NEW AGE
OnOther Other Pages On Pages 1
January 7–13, 2018
Weekly
Central Organ of the Communist Party of India
Vol. 66
No. 01
(Total Pages 16) New Delhi January 07–13, 2018
Price: Rs.7
Right to Employment be M a d e Fundamental Right...............3 McCarthyism In India ..............8-9
26th State Conference of CPI West Bengal
CPI Gears up to Face New Challenges
West Bengal state secretary Prabodh Panda addressing the rally KOLKATA: State conference of the Communist Party of India unit of West Bengal State Council was held from December 28 to 31, 2017 at Nimtauri, Purba Medinipur. The conference place was named Com. Biswanath Mukheji Nagar, the Rajmahal Hall where the delegate session held was named Com. Dhiren Dasgupta Manch.
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efore the delegate session began an open assemblage was organized by Purba Medinipur DC at the ‘Smriti Saudha’ ground. People from different parts of the district including tribal men and women participated in this rally. The whole area was decorated
with red flags, festoons and posters. The rally was chaired by Manju Kumar Majumdar. The speakers said that RSS guided BJP government at the centre not only is trying to split the nation in the name of religion and community but also they have made attack on the Indian Constitution. Deputy
CPI deputy general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta inaugurating the delegate session
Subodh Datta general secretary pf the CPI, Gurudas Dasgupta said that even after 70 years of independence the working class of the state as well as country is deprived of their m i n i m u m requirements. Prabodh Panda, Swapan Banerji, Santosh Rana, C h i t t a r a n j a n Dasthakur, Asok Dinda also addressed the gathering. On day one, at 6 pm, the delegate session began after hoisting the party flag and offering floral tribute to the martyrs’ column. A presidium was formed to conduct the whole conference. Santosh Rana, Kamal Bhattacharya, Karuna Sengupta, Jitu Soren, Nurul Huda, Pallab Sengupta and Niranjan Ghara were in the presidium. Kalyan Banerji placed the condolence proposal. Gurudas Dasgupta inaugurated the delegate session.
Outgoing state secretary, Prabodh Panda placed the political report for discussion. On second day, the sessions were dedicated to the memory of Com. Fidel Castro. In the first session of this day Swapan Banerji placed the review report for discussion. Delegates spoke on the political and review reports. Twenty two delegates participated in discussion. Pallab Sengupta placed a resolution on the success of Nepal Communist Parties. Kalyan Banerji seconded the proposal. It was accepted unanimously. Rajen Nagar placed another proposal demanding withdrawal of FRDI Bill and Sonali Biswas seconded the proposal. A proposal against communalism was placed by Sakhawat Hossain and was seconded by Tarun Das. Pallab Sengupta welcomed the decision of the 13 Left parties of
Pakistan taken in Lahore to unite. All the proposals were accepted unanimously and in the discussion 23 delegates participated. Himanshu Das placed the audited report of income and expenditure. The report of the Control Commission was placed. Both the reports were accepted. On the third day, Tte first session of this day was dedicated to the memory of Com. A.B. Bardhan. In this session Santosh Rana placed the organizational report. Discussion on the report began and 10 delegates participated in the discussion. The second session of the day was dedicated to the memory of Com. Sunil Munsi. In this session, Gurudas Dasgupta addressed the delegates. He said that our state as well as the entire country is in a very critical situation. The national council of CPI thinks that On Page 12 New Age Weekly
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January 7–13, 2018
For the last three days Maharashtra is on boil. Major cities of the state witnessed Rasta Roko and blocking of highways. In the turmoil, the very first day a youth died and several others have been injured. Though all attempts have been made by the right wing forces to spark wide-spread caste riots, not much happened because both the Dalits and Marathas did not fall prey to the provocateurs from the RSS-BJP. Actually both the sides that joined the Wednesday’s Bandh targeted the BJP and its government for its failure in taking prompt action in controlling the situation. The incidents that started on January 1, marking the 200th anniversary of the celebration of Mahar Regiment over the Brahminical rule of Peshwas, were already in the offing. Dalits who generally observe this day every year wanted to celebrate this year in a great manner. Preparations were on for a considerable time and it was expected that lakhs will join the celebration. Not only the newly elected Dalit MLA from Gujarat was invited but even a few leaders of JNU were among the speakers as they had championed the cause of Rohit Vemula who was forced to commit suicide in Hyderabad due to caste discrimination. It may be recalled that the then JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was in the forefront of the struggle for Justice to Rohit Vamula. But in February 2016, the JNU administration in collaboration with police and BJP government tried to distort this struggle for ‘Justice to Rohit’ into a gathering of anti-nationals. Distorted video and audio clippings were played by the BJP controlled Media and the JNUSU leaders were charged
DALIT ASSERTION
communalise the campaign.
Editorial
It is obvious that there is churning among the youth of all communities. The growing unemployment and the economic hardships caused by the shameless pursuance of the policies of neo-liberalism has made the younger generation restless. Their anger leads them to different action. Denial of job opportunities force them to make demands like reservations. In Maharashtra itself, the Maratha youth took out huge silent marches in the past two years demanding job reservation. Though it is a misconceived demand, it reflects anger against dwindling job opportunities. Such demands are also made by other communities in different parts of the country who otherwise belong to socially and economically well to do segments of Other Backward Communities (OBC). They demand either reservation for their communities or abolishing of reservation system altogether.
Although the RSS-BJP duo wants very much to have both caste and communal polarisation but they also want to keep the Dalits under their thumb. They make all efforts to field Dalits against minorities to communalize the situation. But since the Una incident in Gujarat, there is a new awakening among the oppressed people. In Una, the Dalit youth were brutally thrashed for skinning the dead cows. Both the Dalits and Muslims joined hands against this brutality and conducted campaign against it that brought Jignesh Mewani as the new icon of Dalits. During the election campaign, the minority voters stood solidly behind Mewani though BJP used every trick to
Time has come to look into the problem of growing unemployment that is result of the policies of neo-liberalism. The real cause of unemployment and economic distress is to be linked with the real source of the problem. It is the Left that has the concept of economic alternative to neoliberalism. The Left has to address the issue more vigorously and launch an ideological offensive to address the Dalit Assertion that we are witnessing in different parts of the country. Similar assertion by youth from other sections, particularly among the communities belonging to well to do OBC segment too has to be addressed from this angle.
with sedition and arrested. These leaders were later released but police has not put up the FIR on sedition charges. Sangh Parivar and its leaders have continued to repeat this baseless allegation and police never took action against them. The same trick was used in the case of Dalit celebrations of 200th anniversary of the victory of Mahar regiment over Peshwas. A Hindi TV channel played up the presence of a JNU student leader to give a colour of anti-national gathering. JNU leader was charged that he was basically responsible for the turmoil in Maharashtra! Three days earlier, mysterious removal of a board remembering Mahar martyr who fought against Aurangzeb three centuries back was used to give it a communal colour.
Ancient Monuments must be Protected
CPI on Plight of People Living Near Heritage Sites While extending complete support to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2017 that was being considered in Lok Sabha on January 2, 2018, C N Jayadevan, leader of the Communist Party of India, said in the House that the historical monuments and archeological sites must be protected; but at the same time, he also added, “I want to highlight the plight of the people who live near such protected monuments and sites. Thrissur district of Kerala, happens to be the constituency I represent. It has some ancient Hindu temples of importance of which Triprayar Sree Rama temple, and Peruvanam Shiva temple are the most important ones. The archeological New Age Weekly
department does not give permission to the poor residents for reconstruction or renovation of their houses in the vicinity of these temples.” Citing an example, he said, “A retired person, who lives near the Peruvanam Shiva temple, wanted to sell his house, to meet the expenses of treating his daughter having some serious medical problem. This was the only option for him to meet the expenses of treating his daughter. Since the temple premises are declared as protected historical monument, no one from outside is willing to purchase and live there.” CPI leader further said, “When this man
was truly hard pressed, he approached me. I had made a personal request to the minister, pleading this individual’s case, and I am not complaining about that particular case now. But I am
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LOK SABHA bringing the general plight of such people to your attention.” Citing another example, he said, “Similarly, there are monuments and stone hinges in Arivannar area, which are also historically protected monuments. In the 1970’s, the state government had
constructed cluster homes for the poor in this locality. Two families live in one single house. Now in 2017, all such cluster homes including those elsewhere in the state have been reconstructed and they have become single family houses. But these cluster homes, that are constructed in the vicinity of protected monuments cannot be reconstructed. Even maintenance is not allowed in such places. The rich get special sanction, and they can easily reconstruct their houses.” Elaborating further, Jayadevan said, “I want to state here that corruption takes place in the granting of permission, then again,
officials who are responsible for the job, are engaged in corruption.” However, there are still many sites that are yet to be declared in the category of historical monuments and about them, the CPI leader pointed out, “Tipu Sultan had constructed a fort at Chetuva near Guruvayoor which should be declared as a historical monument. People of Chetuva have been demanding the same since long.” While summing up, he said, “I want to support this amendment bill, and at the same time, urge the government through you to resolve the problems of the poor who live in the premises near the protected monuments.”
