A wonderful statement has been issued by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee that there will be no price increase due to the increase in the Customs and Service Tax etc. From the past experience and also theoretically, common people have understood how this will affect the price rise. Now the Government is trying to sell its anti-people policies by fraud also. Wonderful!

With out any iota of doubt, it can be seen that the budget is a corporate-oriented budget. It is against the common people. One need not  go anywhere to find this simple truth; Only see which are the items going to be costly as per the new budget presented by Pranab Mukherjee Finance Minister ably guided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Dy. Chairman, Planning Commission, Ahluwalia.

For the following the cost/price will increase:

Petroleum Products, Cement, bicycle, Hotel food, Gold Jewellery, Gold coins, Platinum, Diamonds, Computers, Two-wheelers, Branded dresses, refrigerator, A/C, Washing machine, Soap,tobacco products like cigarette and Beedi etc.  These are all mainly used by the common people including the middle class.

Not even a single demand raised by the 11 central trade unions in the successful 28th February Strike has been accepted by the Government and did not reflect in the budget proposals.

There is no other way but to continue the struggle against the anti-pepole proposals in the budget.

The Budget 2012-13 is a serious attack on the common people and the working class. The Left and other opposition parties have been demanding for a more poor-oriented budget so that the common people will get some relief from the high-rocketting prices of vegetables and other essential commodities. But the Government is having other priorities. They want the ordinary persons to be taxed more and the corporates less on the US model. Corporates are be given subsidies and subsidies for the common people are reduced. A look in to the following proposals clearly reveals the agenda of the UPA government. 

‘Outlining its intention of cutting down the ballooning subsidy bill and bringing it under 2 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, the Government pegged the subsidy for food, fuel and fertiliser subsidies for 2012-13 at over Rs 1.79 lakh crore, nearly 14 per cent lower than the revised estimates for the current fiscal.

According to the Budget proposals, the government’s subsidy bill on food, petroleum and fertilisers is estimated at Rs 1,79,554 crore for the 2012-13 fiscal as against Rs. 2,08,503 crore in the revised estimates for this fiscal. Of this, Rs. 75,000 crore has been provided for food, Rs. 61,000 crore for fertilizer and around Rs. 40,000 crore for petroleum subsidy.

Interestingly, the revised estimate for this fiscal is higher by 55 per cent compared to the budget estimate of nearly Rs. 1,34,211 crore. The oil subsidy, which is given to state-run oil marketing firms, such as Indian Oil Corporation, BPCL and HPCL, for selling diesel, domestic LPG to households and kerosene through the PDS system, below cost, is estimated lower at Rs. 43,580 crore in 2012-13, compared to Rs. 68,481 crore in this fiscal.

The government’s food subsidy, given towards running the public distribution system is estimated to marginally rise to Rs. 75,000 crore the next fiscal from Rs. 72,823 crore in 2011-12. The fertiliser subsidy is also pegged lower at Rs. 60,974 crore, as against Rs 67,199 crore in the current fiscal. Under the fertiliser subsidy, the government would provide Rs. 13,398 crore for imported urea, Rs. 19,000 crore for indigenous (urea) fertilisers, and Rs. 28,576 crore for the sale of decontrolled fertilisers (DAP, MOP and complexes) at a subsidised rate to farmers.

The Finance Minister said he would endeavour to restrict the expenditure on Central subsidies to under two per cent of the GDP in 2012-13 and subsequently, further down to 1.75 per cent of the GDP.’

It is clear that the concern of the UPA II government is for the corporates and big business and not the common people who brought it in to power. The Congress  has seen the wrath of the people in the last assembly elections, where congress leaders lost even in the hereditary constituencies of its top most leaders  Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. But it has not learnt any  lessons from this defeat.

Oppose and defeat the anti-people measures.

