivasi wedding of 51 couples on May 31, 2014. Over 10,000 people attended this unique function that was held in Alangun village.

Achhe din aane walen hai: Saga of a High Profile Appointment

AT long last, more than a month long grueling elections for forming the sixteenth Lok Sabha are over. With eighty two crore registered voters – this was easily the biggest show of the citizens’ democratic exercise of their franchise not only to choose their representatives – but they in turn would choose the new government. After three decades, the people have chosen a government where a single party has got an absolute majority. In that sense this was a decisive verdict.

Comrade R Umanath

THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep grief at the passing away of Comrade R Umanath, veteran leader of the party, at Tiruchirapalli. He was aged 92 years.
R Umanath was a member of the Central Committee of the party from 1978 to 2012. He was elected a member of the Polit Bureau in 1991 and served in that capacity till 2008. He served as a member of the Tamilnadu state committee and secretariat of the party for several decades.

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