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January 7–13, 2018 “Unemployment and underemployment have become the most burning issues. There is unrest among youth across the country. The future of Indian youth is very grim, very uncertain, very gloomy,” said D Raja, national council secretary of the Communist Party of India, on December 29, 2017, in his address to the house while supporting the Private Member Bill asking the government to agree to make the Right to Employment as a Fundamental Right. He was taking part in a debate on the C o n s t i t u t i o n (Amendment) bill, 2016 (insertion of new article 16A). He further said, “This is not something we are asking which we should not ask. I am going to read out from the Directive Principles of State Policy, as it is part of Constitution of India, for the benefit of the House and the benefit of the government as it says, ‘The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the citizens, men and women, equally have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.’ This is part of the Constitution, and it is the responsibility of the state. It should be the objective of the state to provide adequate means of livelihood. How are we going to do this? Providing education for all, providing employment for all, providing decent dwelling for all must be the objective as well as responsibility of any government. Today they are in the power, tomorrow somebody else can come to power. But government is government and the Indian government, I hope, should remain as a welfare government. When a welfare government is in power, that welfare government should look at the interests of the common people, the masses. There, I want the government to draw
adequate lessons from the Constitution, from the teachings of Dr. Ambedkar who spoke about justice, social, economic and political, and if there is a proper understanding, then we can address this question. The incumbent prime minister gave an assurance that government will create two crore jobs per year. I am not questioning why the government has failed. I am pointing this out to establish the point that it shows the grave dimension of the problem, the problem of unemployment, underemployment. How to address this issue? It is not a new one. CPI leader explained how the issue was taken up earlier when he was the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Unit of All India Youth Federation since 1975 to 1985, “I took up this issue. I conducted a pada yatra from Kanyakumari to Chennai asking the state government to provide jobs; if not, provide unemployment allowance. At that time, MGR was the chief minister. Then, since 1985 to 1990, I was the general secretary of All India Youth Federation at the national level and we conducted a series of campaigns on the issue of unemployment. We conducted campaign for ‘Job or Jail.’ “Thousands of young people went to jail demanding job. If the government is not in a position to provide job, the government should provide unemployment allowance. That is the dimension of the problem. There is unrest among the youth and there is a process of lumpenisation, and all communal, casteist, fascist forces are trying to use the unemployed youth for their own purpose and for their own agenda. In such a situation, this problem needs to be addressed very urgently. If any government fails to address this issue, it would fail. My Private
Right to Employment be Made Fundamental Right Member Resolution would have come up for discussion last week if the Parliament had worked on that day. It was a resolution asking the government to extend the policy of reservation to the private sector. But, we could not discuss that.” Speaking about when the UPA-I government was in power and the Left supported them, he said, “In UPA-I government, an effort was made to address this issue. We all worked on the Common Minimum Programme. It was for the first time that the issue was seriously addressed. It was followed up by a
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RAJYA SABHA legislation, which we now call the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; at that time it was known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. We collectively worked on the programme. At that time, to begin with, a minimum 100 days of employment and minimum wages of Rs. 100 per day was guaranteed. It was to address the problem of unemployment in the rural areas, to help the rural masses. “There was also a demand at that time saying that it was not enough to bring the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or implement it, but that we should strive for urban employement guarantee schemes too,” said D Raja and pointed out that these issues are not getting the attention from the government. In such a situation, the government must come forward to discuss with
everybody and seek innovative ideas to generate employment opportunities for our young people, he said and added, “What you call ‘Make in India’, ‘Start-up India’, ‘Skill India’, and so on are all a mere rhetoric. What is the job generation in India? Why is there unrest among the young people? That is because of unemployment and underemployment.” Coming to underemployment, he said, “It is another serious problem that we are facing. People who are highly qualified, who are holding degrees like BE, B Tech, M Tech and MBA degrees, do not get jobs. Even if they get, they are low paid; they want to grab just any job. That shows the gravity of the problem that we are facing today. We are weakening the public sector. The public sector is one sector which really opens the gates for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs. Public sector undertakings provide some opportunity for them. It is a part of affirmative action in favour of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs and other deprived sections. Now the government is going in for massive disinvestment of public sector undertakings.” Speaking about government’s support to Corporate houses, he said, “These are getting promoted, and in the name of technology, automation and of contract labour system, people are getting exploited. They are looting the wealth of the country, but what we are witnessing today is unprecedented inequality. Why should such inequality exist in a country like India? What is the definition of ‘private sector’? We have a definition for ‘public sector’. There is
the Companies Act. If there is 51 per cent government equity in an undertaking, it is a public sector undertaking. What is the definition of private sector? They take loans from public sector banks; they take land; they take water; they take electricity at subsidized rates or free of cost from the Government. What is private about the private sector? But they will not follow any nondiscriminatory recruitment policy; they will not follow the law of the land in any case. Why is this happening? That is why I would like to know whether the government has political will or political determination to extend the reservation policy to private sector. It is the need of the hour. The government should think on these lines. How to address the question of unemployment and under-employment and how to protect the interests of socially discriminated sections in our society? That should be our approach. Right to education is given.” Expressing concern over the future of young people, he said, “ It is uncertain and very bleak. How are we going to build a new India? To whom does that new India belong? That new India belongs to our young people and their future is uncertain. The future belongs to youth. How are we addressing the young people’s burning problem, that is, unemployment and under-employment? Here, government should be very sensitive and should make some serious efforts. This Bill, in fact, suggests the government to agree to make right to employment a fundamental right.” New Age Weekly
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January 7–13, 2018
Madhubani District Conference of CPI
Odisha CPI Veteran Radhashyam Pujari Is No More The Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of India issued the following statement on December 30, 2017 condoling the death of Com. Radhashyam Pujari, a veteran comrade in Odisha: The Central Secretariat of Communist Party of India expresses deep sorrow at the death of veteran communist leader of Odisha Com. Radhashyam Pujari popularly known as Malu Pujari. He died at the age of 102 on December 23, 2017. He was one of the founder members of the Subarnapur district party and was in the forefront of many struggles. He had led the historic nationwide land grab movement in 1969-70 and occupied the land of the then chief minister of Odisha Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo, the ex-Maharaja of Patnagarh for which Com. C. Rajeswar Rao had praised him. The Central Secretariat sends its deep condolences to Odisha state council of the party and the family members of Com. Radhashyam Pujari.
What the Others Say…
Questionable remedy The decision of the Lok Sabha to send the National Medical Commission Bill to a standing committee for a relook is the right one. First proposed in 2016, the Bill aims to overhaul the corrupt and inefficient Medical Council of India, which regulates medical education and practice. But despite its plus points, the NMC isn’t the game-changing legislation it could have been. One of its goals is to rein in corruption in the MCI through greater distribution of powers. This is sought to be accomplished through an independent Medical Advisory Council to oversee the National Medical Commission, the proposed successor of the MCI. But all members of the NMC are members of the council, undermining the latter’s independence. This, and other concerns, must be addressed. Perhaps the most controversial provision of all is for a bridge course allowing alternative-medicine practitioners to prescribe modern drugs. One motivation could be to plug the shortfall of rural doctors by creating a new cadre of practitioners. But if this was the rationale, better solutions exist. The shortfall of MBBS doctors is partly due to the fact that many of them seek a post-graduate degree to improve career prospects. MCI regulations prevent even experienced MBBS doctors from carrying out procedures like caesarians and ultrasound tests, while nurses are barred from administering anaesthesia. Empowering doctors and nurses to do more is a reform many have called for, and that would have been easier to implement than a bridge course for AYUSH practitioners. Yet, the NMC Bill hasn’t taken it up. Courtesy: The Hindu
Handle with care That 1.29 crore out of a total of 3.29 crore applicants did not find their names in the first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam points to the enormity of the challenge the state is facing in identifying illegal migrants. New Age Weekly
A massive bureaucratic exercise has been on in Assam since the Supreme Court ordered that the NRC, which the state government had prepared along with the national census in 1951, be updated and set December 31, 2017 as the deadline. The NRC is meant to decide who is a bona fide Indian citizen and those who fail to enlist in the register will be deemed illegal migrants. The political consensus in the state is that the NRC is the best mechanism to separate the citizen from the illegal migrant. However, the large number of omissions in the register indicate that producing necessary papers and proving one’s citizenship in a country with an indifferent record of maintaining documents is not an easy task. The NRC draft, of course, will be revised through 2018, but it is anybody’s guess if the final document will satisfy everyone. Issues of migration and demographic change have been central to Assam’s politics since the 1950s. The Assam agitation in the late 1970s was focused on the citizenship question and called for the detection, deletion and deportation of illegal migrants. The Assam Accord of 1985 promised measures to address these concerns and the NRC updation is one of the outcomes. If the Assam agitation pitched the Assamese against the non-Assamese, the BJP has introduced an overt religious dimension in the debate by distinguishing between the Hindu and Muslim migrant: In this narrative, the Hindu from East Pakistan/ Bangladesh is deemed a refugee and hence, qualified for citizenship, while his Muslim compatriot will be considered an infiltrator. Assam’s demographic changes date back to the 19th century and have economic, ethnic, cultural and religious dimensions. Partition and the hardening of national identities since have complicated the citizenship question. It may now be unrealistic to insist on hard borders and narrow identities and push for large transfers of populations. The ramifications of such a politics will not be limited to Assam. Courtesy: The Indian Express
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January 7–13, 2018 “The Ockhi Cyclone hit the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep on November 30, 2017. It has caused huge devastation. It has robbed the livelihood of thousands of fishermen and farming community in the coastal areas of these districts. Scores of fishermen died, hundreds of them still missing. The state governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Union Territory Administration are struggling to find out the missing fishermen,” said CPI leader D Raja while taking part in the debate in the house on devastation caused by the Okhi Cyclone on December 19, 2017. Pointing out that thousands of rubber trees, banana trees have fallen, he said, “The farming community in the coastal belt stands thoroughly devastated. Since the leader of the house is sitting here and he is also the finance minister of this country he will take a note of this. I hope the prime minister who is visiting those areas today will make some announcements. However, I take this opportunity to ask the government why the disaster can not be declared a national calamity? What prevents you from doing so, a genuine demand made in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Centre should extend adequate financial assistance to the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and to Lakshadweep. I would like to raise one more issue which is related to the fishermen. Millions of fishermen are passing through huge distress; and their sufferings are not being addressed properly by the government. It is time that the Government should take a note of it. We should have a separate Ministry for the Fisheries to look after the issues of fishermen. These two concrete issues which I have raised, the government should respond to. Number one, why is the government not declaring it as a national calamity? Number two, why can not the government think of forming a separate
ministry for the fishing community?”