New Delhi, March 16: The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The CPI(M) considers that the Union Budget 2012-2013 is a regressive budget which will result in pushing up prices and imposing greater burdens on the working people. The bias towards the corporates and the rich in this budget is seen from the fact that while the direct taxes being levied from the rich will result in a loss of 4500 crores rupees, that from indirect taxes, that is through the increase in across the board service and excise duties, is expected to yield a gain of 45,940 crores. While the CPI(M) welcomes taxes on luxury items, it strongly opposes the reliance on indirect taxes for revenue mobilization as this will lead to a cascading impact pushing up prices across the board.
The CPI(M) also opposes the cut in subsidies  fuel to as much as 25,000 crore rupees. This would inevitably lead to further hikes in fuel prices. The cut in subsidies to fertilizers by 6000 crore rupees will also lead to further price rise of fertilizers which have already imposed unbearable burdens on farmers.
The Governments concerns about cutting subsidies in the name of controlling the fiscal deficit are hypocritical to say the least. There is a huge amount of 5.3 lakh crores revenue foregone in 2011-2012, out of which over rupees fifty thousand crores were tax concessions to corporates. There has been a shortfall of Rs. 30,000 crore in gross tax revenue because vis a vis the budget estimates mainly on account of slack collection from corporates.
At the same time the budget gives a slew of concessions to investments in the stock markets. At a time when globally Governments are trying to control the volatility in stock markets by a tax regime against speculation, the budget cuts the STT (security transactions tax) by 25 per cent and a new tax exemption has been announced to encourage retail stock market investors. This has come at a time when the EPF interest rate has been slashed from 9.5% to 8.25%. The requirement for a capital gains tax to prevent speculation has again been ignored by the Government.
As far as the people are concerned, the claims of added allocations ring hollow because of the dismal record of actual expenditures. the Government may give any figure as the budget estimate but how much does it actually spend of that estimate. In the last year in most Ministries there has been a shameful shortfall in actual expenditures. Crucial programmes like MNREGA have seen a huge shortfall of over 9000 crores in the last year, the gap between the budget estimate and the revised estimate. Similarly the gender budget saw a shortfall of 1200 crores in actual expenditures. This is also an undeclared method of controlling the deficit.
Given the inflation factor the allocations for most programmes are in any case inadequate. For example the record as far as allocations for Scheduled caste Sub Component Plan and Scheduled tribe sub-plan though increased are still far below the required amount of 16.5 per cent and 8.2 per cent of the Plan expenditure and in fact is even lower last year. It is only 7 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.
This budget fails to adequately step up public expenditure to reverse the growth slow down. The sharp cuts in fuel and fertiliser subsidy and across the board hikes in indirect tax rates will also fuel inflation further.
The CPI(M) calls upon the people to oppose the Budget proposals.

Yesterday I got the opportunity to visit the Exhibition arranged in connection with the ensuing 20^th Party Conference of the CPI (M) to be held at Calicut from 4^th to 9^th April 2012. There is still more than 15 days for the Congress, but the exhibition was inaugurated on 5^th March itself, by Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the party.  I was shown the exhibition and explained by Comrades M.P.Kunhanandan, M.V.Sadanandan, M.K.Prabhakaran, Jayarajan, Viswanathan, Purushothaman and other comrades from AIBDPA/ BSNLEU, who are also the office-bearers of the Exhibition Committee.

The exhibition is named that “Marxism is Right” and have almost a few acre of space well arranged to suit the same. It is put in separate sections – the great philosophers like Karl Marx and Engels with their sayings, that of V.I.Lenin and the formation of USSR and its unprecedented growth and the International Communist movement etc. The situation and growth of socialist countries like China, Vietnam, Cuba, S.Africa etc. are pictured. The growth of socialist and left of central governments in the Latin American countries are also shown with vivid pictures.

There is another section showing the history of the Communist Party of India, from its formation in Tahkent in 1921 and the ups and downs and the important role played by it in the Independence struggle. The formation of the CPI(M) in 1964 and its growth are all shown with details. The formation of the Party in Kerala and the achievements of the first Communist Government under Com. EMS Namboodiripad in the 1957-59 period till it was dismissed by the Central Government etc. are also there. The various revolutionary struggles like Punnapra- Vayalar,  Onchiyam and many others are shown and explained.

The trade union struggles in the country, the agaitations against the neo-liberal policies are also there. The social movements, religious movements all have a place in the exhibition.

It took about 2-3 hours to go through the exhibition. It was a pleasant and educative visit and gave inspiration to all those who visited it. I could not visit Com. Anandakuttan, who is the master-mind and arranged the theme etc., and who has taken many months for making it such a good one. I met Com. A.K.Ramesh, Convener and conveyed my appreciation. I wrote my appreciation in the register kept for that purpose, where already many comrades have written their opinion.