On Companies (Amendment) Bill “I understand that this particular legislation is nothing but reiteration of the government to serve the interests of the private capital and provide all possible help to private companies, big corporate companies. If the government has a different point of view, we can well argue these points. I need not go to Thomas Piketty to show how unprecedented inequalities have emerged in our society,” said CPI leader D Raja while taking part in the debate in the House on C o m p a n i e s (Amendment) bill on December 19, 2017. CPI leader said, “It is not only for India, we are witnessing such a situation across the world. Even the International Monetary Fund has admitted that the neo-liberal economic policies have led to unprecedented inequalities. It is a fact and when we pass such a Bill we should also keep in mind how these companies are going to respect the national objectives, the social objectives of our country to make India prosperous. India continues to be poor. The other day, one of the senior ministers in the government, while taking part in WTO negotiations, admitted that even today there are more than 600 million people who are below poverty line in India. How these
On Devastation Caused By Okhi Cyclone companies are going to help to build a new India is where the government should answer.” Taking up the discussion further, D Raja said, “After Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, government came out and made an announcement that many thousands of shell companies have been deregistered or dissolved. What are these shell companies? How did they flourish in India? Which law allowed such shell companies? Now we are
CPI IN
RAJYA SABHA amending the Companies Law and we try to build new legal framework to control the companies. How is it going to work? Many things have been said about Corporate Social Responsibility. How these companies really earmark funds, according to the Companies Act, two per cent of the profit? The other issue is, the prime minister himself made the promise of creating two crore jobs per year, but recently several big companies have officially announced lay-off. Now, my point is, what is the non-discriminatory recruitment policy these companies have? Does any company follow any law in recruitment? If at all any company follows a recruitment policy, is it non-discriminatory? Do they follow the law of the land to provide reservation to all
sections, the deserving sections? These are the questions the government will have to raise, but the government does not speak on these matters and wants only to help the corporate houses and private companies. Who are the defaulters? The common people in our country are honest people. The prime minister says that the fight against black money is a fight between honest and dishonest people. Who are the dishonest people? The prime minister must tell the nation who are the dishonest people, who are really creating fraud on the public sector banks. It is big corporate houses. They take money and default. The Government must bring them to face the law of the land. That is why we should look at the issue in a comprehensive manner. When we go for such amendments, these laws, legislations which Parliament enacts will really help the country as a whole. But the government is committed to serve the interest of private capital, the corporate houses, big business houses. If government denies ‘serving their interest’, then whose interest is it serving? You are opening up a gate for them to get engaged in malpractices and the government must be cautious. When the government brings in such serious amendments to the Act, it must be cautious, it should keep country’s and its people’s interest in mind before doing anything, otherwise, to enact a legislation like this, we will really let down our people and
the country.” On Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017 Taking part in a discussion on the Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017, CPI leader DD Raja, on December 29, 2017, said, “I would like to make a few specific points and a few general issues. One is that this Bill provides autonomy to 20 institutions. This autonomy cannot be an absolute one, has to remain only a relative one. Today, the institutions of higher learning are passing through very critical time. There are issues related to ensuring and safeguarding academic freedom. There are issues related to social discrimination in the institutions of higher learning. How are you going to ensure the academic freedom in these institutions? How are you going to end social discrimination in these institutions? How is autonomy going to help achieve these two goals? This is one issue. Second issue is related to chapter 3 of the Bill about board of governors. When we say, the Board of governors, you talk about representation to women, representation to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. In all public sector institutions, there is the routine answer: non-availability of eligible candidates and this should not be an excuse to eliminate anybody coming forward or getting into that board of governors. How are you going to monitor it?” On Page 12 New Age Weekly
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January 7–13, 2018
On Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Opposing the Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2017, national council secretary of the Communist Party of India D Raja, on December 27, 2017, observed, “I think, there was no need for this Ordinance. The government should not have resorted to Ordinance route on this issue. Voices have been made against the loot of forest wealth by private industries. Bamboo, actually a kind of grass, is one of them. During British rule, bamboo was classified as a tree in the Forest Law. This allowed the Forest Department to control cutting, selling and transporting of bamboos. Britishers, in fact, made huge revenues on this. In the Forest Rights Act, 2006, bamboo has been included as a minor forest produce. People have their rights over it. However, the Indian Forest Act was not amended. The forest officials have continued to illegally stop people from harvesting and selling bamboo on forest lands. The only place this was stopped is Maharashtra. There was the Governor’s order under which bamboo was removed from the ‘tree’ category in the Fifth Schedule areas. Using this, some villagers in Gadchiroli , began to harvest and sell bamboo using their own laws. They earned crores of money which was used for their developmental activities. This government also talks about development all the time. This shows New Age Weekly
how much money has been looted from the Adivasis and forest dwellers by the Forest Department. I am naming the Forest Department. They looted the money which actually belonged to the tribal people. Against this background, now, the new Bill only says that bamboo outside forest will not be considered as ‘tree.’ It could mean that attempts are there to serve the interests of paper companies, then there are private land owners. And, they would be benefiting, looting and making huge revenues. On the other hand, tribal people and forest dwellers would be for ever getting deprived of their rights and access to forest wealth! Could it be justified to deprive the rights of tribal people and forest dwellers and to try to help private industries? And, in order to do this, there is an Ordinance brought! That is one reason that leads one to go against the Bill.” Pointing out that the Bill is not in the interest of tribal people, CPI leader pointed out that Bill is not even in the interest of forest dwellers. If at all it benefits anybody, it benefits private industries and companies. If that is the objective of this government, then what would happen to the slogan of ‘Sabka-SaathSabka-Vikas’? It is obvious that the Ordinance is meant for
private companies and private industries. Now, ‘Sabka-Saath-SabkaVikas’ means corporate houses-ke-saathprivate-industries-ke-saath’. It is not for all.” D Raja summed up saying that this Bill needed to be deferred. He said, “The government should rework on this Bill, have broader consultations keeping in view the interest of the country, tribal people and forest dwellers.” He clarified that he opposed the bill precisely for these reasons.
On Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Bill, 2017 CPI leader D Raja, while supporting the bill on Indian Institute of
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RAJYA SABHA petroleum and energy on December 27, 2017, told the house, “The Statement of Objects and Reasons clearly states that the Institute will provide high quality education and conduct advanced research in all aspects relating to the conventional hydro carbons. While supporting this Bill, I would like to tell that the government should have comprehensive policy towards the petroleum sector because it is a key sector and critical for our economy. Here, I would like to emphasize that government need
not be afraid of the private sector. Government needs to support public sector companies. For instance, ONGC, OIL. In fact, they were given just barren tracks in 1960s and 1970s and no private company; no foreign company was interested in India at that point of time. It is ONGC and OIL that discovered the oil and gas in our country. They discovered the oil and gas fields. It is a fact. Whether this side agrees or not, that is history, that is the fact and this present government also should keep that in mind. So, it is wrong to say that oil and gas fields were given to ONGC and OIL on nomination basis. It is not so. It is their legitimate right because they only discovered oil fields and natural gas fields in our country. Now there are reports appearing in media which is very disturbing. The government is considering giving away some 60 per cent of the stake in producing oil and gas fields. ONGC can be given. Why to give them to private companies? I am not able to comprehend. I am not able to understand. ONGC is capable and competent. Then why 60 percent of it should be handed over to private companies? The argument given according to the reports is it is because of stagnant output, and fall in production. On that criterion, government is considering to hand over 60 per cent of stakes to private sector. After all, this country cannot move forward serving the interest of big business houses and
international finance capital and we have to depend on our own sources and here the fundamental strength of our economy is the public sector and this government needs to strengthen the ONGC and OIL. Instead of strengthening public sector, if it is handed over to the private sector, then what is the use of forming an institute of national importance? Where is national importance involved? What is the purpose of starting such institutions? The government should seriously keep in mind that we had planned the economy, we had the Planning Commission and the Twelfth Five Year Plan document saying clearly that we should strive for faster and inclusive growth. But instead, we are not really striving for faster growth, nor for inclusive growth. If that is so, whenever we start institutions of national importance, we should ensure that the policies of the country, the policies of government will have to be implemented.” Mentioning the question of reservation, D Raja asked, “How is it going to be implemented? How is the interest of the weaker sections, deprived sections going to be protected? So, we have to have a comprehensive view. We can go on starting institutions. I wish all the best for the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy at Visakhapatnam. It should grow well. But, at the same time, the government should assure the country and the people that it will protect the interests of the country and also the people.”
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January 7–13, 2018 All along its history BJP has had a position on secularism. It was full of antagonism and arrogance against the very concept. To reflect this, their stalwarts had coined a phrase long back, pseudo secularism! Their cadres were taught in such a way to believe that secularism is nothing but u n n e c e s s a r y appeasement of minorities. And those in the BJP are asked to believe that secularism is anti-theme to Indian ethos. According to them Indian ethos is based on Chathurvarnya and their guiding principle is Manusmriti. One of the reasons for BJP’s bitterness towards Indian Constitution is its allegiance to secularism. The other day Union minister for state for skill development Ananth Kumar Hegde was proving his loyalty to the Sangh ideals. The minister openly questioned relevance of secularism in the Indian Constitution. He called for its removal. Not satisfied with that the hardcore Swayam Sevak went to the extent of telling that those who adhere to secularism are people who don’t know about their roots. Naturally this speech might have enthused the protagonists of racial pride in the BJP and RSS. At the same time the sophisticated elements dealing with the task of governance smelled the risk of a minister making such a speech. With in no time they took the fire fighting measures. The parliamentary affairs minister disassociated from the statement of his ministerial colleague and Hegde was called to rectify himself. Understanding the danger he made a statement saying that “if it hurts anybody’s
feelings…… “ . That means the minister finds nothing wrong about his statement. But if it hurts any body’s feelings, this is for their sake his regrets are recorded. The wise men in the BJP might be thinking that everything is fine with the first and second statements of the Skill Development Minister. But that is not the case with vast majority of Indians who believe that secularism is the cornerstone of Indian polity and guiding principle of the Constitution. They naturally are in absolute disagreement.
Skill Development Minister, RSS and Secularism ideologue of all times came out openly as a crusader against the concept of secularism. In all his speeches and writings his enmity to secularism was vividly argued. If one goes through his works like “We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939) and Bunch of Thoughts (1966) he/she would be astonished to see the gravity of his bitterness. It is worthwhile to remember the editorial that appeared on July 31, 1947, issue of
Binoy Viswam and cats. In bunch of thoughts Golwalkar wrote “Our Constitution is only a compilation of various paragraphs taken from various western constitutions tailored together. It is complicated and diversified. There is nothing in it of which we can call ours”. His sharp reservation against federalism was aired in a public meeting at Kanpur in
The other day Union minister for state for skill development Ananth Kumar Hegde was proving his loyalty to the Sangh ideals. The minister openly questioned relevance of secularism in the Indian Constitution. He called for its removal. Not satisfied with that the hardcore Swayam Sevak went to the extent of telling that those who adhere to secularism are people who don’t know about their roots Their disagreement is not only with the statement but more with the philosophy from which that statement emulates. Anyhow on the eve of the 68th anniversary of the republic, RSS, BJP have once again notified the nation of their uncompromising standpoint on secularism. Whatever certain BJP leaders might have told as part of their hand washing efforts, their ideology is in blatant conflict with secularism. For an organisation that has proclaimed Hindu Rashtra as their final goal it cannot be otherwise. That is why M S Golwalkar, their
Organiser, official organ of the RSS which was titled Hindustan and the argument was for making India a Hindu Rashtra. In August 14 issue in the same year, Organiser went one step ahead and pleaded that Saffron should be the color of National Flag. Tricolour according to them would only create confusion among the people. Again in the month of November, when the constituent assembly was announced, Golwalkar came out and expressed his resentment against the move. In a meeting in Delhi during those days he had ridiculed democracy saying that it is nothing more than granting rights to dogs
1949 just before the Constitution was enacted: “When the Constitution was drafted they had forgotten us. They forgot Hindutva, the unifying factor. In its absence the Constitution will create only disunity. One country, one nation, one state should be the unifying motto. There should be only one legislator and one cabinet for the whole country.” That is to do away with federalism and to embrace unitary form of government. In 1973 at a seminar held in Bangalore he further exhorted, “We should proclaim a unitary constitution through appropriate amendment in the existing one. “ All
these facts tell us that ever since the Constitution came into being the Sangh Parivar was at loggerhead with it. During the period of Vajpayee government they took the first step in this regard through appointing an 11 member commission headed by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court M.N. Venkata Chellaya. But the commission report made them disappointed. His recommendation was not to make any change in the basic structure of the Constitution. Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati case and S R Bommai case also held the view that there should not be any alteration in the basic features of the Constitution like secularism. All these narratives make it clear that RSS, BJP always keep a sort of a vengeance about the secular, democratic and federal nature of the Indian Constitution. Needless to say, the constitutional goal of socialism is like a poison for them. It is natural for an organisation which is tuned to believe that Muslims, Christians and Communists are internal enemies of the country. Ananth Kumar Hegde was only being trustworthy in his f u n d a m e n t a l , ideological doctrine. But poor Skill Development Minister! Out of his over enthusiasm he was a bit unskilful in communicating those ideals espoused by all Swayam Sevaks. Hence the regret and denials are all part of the drama. The RSS-BJP position on secularism and Constitution will continue unchanged for ever. New Age Weekly
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January 7–13, 2018
McCarthyism In India The American Heritage Dictionary defines McCarthyism as the practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence and the use of unfair investigatory or accusatory methods to suppress opposition. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and using tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially based on unsubstantiated charges. McCarthyism is a series of perpetual social, cultural, political and economic misdeeds. It, very adversely, affects and influences the people. It is a witch hunt which, by making the history controversial, creates terror and psychological fear in the minds of the people. Anti-communism was muted, when America allied with Soviet Union in second world war to fight fascism. In the second world war, the Soviet Union defeated fascism. After the war the seat of the imperialism was shifted from England to the US. Success of socialism in USSR inspired East European nations. They established socialism. Soviet Union helped building socialism in those countries. This Socialist bloc supported struggles of working class and encouraged freedom movements of the third world nations. It helped the under developed and developing nations in their nation building. Workers world over were influenced by the Soviet model and followed Marxism. Communism opposed fascism and emerged as a political force. It successfully organized labor unions. In the US the membership of the left affiliated trade unions crossed 74 percent. The Communist Party of the US increased its membership to 75,000. Same was the case in England and other European nations. The idea of Marx, that the industrially developed nations like England will get revolution soon, was becoming a reality. With these developments, the imperialism trembled with fear. America projected communism as an evil force. The anti-fascist bloc, formed to fight Nazi Germany, New Age Weekly
was divided. Imperialist Bloc under the control of the US and Socialist Bloc guided by the Soviet Union were formed. Between these two blocs, political and military tensions arose. To contain the Soviet Union Harry S. Truman, the then President of the US announced a foreign policy called Truman Doctrine on March 12, 1947. These tensions prevailed in the name of Cold War, till the Soviet Union was dissolved on December 26, 1991. Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician and senator from 1947 till his death in 1957. McCarthy was a popular speaker and popular guest at cocktail parties. He was not liked by his fellow senators. They found him quick-tempered, aggressive and prone to impatience and rage. Outside his small circle, he was isolated. In 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face. In US this was the period in which Cold War tensions fuelled fears of alleged widespread communist subversion. He alleged that large number of communists, Soviet spies and sympathizers infiltrated the federal g o v e r n m e n t , universities, film industry, government news agency ‘Voice of America’ etc. He tried to demoralise Soviet Union. He fought against continuation of
wartime price controls. This advocacy was associated with 20,000 dollar loan McCarthy received from a Pepsi bottling executive, earning him the nickname “The PepsiCola Kid”. He supported ‘Taft-Hartley Act’, angering labor unions but solidifying his business base. The
on February 9, 1950, when he gave a Lincoln Day speech. Lincoln Day is celebrated annually by the Republican Party to collect funds. While addressing progressive donors, McCarthy produced a piece of paper claiming to contain a list of 205 communists working for the state. He said that they were shaping policy in the State Department. In a telegram to President Truman, he wrote the number as 57 and on February 20,1950, he said it was 81. In 1946 the then Secretary of State James Byrnes
Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 known as Taft–Hartley Act, restricts the activities and power of labor unions. This act is still effective. Labor leaders called it the “slave-labor bill”. President Truman termed it a “dangerous intrusion on free speech,” and “conflict with important principles of democratic society.” McCarthy experienced a meteoric rise in national profile
wrote to Congressman Adolph J. Sabath that the state security recommended to remove 284 persons from jobs, 79 were removed, 205 were still on the payroll. When McCarthy spoke, only 65, who underwent further security checks, were with the State Department. The Tydings Committee, constituted to investigate McCarthy’s charges, concluded that the individuals on
Hanumantha Reddy McCarthy’s list were neither communists nor pro-communist. McCarthy’s charges were “fraud and hoax” and his actions confused and divided the people. McCarthy was censured by the US Senate with 67 to 22 votes. He died at 48. McCarthyism: A month after McCarthy’s Lincoln Day speech, referring to his practices, the term “McCarthyism” was coined by Washington Post cartoonist Herbert Block. McCarthyism was used to promote anti-communist hysteria, as a synonym for demagoguery, baseless defamation and mudslinging. This term is now used to describe reckless, unsubstantiated accusations and attacks on the character and patriotism of political opponents. During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused as communists or c o m m u n i s t sympathizers. They were subjected to a g g r e s s i v e investigations and questioning by government or private panels, anti-communist committees and agencies. The primary targets were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. Many lost employments. Some were imprisoned. Careers were destroyed. In the film industry, more than 300 actors, authors and directors were denied work. Blacklists were maintained in the entertainment industry, universities,