As I stated earlier, it was an inspiring visit. Congratulations to the organisers!

The hikes in fares and freight charges for most commodities like coal, fertilisers, foodgrains, steel and cement, notified earlier this month, would raise prices of essential items and “adversely impact millions of rural migrant workers, employees and small entrepreneurs who have to frequently travel” thousands of kilometers from their hometowns, the CPI(M) said. The “anti-people nature” of the rail budget is “further exposed” by the announcement of adding a ‘fuel adjustment component’ to passenger fares, which implies periodic increase in rail fares in tandem with hike in fuel prices, it said. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said “a plethora of promises made in one year is forgotten the next year” and said “the silence or obfuscation of Trivedi on these promises confirms that announcements made by Mamata Banerjee as Railway Minister in 2010 and 2011 were all gimmicks and fraud on Indian people”. Maintaining that the recommendations by the Sam Pitroda committee favoured privatisation of the railways, Mr. Yechury said the British railways were privatised and re-nationalised within a few years as privatisation did not work. “The path being undertaken by the railways is a recipe for disaster,” he said, adding it was “ridiculous” that global tenders would be floated for catering services which would attract MNCs like McDonalds at the cost of Indian caterers. Terming the budget as “anti-people”, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said it “hid more than it revealed” as the Railway Minister has not given actual figures or percentage the hike.(Courtsey: Ganashakti)

The Parliament starts its budget session today which may continue up to 22nd May. It is a most important session, since the Annual Budget as also Railway Budget are presented in this session and adopted after serious discussion. A lot of questions will be raised by the Members, which it is the responsibility of the concerned Ministers to reply.

In the present session, there are a lot of important issues that will be raised in the Parliament by the opposition parties. Corruption charges, whether 2G scam, CWG scam, Adarsh scam, Antrix-Dewas deal or such other scams will naturally raised by the opposition. Blackmoney put in foreign banks is another issue. The government, despite getting the list of such hoarders from the foreign banks, is not prepared to release the details to the public, for reasons well known to them. There will be strong protest if the government insists on putting the PFRDA and FDI in multi-retail for adoption. The proposal for aggressive disinvestment of PSU shares will be strongly opposed by the Left and likeminded parties.

There will be an echo of the demands of the 28th February strike organised by all the central trade unions which was one of the biggest strikes in the country so far. The fluid political situation after the debacle of the Congress in the UP assembly elections will certainly have its shadow in this session which may create new political equations.

Anyhow, the budget session will be a stormy session, no doubt about it.

Caracas (Venezuela), Mar 11 : Thousands of supporters of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez held demonstrations to show support for their leader while he recovers from cancer surgery in Cuba. Demonstrators danced, beat drums and waved flags as they marched through the Venezuelan capital yesterday. Crowds of Chavez supporters also held simultaneous rallies in other cities across the country. In messages posted on Chavez’s Twitter account, the president cheered on the demonstrators. One message said, “Let’s go boys! Building the socialist homeland!” Another proclaimed, “We will live and we will win!” The president has said a February 26 surgery in Cuba removed a tumor from the same location in the pelvic region where another tumor was removed in June. Leaders of Chavez’s socialist party spoke to the crowds, expressing optimism that Chavez will fully recover and win re-election in October. They sought to counter any speculation that Chavez’s health might get in the way of his presidential bid. Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said Chavez’s political movement is firmly unified in “one single bloc and one single current.” He denounced government opponents as “fascists.” “We have one single plan … Hugo Chavez is our candidate!” El Aissami said at a rally in western Trujillo state. National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, another longtime ally of the president, led the crowd in chants of “Ooh-ah! Chavez isn’t going away!” “El Comandante is with us!” Cabello said. “There is no Plan B. … El Comandante will come and will be the candidate of the revolution!” At a rally in Caracas, Vice President Elias Jaua read aloud a message from Chavez that also appeared on Twitter, in which the president said he had a long conversation with Fidel Castro on Friday. “I told him about the youth march today, and he asked me to tell you how much he admires you. Viva Fidel!”