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January 7–13, 2018 schools, institutes of legal and other fields. With the Korean War, 3,000 seamen and longshoremen lost their jobs. Most of these punishments were later cancelled, actions r e p o r t e d unconstitutional, dismissals declared illegal. President Truman’s Executive Order 9835 of March 21, 1947, made all employees screened for “loyalty.” The basis for disloyalty was “membership in, affiliation or s y m p a t h e t i c association” with any organization determined to be “Communist “ or seeking “to alter the form of government. At the time of McCarthy’s speech, communism was a significant concern in the US. This was exacerbated by the actions of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, testing atomic bomb in 1949, for selfdefense. That same year, Mao Zedong’s Communist army gained control of mainland China, despite heavy American financial support to the opposing Kuomintang. In 1950, the Korean War began, pitting US, UN, and South Korean forces against Communists of North Korea and China. These factors gave a boost to McCarthyism. With this background the sensational charge of McCarthy attracted press, inspired anticommunists to raise hysteria. Naturally, none bothered about the proof. McCarthyism in India: Multipurpose projects were the modern temples of Nehruvian India. Temples and statues are the multifaceted projects of Modi India to gain power. Let us analyse the characteristics, which match those of McCarthy, of the present Indian rulers who follow his methods in letter
and spirit. Our ‘Divine Premier’ is perfect replica of McCarthy. McCarthyism is reflected in every bit of his rule. In false propaganda, the prime minister, the Union and state ministers, BJP national president, RSS chief and ideologues outpaced Goebbels, Reich minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany. The present ruling dispensation decided to make India Mukt from Opposition, Muslim, Christian, Dalit, Communist and Italy. But the BJP became Italy yukt. Mussolini was Italian politician, leader of the National Fascist Party. He dropped democracy and set up dictatorship legally. From him the RSS imparted fascism and its leaders learnt dictatorship. Modi, the Indian McCarthy declared that he only can do anything. He is not liked by many of his cabinet colleagues. As McCarthy from Pepsi, he is benefited hugely from Adani in election travels, from Ambanis monetarily and nicknamed as Jeo Brand Ambassador. He supported Financial Reforms, Globalisation and US and resorted to anti-labour reforms to please big business magnates and MNCs. He became famous with the false propaganda of Gujarat Model of progress. He had no compunction to divide the country on religious basis. The Sangh leaders prepared a list of opponents to be eliminated and listed other religious places to be demolished. Achal Kumar Jyoti, a retired Gujarat cadre officer, now the CEC is made to favour the ruling party. Rakesh Asthana, who arrested Lalu Yadav in fodder scam, is appointed, a few days ago, as Special Director of CBI. He is a former IPS Officer of Gujarat cadre. He is said to be
close to Modi and Amit Shah. Many investigations are ordered to curtail the activities of the opponents. But many, accused of financial irregularities and illegal communal activities are left untouched. Some are facilitated to escape overseas to evade law of the land. Lalit Modi, Jay Shah, Shankar Singh Chauhan, his wife, brother, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, her son, Gadkari, Venkaiah, Sushma are some of those who were absolved. Modi, Shah, Maya Kodnani and many Hindutva terrorists like Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya are either bailed out or discharged by the courts after the Sangh enthronement. Vicious organised trolling is encouraged on journalists specially ladies, film makers, authors, writers, painters, cartoonists, communists, social reformers, nonbelievers and common people who are just discharging their duties as citizens. It is forgotten that exposing venality is the job of these whistle blowers and social activists. Murders by Hindutva Terror outfits of whoever raises their voice against fascism had become the norm. Fears of “muslim and communist terrorism” are spread. In fact, in India Hindutva terrorism became more dangerous. Communists are the friends of the poor and downtrodden and hence the enemies of the Sangh. So, they are projected, through a concerted and promoted campaign, as anti-nationals and enemies of the people. Opponents are being demoralised. Modi is an average, misinformed and confused speaker, but is projected as a larger than life image of a popular and vibrant speaker. He always
speaks violently like a religious street propagandist and not as a responsible prime minister. The businesses of religious parasitic babas such as Ramdev, Ravishankar and Dera got tremendous boost up and encouragement, with astounding growth of their businesses and estates. Modi, during his election campaigns in 2014, promised to bring back every paisa of black money from Swiss Banks and deposit Rs 15 lakhs, in every Indian’s bank account. But this was lightly brushed aside as a joke after assuming power. Movies, books, articles and social media messages are banned for simple reasons of telling the truth unpalatable to the Sangh. Geetha, cow, demonetisation, GST, Modi should not be touched in any manner. Cow is sacred and more precious than the humans of lower castes and minority communities. In the social media they resort to false propaganda daily. They said that the High Courts of some of the Indian States banned the Chinese goods. The truth is that courts cannot do this. Mukesh Ambani, for whom Modi is the Brand Ambassador, imported 20 lakh Jeo mobiles from China. But Desh “Bhakts” did not object. Rohingyas are insinuated as traitors. Forgetting the humanity and international laws on refugees, their entry into India is blocked by the rulers. They say Muslims and Christians are not Indians. These religious minorities along with scheduled castes and tribal communities are being lynched on the allegations of cow slaughtering etc. To silence the resistance and public opinion, Dharna Chowks are
shifted to far off places, protests near Jantar Mantar are banned. Peaceful processions by the agitating masses are not permitted by the police. If permitted violent lathi charges, firings on the agitators are the normal practices, even resulting in loss of lives. Those who differ with the philosophy of the RSS are depicted as traitors. Religion and spiritual thoughts are politicalised. Religiosity is the order of the day. There seems to be no end to the violent politics and religious murders. Like McCarthy, Modi narrates false statistics even while speaking on occasions like Independence Day. The ill-thought-out, idiotic act of demonetisation is justified by falsifying the results by the Finance Minister and the P.M. The GST is reported to have benefited the people enormously. The fact is that people from every field of economic activity, be it small traders, farmers or rural poor are adversely affected by the GST. Lakhs lost their jobs. MNCs ousted their employees well before these brutal acts. The plummeting GDP, stagnant industrial output, stalled exports plus the agitations by the farmers throughout the country including in BJP ruled states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, by the businessmen even in the PM’s home state of Gujarat are the proof of the devastation wrought by demonetisation and GST. The originally declared aims of Demonetisation and GST were dramatically changed to camouflage the failures on economic front. Many of their election promises remained as promises. Only loud talks to deviate and mislead masses, no works. On Page 12 New Age Weekly
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January 7–13, 2018
Indian History Congress session Held amidst Challenges
History is not Invented Facts “History depends on “events of facts” and any attempt to invent facts will be treated as fiction,” said renowned historian Prof Irfan Habib on December 28, 2017, while addressing the 78 th session of Indian History Congress being held in Kolkata. He was in fact replying to the efforts made by the Hindutva forces as he said, “There is a widespread expectation of changes made in syllabi and textbooks to impose prejudiced versions and false narratives in the teaching of history.” “I want to ask them to read the history by Tara Chand and Ishwari Prasad and compare it with the history written by us,” asked Prof. Habib, “Where is the difference? ... You can’t change history because history depends on events of facts. If you invent facts then that’s
not history, that’s fiction,” he said. Prof. Habib’s comment comes in the
backdrop of the accusations made by the BJP and RSS of trying to “rewrite and distort” the history of India in order to put forward their agenda of Hindutva. Ishrat
Alam,
the
CPI Condemns Attack on Dalits S Sudhakar Reddy, general secretary of the Communist Party of India, has issued the following statement on January 3, 2018 condemning the attack on Dalit celebrations at Bhima-Koregoan, a historical place 25 km from Pune: CPI condemns the attack on Dalit celebrations at Bhima-Koregoan, a historical place 25 km from Pune. In 1818 there was a war between Peshwas and British. Peshwas in those days were dominated by Brahminical order and cruel untouchability was in practice by them. Mahars joined the British and defeated a bigger army of Peshwas on January 1. More than 750 Mahars died in the battle. Mahars look at it as a war between oppressive Brahminical upper caste and Dalits. While they were celebrating 200th anniversary, the rallies of Dalits were attacked by Hindutva forces and in the stone pelting a youth was killed. The meeting was addressed by Prakash Ambedkar and Jignesh Mewani. The agitation spread to Pune, Mumbai and other parts. CPI condemns this attack on Dalits and extends support to their agitation and bandh call. CPI also appeals to people to reject casteist attacks and calls for communal harmony. New Age Weekly
secretary of the Indian History Congress, said Marxist historian Irfan Habib moved a resolution on attempts
to curb freedom of speech. “This effort goes hand in hand with increasing attacks on liberty and freedom of speech,” reads the resolution. “There have been particular attempts to run down figures like Akbar and Tipu Sultan, while fictitious achievements are attributed to favourite or fictional heroes.” Historian Shireen Moosvi moved the second resolution. “It has been noticed for some time that authorities in command of public money are tending to discriminate against the organisations that do not necessarily support the currently favourite official credos.” The final day of the 78th Indian History Congress saw these two resolutions being adopted condemning attacks on “liberty and freedom of speech” and
against the suggestions that the history of the Mughal empire be removed from textbooks, which would mean
omitting the entire history of medieval period . In the resolutions, a strong criticism was made against the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) that had declined to offer any assistance to the Indian History Congress just because it does not subscribe to the views of those in power. On the other side, funds are spent on the projects like on the Adam’s Bridge, or the Ram Setu, that is said to have been constructed by human beings to reach Lanka of those days, said the resolution. President general of the History Congress Prof K M Srimali said in his address that attempts are made to distort the Indian history and rewrite it to serve the dictates of the Hindutva forces. He expressed concern over the shrinking space for debate and reason that is influencing the
scientific temper. The three-day long session began here at the Jadavpur University campus. Every attempt that was made by the Hindutva forces to stall the congress and destroy the scientific temper of history writing itself was countered by the historians pointedly. The three day congress was highly successful. All the six sessions, on the themes of Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, Countries Other than India, Archaeology and Contemporary India, were replete with papers on which discussions were held. The aim of conducting Indian History Congress is for promotion and encouragement of the scientific study of Indian History, holding Congresses and publishing of the proceedings, bulletins, memoirs, journals and other works. Eminent historians like Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar were the prominent speakers on the occasion. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had addressed a session of the Indian History Congress on December 29. Decrying the breach of freedom while writing history, the final day of the 78th Indian History Congress saw two resolutions being adopted condemning attacks on “liberty and freedom of speech” and against the suggestions that the history of the Mughal empire be removed from textbooks, which would mean omitting the entire history of medieval period .
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January 7–13, 2018
Govt Admits Fall in Economic Growth The cat is now out of the bag with the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley admitting in the Lok Sabha on December 29, 2017 that the Indian economy slowed down in 2016-17, with the gross domestic product declining drastically from eight per cent in 2015-16 to 7.1 per cent the next year. The finance minister explained that the slower economic growth reflected lower growth in the industry and the services sectors, due to a number of factors including structural, external, fiscal and monetary factors, says a PTI report. According to him the lower rate of global economic growth in 2016, along with a reduction in gross fixed investment to GDP ratio, stressed balance sheets of the corporate sector and lower credit growth in the industry sector were some of the reasons for the low growth rate in 2016-17. “Slower growth in 2016-17 reflects lower growth in the industry and services sector. Economic growth of a country depends on a number of factors including structural, external, fiscal and monetary factors,” he said during Question Hour. According to the latest estimates from the central statistics office (CSO), the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) at constant prices was 7.5 per cent, eight per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively in 201415, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The growth in GDP at constant market prices was 5.7 per cent and 6.3 per cent in Quarter 1 (Q1) and Quarter 2 (Q2) of 2017-18 respectively. Quoting the IMF to defend the government the finance minister claimed that despite the slowdown India was the fastest growing major economy in 2016 and second fastest growing major economy in 2017 in the world. He also said the government has taken various initiatives to boost growth, including giving a fillip to manufacturing, concrete measures for the transport and power sectors as well as other urban and rural infrastructure, comprehensive reforms in the foreign direct investment policy and a special package for the textile industry. The minister said the government had also announced various measures in the 2017-18 budget to promote growth, which included a push to infrastructure development by giving infrastructure status to affordable housing, higher allocation to highway construction and focus on coastal connectivity. He also listed many measures that the Modi government has taken to boost growth in various sectors, ignoring the warning of the experts that the revival of the economy is not at all possible within two years.
Bankrupt Govt to Borrow Rs 50,000 Crore More The Centre looks set to breach the fiscal deficit target this year, with lower-thanexpected revenue prompting it to go for additional borrowing of Rs 50,000 crore from the market. The borrowing is over and above the budget estimate of Rs 5.80 lakh crore for 2017-18, which would lead to the government missing its fiscal deficit target
of 3.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), says a report in Business Standard (December 28, 2017). At the same time, the government lowered its borrowing through short-term treasury bills by Rs 61,203 crore. This has made the task of exactly calculating the fiscal deficit a bit tedious exercise. The government said in a statement it would not raise any net additional borrowing, as the increase in market borrowing will be offset by the decline in treasury bills. Nonetheless, market borrowings, both gross and net, are set to rise by Rs 50,000 crore. Treasury bills, repaid within a year, are used for funding temporary mismatch of funds of the Centre and thus do not reflect fiscal deficit. However, if these are carried to the next year, these may mirror the fiscal deficit. The additional market borrowing could take the fiscal deficit to 3.54 per cent of the GDP this year, the same as in 2016-17, against the Budget target of reining it in at 3.2 per cent. If short-term treasury bills are extended beyond a year, it could further widen the deficit.
There are also expectations that the deficit may be projected to be higher than three per cent of GDP in the Budget for 2018-19. The fiscal consolidation road map mandates the government to control the deficit at three per cent of GDP next year. Though the N K Singh panel has allowed escape route, the government has not so far accepted the report. However, if the government does not borrow the whole amount of market borrowings that would mean that the fiscal deficit might be a bit lower than 3.5 per cent this financial year. “It appears that the fiscal deficit could go up to 3.5 per cent. But as has happened in the past, the Centre may not borrow the whole amount,” said an expert. He added that by announcing the additional borrowing, the Centre was preparing the markets for a fiscal slippage being announced in the Budget. The Centre is staring at a tax revenue shortfall of Rs 40,000-50,000 crore. A Rs 25,000-30,000 crore shortfall is expected in indirect tax revenue due to the goods and services tax (GST), while receipts from nontax revenues, including spectrum, transfer by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), dividends from public sector enterprises, state-owned banks and direct taxes could lead to a gap of Rs 20,000 crore between actual receipts and what was projected, even if expected higher proceeds from disinvestment are taken into account. Another concern could be lower GDP numbers. Any reduction in the nominal GDP growth compared to what was assumed in the Budget will widen the fiscal deficit
automatically. Nominal GDP grew just 9.3 per cent in the first half of the current financial year against 11.7 per cent assumed by the Budget for the entire 201718.
Muted Credit Growth Becoming a Risk: RBI The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Financial Stability Report for December has stated that risks to growth are emanating from the “on-going deleveraging” phenomenon in the heavily indebted parts of the corporate sector, as well as from muted credit growth in public sector banks (PSBs). The report cites that thin capital buffers of PSBs causes lower investment activity in the economy, as some major sectors have witnessed a decline in credit growth over the past two years. Industrial credit growth dipped to negative in October 2016 and only moved to nil growth in August year, according to the RBI data. In terms of the composition, engineering, infrastructure and textile have experienced negative credit growth from August 2016. This, however, recovered in August this year. Only the construction sector has had positive credit growth since the start of 2016, despite volatility in the levels of credit available. The share of gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) has declined since 2011. In 2011-12 the share of GFCF in GDP was around 34.3 per cent; this declined to 31 per cent in 2014-15; in 2016-17, it was only 29.5 per cent. Quality of government expenditure, the RBI’s report notes, has improved in recent years, despite the fact that public sector utilities (PSUs) pushing their leverage ratios in lieu of increased investments. The debtcoverage ratio (long-term debt to earnings before interest and tax) for power and manufacturing PSUs, rose at an accelerated rate from just above two in March 2008, to peak at nearly eight in March 2016. For central PSUs and oil and mining PSUs, the debt-coverage ratio remained somewhat stable between 2008 and 2017. Merchandise exports may see a recovery in growth, after experiencing negative growth for seven consecutive quarters. Exports have grown since Q3 of 2016-17, while merchandise import growth has converged according to the data, the RBI has looked at. The trade deficit has improved in Q2 2017-18 on account of higher growth in imports vis-à-vis exports. A rebound in oil prices can reduce the external sector’s resilience. Unprecedented fund flows to equity and debt mutual funds has occurred, in the wake of demonetisations’ effect of increasing the banking sectors’ liquidity position. The highest level of Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) equity flows went to Russia, followed by India, during January and October 2017. New Age Weekly
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January 7–13, 2018
McCarthyism... From Page 9 Eminent people, like Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, former PM Dr. Man Mohan Singh, former Vice President Ansari, former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who is an RSS man, to mention a few, are attacked and insulted for voicing their concerns at the deteriorating economic situation. Cow slaughter had been strategically banned. Cow vigilantes are encouraged to kill Muslims, Dalits etc on the slightest rumour of cow killings. History is rewritten in the academic text books. Freedom of all sorts, including right to live are brutally violated. Thousands of lives are taken away and crores of public money is spent for political gains. Very heinous acts are practised to eliminate political opponents and those that express alternative views. Power is the goal. On official tours spending public
money, Modi resorts to electioneering. All the d e m o c r a t i c , constitutional, educational, cultural, research, literary, i n v e s t i g a t i v e institutions are filled by the Sangh cronies. Often democracy, constitution and Parliament are heckled and insulted. This is the Indian edition of McCarthyism. Postscript: Dissent should not be confused with disloyalty. Accusation is not proof. Conviction depends upon evidence and law. We should not walk with fear and be driven by fear into an age of unreason. Our history and doctrine prove that we are not descended from timid people. McCarthyism is the root cause for these worst acts of gratuitous violence. This McCarthyism is to be fought out and buried. Otherwise lawless, non– d e m o c r a t i c ,
non-constitutional society will be the result. Chaos, dictatorship and fascism will be the forms of ruling. Now and then the courts of law, as in the case of McCarthy, had been punching the Indian McCarthyism. It became porous. Socialist alternative, with the support of all anti-McCarthys, is needed now to fill the deep pond dug.
D Raja asked directly, “How are you going to ensure that there is representation for SCs and STs and there is representation to OBCs also? Why not? Today, we are discussing about a separate Commission for OBCs. And, there is a Bill going to come. How are we going to ensure that because these are all sections which have been deprived for ages together and they need to have that? That is one thing, and you should think of that in Chapter III. The students also should have participation in the policy making bodies of these institutions.” Coming to the general issues, he said, “Finally, I come to the New Age Weekly
issue of providing education, healthcare, decent dwelling for all of our citizens and it must be the concern of any government if we say that that government is a welfare government and that state is a welfare state.” Continuing further, he said, “It must be the concern. But are we really concerned? For instance, for education, what is the spending? It is not even six per cent. The Kothari Commission way back in 1960s asked for six per cent of GDP to be spent on education. Now, we are in 2017 and we should talk of spending 12 per cent, 15 per cent on education. We are approaching the Budget Session. As a minister,
of which was labeled “McCarthyism”. Block later wrote that there was “nothing particularly ingenious about the term, which is simply used to represent a national affliction that can hardly be described in any other way. The elephant is questioning, “you mean I’m supposed to stand on that?”