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on March 10-11, 2012. It has issued the following statement: (Extracts)

The Polit Bureau took stock of the current political situation. The poor performance of the Congress Party in the recent state assembly elections indicates the people’s discontent about the policies of the UPA Government at the Centre especially its failure to curb price rise and the high-level corruption. In such a situation, the Manmohan Singh government should stop adopting measures which are detrimental to the interests of the people and the country.

The people of the country are looking urgently for relief and the government should not adopt measures in the forthcoming Union Budget which would further burden the people. It should give up its efforts to allow FDI in multibrand retail trade. It should halt the disinvestment of shares in the public sector enterprises; the bungling in the disinvestment of ONGC shares underlines the folly of this approach.

The government should ensure that the Lokpal legislation is suitably amended and adopted in parliament so that an effective Lokpal is set up. The Food Security Bill should also be so amended to provide for a universal public distribution system and that which does not encroach on the rights of the states.

February 28 General Strike

The Polit Bureau congratulated the central trade unions and the working class on the success of the February 28 general strike. This strike call given by all the central trade unions unitedly is a significant protest action by the workers and employees of all industrial and services sectors. The widespread response to this strike all over the country indicates the mood of rising opposition to the neo-liberal policies of the UPA government. The CPI(M) calls upon all the class and mass organisations to intensify the struggles and the movements of the working people in defence of their rights and livelihood.

Defence of Federalism

The Polit Bureau supported the stand taken by many chief ministers against certain provisions of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) which overrides the states jurisdiction in policing, making arrests etc. Similarly, some of the state governments have correctly come out against the proposed amendment in the Railway Protection Force Act which would confer the powers of state police offices to the RPF which is violative of the constitutional division of powers between the centre and the states.

The assertion of the federal principle against the growing encroachment of the centre on states rights is a positive trend. The CPI(M) calls upon all democratic political forces to come to a broad understanding on the need to restructure centre-state relations.

2G Spectrum Judgment

The Polit Bureau strongly criticized the UPA government for filing a review petition against the Supreme Court judgment which struck down the allocation of 2G licences to 122 companies on the first come, first served basis. The historic judgment of the Court had laid down correct guidelines about allocation of scarce natural resources through the auction route or based on market evaluations.

Instead of accepting this imminently reasonable verdict, the Manmohan Singh government is seeking a review of this decision. Further it is contemplating a presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the subject. All this shows how the government is bent upon protecting vested interests and those who have indulged in wrong doing. The government wants to retain discretionary powers in the hands of the executive in the name of non-encroachment by the judiciary on the policy making powers of the executive. The stance adopted further exposes the complicity of the Manmohan Singh government in the 2G spectrum allocation. The defence put up by the government for the first come, first served policy shows that it was not just A Raja but the then finance minister and the prime minister who are Also responsible for allowing the loot of scare spectrum resources.

West Bengal Attacks

The Polit Bureau strongly condemned the continuing attacks and violence against the CPI(M) and the Left Front workers and supporters in West Bengal. The gruesome murders of CPI(M) leaders Pradip Tah and Kamal Gayen in Bardhaman district during the campaign for the February 28 general strike shows how Trinamul goons can indulge in violence with impunity. During the February 28 strike too many attacks were launched on workers in different parts of the state. The TMC-led government is condoning and justifying such attacks. Despite this violence people are coming out asserting their rights. The massive mobilisation seen at the Brigade rally at the conclusion of the state conference of the CPI(M) is a manifestation of this resistance.

Japanese praying for their departed relations during the first anniversary of the Fukushima Disaster

One year has passed after the killer earthquake and tsunami which resulted in the death of more than 19,000 people,  and destroying entire towns  in Japan resulting in shifting of lakhs of people to makeshift camps.  This was followed by the  disaster in the Fukushima Nuclear plant. It is not known how many people died, suffering from radiation etc. The information is kept secret in order to continue with nuclear tests.

The entire people of Japan observed silence and prayed today in homage to all those perished on that day. The people of the world also pays homage. I also pay homage to those who departed in the disaster and convey sympathy and condolences to the bereaved.

Nuclear power is to be used for the benefit of the society and  not for the destruction of the world by producing more and more nuclear weapons. But the super powers are so interested in keeping their military power as also making big profits from the nuclear business. People from all countries should demand strongly to put an end to the continuation of nuclear armaments. All the nuclear arms already produced should be destroyed.