CPI Gears up to Face... From Front Page communal upsurge has started. Men are killed in pretext of protecting cows, history is being rewritten, temple is being built in memory of Nathuram Godse, the assassinate of Mahatma Gandhi, even they are trying to change the Indian Constitution. We have to fight against both BJP and TMC. To fight against BJP and TMC, there is needed a larger unity. And to unite all the forces CPI should be strengthened. In this session 26
On Devastation Caused... From Page 5
Herbert Block, the editorial cartoonist, coined the term McCarthyism in this Washington Post cartoon of March 29, 1950. The cartoon depicted four leading Republicans trying to push an elephant (the traditional symbol of the Republican Party) to stand on a platform atop a teetering stack of ten tar buckets, the topmost
one should take up this issue in the Cabinet and the whole House will support. We will support you. There should be more spending on education. In fact, when we look at the education as a whole system, one should not try to make it an issue which divides people. For instance, in search of Indian mind, we cannot go back to the past. The golden age does not lie in the past. The golden age really lies in the future. That is how humanity advances and as Indians, we should also understand that we should move forward and continue to move forward towards the golden age. These are the issues that the government should address.”
Newly elected assistant secretary Swapan Banerji, fund in-charge Himanshu Das and re-elected state secretary Prabodh Panda delegates took part in discussion. On fourth day, the session was dedicated to the memory of Com. Satya Bhattacharya. Prabodh Panda replied to the discussion on the reports placed. He called to build a strong party in the state. With some annexure and amendments all the reports were passed unanimously. He pointed to the misrule of both TMC in the state and BJP in the country. A proposal on the future programmes of the party was placed and was accepted unanimously. Report of the Credential Committee was placed and accepted.
Members of the State Control Commission, delegates to the Party Congress were elected. 102 members of the state council were also elected. Prabodh Panda was re-elected state secretary, Swapan Banerji elected assistant secretary and Himanshu Das reelected fund in charge. Both were elected unanimously. The conference ended with the singing of ‘International’. The arrangements of food and lodging were unique. The volunteers, party members and supporters left no stones unturned to make the conference a success.
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January 7–13, 2018
T
he South African Communist Party on Friday welcomed the election of new SACP Executive Mayor‚ Lindiwe Tshongwe‚ and “new political leadership collective” for the Metsimaholo Municipality in the Free State. The recent by-election followed the dissolution of the council in July after it failed to table a budget for the municipality for the 2017/18 financial year‚ which was due on 30 June. The SACP contested the election under its own banner. Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo‚ national spokesperson‚ said: “The SACP is pleased that following rigorous consensus seeking consultation and discussions‚ there was convergence‚ in the best interest of the working class and community‚ to build a stable and functional municipality”. “We call on the new leadership of the municipality to build a responsive‚ efficient and accountable municipality. We equally call on our communities to be active participants and contributors in building a Metsimaholo we want. The municipal leadership should strengthen and deepen ties with the community through ongoing democratic consensusseeking consultation and delivery of services.”
SACP Mayor Elected 3, 2017 in response to the south Korean Chongwadae’s official stand toward our proposed dispatch of our delegation to the Phyongchang Olympic Games and remarks made by President Mun Jae In at the state council meeting: Kim Jong Un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, upon receiving a report that the south Korean Chongwadae officially supported and welcomed his stand toward the participation in the Phyongchang Olympic Games and the issue of the improvement of the north-south relations he clarified at the 2018 New Year Address and that at the first state council meeting on Jan. 2 President Mun Jae In personally expressed active support and instructed the relevant fields to take substantial measures, gave an affirmative and high estimation of it and expressed his welcome to such response. He instructed the United Front Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Sports Guidance Committee and relevant units
CP of Zimbabwe to contest 2018 election Zimbabwe Communist Party secretary general Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena has said it is known that the outcome of the 2018 elections will possibly be contested and there is a need for electoral reforms. “Let me just make this clear, our call for the National Economic Dialogue as the Zimbabwe Communist Party, is not based on the outcome of an election. We know that , the outcome of the 2018 elections will be contested, and that will prolong the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe. “While it is critical that we hold a free and fair elections, at the moment, the political environment does not allow such,” Mabhena said. “So, what then must we do in the next seven months? We must organise our production on farms, re-engage the International Community particularly the BRICS countries as we rebuild our economy.
Stand of DPRK upon Authorization Upon authorization of Kim Jong Un, Supreme Leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the State and the army, the chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC) of the DPRK made public the following stand of the DPRK on January
of the DPRK government to promptly take substantial measures with the south Korean authorities out of sincere stand and honest attitude, as the dispatch of our side’s delegation to the Phyongchang Olympiad and the talks between the northsouth authorities for it which he proposed at the New Year Address are the first meaningful and good step for improved north-south relations under the present situation. He also instructed to open the Panmunjom liaison channel between the north and the south from 15:00 on Jan. 3 so that the issues related to the opening of talks including the dispatch of the delegation to Phyongchang Olympic Games would be timely communicated to the south side. Whether the issue of improved northsouth relations that has been put high on the agenda is settled to comply with the expectation and desire of the whole nation or not entirely depends on how the north and south authorities handle this issue in a responsible manner, he stressed. We will try to keep close communications with the south Korean side and deal with the practical matters related to the dispatch of our delegation from sincere stand and honest attitude,
true to the intention of our supreme leadership. We once again sincerely hope that the Phyongchang Olympic Games would successfully open.
CC Tudeh Party of Iran on current developments in Iran • The regime’s plots to violently and bloodily suppress the protest movement of the frustrated people must be prevented through an organised struggle and united action. • We strongly oppose any kind of foreign intervention in Iran and believe that the right-wing and racist leaderships of Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and the criminal and reactionary regime of Saudi Arabia, are no friends to the people of Iran and certainly do not strive for freedom, independence and social justice in our homeland. • We condemn the deliberate and purposeful attempts of the mass media of imperialist states, as well as the propaganda and news outlets of the Iranian regime, to misrepresent the democratic, patriotic and virtuous characteristic of the current protest movement in Iran • The way to save Iran is not to replace one dictatorial regime with another kind of dictatorship and tyranny. Our people are striving for a national, popular and democratic republic • The struggle to reject the dictatorial regime of the Supreme Religious Leader in Iran should be progressed with careful organisation. The broad participation of manifold social layers - and particularly the workers and working people - in this struggle, in paralysing the ruling apparatus, would be a decisive factor in forcing the regime to retreat. Dear compatriots, Despite all the repressive attempts of the regime to silence the voice of protests, your heroic struggle against the ruling dictatorship has continued for the sixth day. Despite the scores of people killed and injured - and the hundreds who have been arrested by the security forces of the regime - you have proved that you will no longer put up with the circumstances imposed by the ruling dark-minded regime. The regime leaders, from Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani to Larijani, while claiming that they hear the clear voice of discontent and protest emanating from the overwhelming majority of the nation - regarding the terrible socioeconomic conditions, extensive poverty and marginalization, and lack of a bright future for the young generation (the blame for which lays squarely with these leaders and the entire Islamic regime) is responsible for - accuse the people of being foreign agents and threaten them with suppression unless they leave the scene of struggle. New Age Weekly
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January 7–13, 2018
Tripura Left Front Ensures... From Last Page member Manik Sarkar while addressing the mass gathering said, BJP is trying all its reactionary policies tying up with insurgent and reactionary forces to come to power in Tripura. He also said, the banned terrorist organization NLFT’s new leader has given an open declaration that they will be supporting reactionary forces like IPFT who are demanding a separate state and BJP is in continuous touch with IPFT to form an alliance in the upcoming assembly elections. But people of Tripura will give them a befitting reply by securing huge victory for the Left Front in the coming assembly election. He heavily criticized prime minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarat anti-people policies and termed the Gujarat model as that of the corporate houses. Addressing the gathering Forward Bloc leader.Naren Chatterjee termed BJP as Bharatiya Jhanjhatiya Party whose only policy is to divide the people of India on the basis of religion, cast and creed and to play a communal card before each and every sort of election and to its so called development model is the model of corporate barons Adani, Reliance, Baba Ramdev etc. RSP leader Manoj Bhattacharjee heavily criticized the anti-people policies of the BJP government in the centre. He said BJP and RSS may try all is nasty game plan in the coming assembly election in Tripura, but people of Tripura will give them a befitting reply by securing a historic victory for the Left Front. The mass meeting was presided by state Left Front Committee Chairman Khagen Das.
New Age Weekly
From Page 15 Maharastra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh belonging to diverse communities, like Adivasi, Muslim, Yadav, Balmiki, Kushth, Nat, Bagri, etc. In 2014, the TIME Magazine had described it as the biggest and perhaps the only colony of street performers. Puppeteers, magicians, acrobats, musicians and dancers, many Kathputli residents are welltravelled and have represented India at prestigious national and international venues. The artists of Shadipur add to the vitality of alternative modes of entertainment, and entrepreneurial ingenuity. Kathputli Colony was selected for Delhi’s first In-situ Redevelopment Project and an agreement was signed between DDA and Raheja Developers on September 4, 2009 for the purpose of development of
Provide Shelter... 5.22 hectares of the Colony. However, there have been several violations of the terms of the Agreement, as well as the provisions of the Master Plan of Delhi 2012 with respect to In-Situ Development, and the resettlement policy of DDA. These violations are listed as follows: 1. The Developer has claimed extra Commercial land (37 percent of the total land) as “free sale” component. 2. Even before making the final list of eligible families/persons public, the DDA has compelled 2800 families to move to the transit camp at Anand Parbat. 3. Though the cut-off date as per 2015 DUSIB Policy is February 14, 2015, the DDA put three different lists at the Camp
Office at Kathputli Colony. 4. On October 30, 2017 the DDA along with the builder began to demolish the remaining houses. In spite of the Delhi High Court Stay, they have completely demolished all houses. The residents were left only with the clothes which they were wearing at the time of demolition. 5. Since eviction and demolition of the colony by the DDA-Raheja nexus on October 30, 2017, the lives of the people have completely shattered. Many of them have lost their livelihood and are struggling to provide food for their children. Children are unable to attend school. Many families live in the open in the extreme cold of Delhi. Lives have also been lost due to the demolition and living exposed to the cold.
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January 7–13, 2018
Kathputli Colony as a Heritage Artists’ Village
Provide Shelter to Street Performers: NFIW
A seven-member delegation of residents and artists of Kathputli Colony, activists of National Federation of Indian Women and NAPM and renowned theatre personality Arvind Gaur led by Rajya Sabha MP D Raja, national council secretary of the Communist Party of India met prime minister Narendra Modi on December 28, 2017 and presented him with their memorandum of the following demands: * Declare and Develop Kathputli Colony as a Heritage Artists Village which, besides living areas, performance spaces and large workspaces, eateries and restaurants can be developed as a cultural hub drawing visitors and
artists both local and international. * PROVIDE houses for all the families with ‘government ID’ proof in Kathputly colony itself with cut-off date February 14, 2015. * PROTECT the Livelihood of the people by making arrangements for the accommodation of all families there itself. ENSURE the participation of the Kathputly colony people in the planning process at all levels.
About the colony Kathputli Colony is a colony of street performers in the Shadipur depot area of Delhi. Artistes have settled from 14 states including Gujarat,
On R eco Reco ecorrd... On Monday, violence broke out at an event in Pune organised to mark the 200th anniversary of the BhimaKoregaon battle, and at the time of writing, its repercussions are still being felt across Maharashtra. And now, it transpires that the leader of the Bhariapa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM), Prakash Ambedkar’s son Sujat, was given a heads-up about impending unrest that was going to be caused by two ‘rightwing groups’ from a friend, activist Malhar Takle on Saturday.
On Page 14
On January 2, 2018, the second death anniversary of Comrade A. B. Bardhan, former general secretary of the Communist Party of India and one the tallest left leaders of India was observed at Ajoy Bhavan, CPI head quarter at Delhi. Amarjeet Kaur, national Council secretary of the CPI offered floral tributes to Com. Bardhan and garlanded his portrait in the presence of comrades and friends from Delhi. Among them were Delhi state secretary Dhirendra Sharma, assistant secretary Prof Dinesh Varshney, AIBOA president S S Sisodia and others.
he told them about his caste.
at an event held here on Monday.
According to an FIR filed by Harshad Jadav, 38, he was picked up by the police after he enquired about a commotion in his area with a police constable at the scene on the night of December 28.
He said that some “irresponsible leaders” had allowed some Muslims to live in India.
The constable, identified as Vinodbhai Babubhai, attacked him with a baton
*** The government has no plans to accord minority status to linguistic minorities, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
Sujat told Firstpost, “I received a message on 30 December from Malhar in which the two right-wing [Courtesy: The Hindu] group, who would be causing trouble during the Elgar Parishad (Elgar without any provocation, leaving him with conference), were named. But with no a fractured finger, and also abused his trouble caused during the Parishad, I family members. – The Hindustan Times, thought it was a false alarm only to be January 03. proved wrong the next day.” – The First *** Post, January 03. BJP MLA Vikram Saini, who is known *** A Dalit man has alleged he was made to lick shoes of at least 15 police officials at a police station in Ahmedabad after
“During partition, due to them (Muslims), the Hindus are facing problem in the country. If they (Muslims) had not stopped in India, property of crores would be of the Hindus,” Saini claimed. – The Asian Age, January 03.
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi stated this in a written reply. To a query whether the government has any plan to give minority status to linguistic minorities, Mr Naqvi replied, “No. Madam”.
for making controversial statements, has claimed that India is a country for the Hindus as it is known as ‘Hindustan’.
To another query, he said that the central government has declared six communities as minorities at national level under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992. – ndtv.com, January 04.
Khatauli MLA Saini made the statement
— Compiled by C Adhikesavan New Age Weekly
January 7–13, 2018 Delhi Postal Regd. No.DL(C)-01/1274/2018-20 Licenced to Post without Pre-payment No.U-(C)-47/2015-2017 (R.N.I.No.539/57) Posted in NDPSO, Friday & Saturday Date of Publication: 05/01/2018
16 16 Page
New Age, January 7–13, 2018
Tripura Left Front Ensures Victory in 8th Term Bikramjit Sengupta AGARTALA: The state of Tripura witnessed a historic mass meeting of Left Front in the capital city of Agartala at Astabal ground on December 31, 2017. Thousands of Left Front workers, supporters, sympathizers gathered in the Astabal ground on the noon of December 31, and gave a befitting reply to all the reactionary communal forces led by the BJPRSS combine. Left Front here is confident to retain power for the 8th term too. The massive public meeting was addressed by national council secretary of the Communist Party of India and Rajya Sabha MP D Raja, CPI(M) general secretray Sitaram Yechury, chief minister and CPI(M) Politbureau member Manik Sarkar, Forward Bloc leader Naren Chatterjee, RSP leader Manoj Bhattacharjee, CPI(M) Tripura state
secretray Bijan Dhar, CPI(M) central committee leader Aghore Debbarma, and Rama Das. Addressing the mammoth gathering, D Raja lambasted the communal forces led by RSS and its political wing BJP terming them as fascist forces. The CPI leader said, Tripura is source of inspiration for the whole country especially for the Left in India and this gathering proves Left Front is determined to retain power for the 8th
CPI national council secretary D Raja MP addressing the rally term. He said, before coming to power prime minister Narendra Modi had said he was the slave of people of India but actually in reality the present prime minister is the slave of the corporate Adani, Reliance etc. He further said prime minister Narendra Modi should come to Tripura and learn what is “Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas” policy from the
government of Tripura. He lambasted the communal, divisive policy of RSS and its attack on adivasis, minorities and dalits. He urged the people of Tripura and the Left Front workers to give a befitting reply to the BJP by securing a historic victory of Left Front in the coming Assembly election. Addressing the mass rally CPI(M) general
secretary Sitaram Yechury heavily criticized the RSS-BJP communal game and its policy of dividing the country on the basis of religion, cast and creed. He observed that the mammoth gathering proves Left Front is sure to retain power for the 8th term with much more votes of the people. Chief Minister and CPI(M) Polibureau On Page 14
BJP Torn in Inner Strife Inner struggle in the Delhi BJP is coming to the fore. Local leaders and workers are up in arms against the imported party president Manoj Tiwari, who in the aftermath of the Delhi civic polls assumed that he was the person who led the party to victory forgetting that it was the poor shape of the opposition, which could not muster a serious challenge to the ruling dispensation. The BJP played all the tricks to decieve the voters of the city promising moon and to play the card well it denied the tickets to all the sitting councilors of the three civic bodies, where it was in power. On the plank of a new civic administration, it went to the polls and won in all the three civic bodies in the capital. After assuming power, it shelved all the plans for providing better civic amenities to the citizens of the city- it was an open betrayal by the leadership of the BJP and the dirty Yamuna is flowing as usual- no visual change and the services have worsen since then- the EDMC witnessed unprecedented strike by the SAFAI KARMCHARIS over non payment monthly salaries- the NDMC and EDMC both are
S. K. Mittal in the red as the staff of these corporations have not been paid their salaries since October 2017 to date and the employees are in great distress as they live on salaries month to month. The councilors are enjoying all the enhanced benefits of office. The Delhi government is charging the civic bodies with maladministration and demanding an audit over the expenditure. It is withholding the grant to them on this or that pretext. The city is in mess and although there are agencies to look after Delhi, the central home ministry, the Delhi government and the civic corporations, all the bodies shifting blames and the city has turned into a vast GHETTO. It’s a failed city. Unauthorised construction, unplanned illegal colonies, misuse of residential properties into commercial, the menace of street hawkers and beggers. As per police some 50,000 children are being used by the gangs to beg on the city streets, even in the odd hours of the night. Schools for all children have become joke. The PM talks big, in LADKIYAN PAHADO crores of rupees are spent on ads
showing big cut outs of MODI- but reality is otherwise. All the pro-poor schemes are on papers, which never saw the day light. It is the biggest fraud on the people, when foreign tourist visit the historic Red fort and Jama Masjid, scores of children follow their buses for alms. WHAT A BIG COUNTRY, but to the RSS it is a big country with very rich traditions- the land of HINDUTVA. Delhi has become a paradise for lootersa big money is collected by the politicians and the officers in co-operation with each other from UNAUTORISED ACTIVITIES and the city is growing crossing all borders without the infrastructure- traffic jams has become the order of the day and the civic administration is sleeping. The local BJP LEADERSHIP is in arms at the abject failure of its city president, the election of 2019 is fast approaching and the party has no credible account – in 2014 it swept all the seven parliamentary seats from the Capital- but this time it may secure a big ZERO as per traditions of the ‘Delhiwalas’. Delhi is a failed city under the NDA.
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[email protected] Layout: JANARDANAN. R New Age Weekly
