Category Archives: General

‘The Saga of Jailed Maruti Suzuki Workers’ – A must read article in ‘Hindu’

20 Sunday Dec 2015

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An article on ‘The saga of jailed Maruti Suzuki Workers’ published in Hindu Daily in two installments on 19th and 20th December 2015 written by Shri G.Sampath shows how the corporate Suzuki and the Haryana Government have been victimising and brutally harassing the Maruti workers. 147 workers of Maruti-Suzuki have been jailed for the last three and half years for an incident happened in the factory on 18th July 2012 in which a manager died and a few other executives were injured. They are all charged with murder and about 20 sections of IPC. Some of them are given bail a few months back, but others are still in jail. These 147 workers are in jail for one man’s alleged murder. Those who have been granted bail could not get a job anywhere because of the court case.
The Haryana Government has engaged Supreme Court Senior Advocate K.T.S.Tulsi as Public Prosecutor spending more than Rs.5.5 crore on advocate fee alone. All this to prosecute the poor workers.
The article is worth reading. It is a case where the mighty Suzuki Management and the Haryana Government is making a war on the workers.

The Central Trade Unions should take up the issue at the National level and expose the savagery that is being done against the workers. This savage, brutal victimisation should be stopped.

India is at 130th rank in World Human Development Index

15 Tuesday Dec 2015

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Despite 68 years after Independence, India is at 130th rank among 188 countries in Human Development Index. HDI is a summary measure to assess long term progress in three basic dimensions of human development – a long healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

Norway, Australia and Switzerland are the first three in ranks. The rank of Bangla Desh and Pakistan, our neighbors, are 142 and 147 respectively. Among BRICS nations ie. Brazil, Russia, India, China and S.Africa – India is in the lowest position.

Crores of Indians have no dwellings on their own and are staying in open spaces. Crores of children do not get education. There are again crores who can not have two meals a day. Lakhs of crores of rupees are given as subsidy to the corporates and big business. Ministers and high level people are involved in corruption of thousands of crores of rupees. Black money of lakhs of crores of rupees are still not confiscated. A parallel economy is allowed to function. But neither the Congress nor the BJP, which are the ruling parties for more than six decades do not have time to think about the condition of the poor. They should be kicked out for ignoring the conditions of the poor in this country.

Do not hand over Ahmedabad, Jaipur Airports to MNCs

14 Monday Dec 2015

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New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) The CPI(M) has said the Centre’s decision to handover management and operation of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports to Singapore’s Changi Airport group was against a Parliamentary panel’s recommendations.
It has demanded that the details of an MoU signed between the AAI and Singapore Corporation Enterprise (SCE) be made public.
Earlier, the Congress had described as “surpising and shocking” the decision to open up the two government-run airports to the foreign player.
“I was the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, which submitted a report that was accepted by Parliament…..that except for joint venture in completely Greenfield airports, no management of the airports or even joint venture with foreign airport authorities or foreign players in the aviation field should be permitted. This was the opposition then and it’s the opposition now,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told PTI.(PTI)

Many companies, including telecom, don’t implement CSR

14 Monday Dec 2015

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As per government orders, companies are to spend 2% of their profit towards Corporate Social responsibility(CSR). But most of the companies, except very few, have not implemented this order. In the telecom sector also, the situation is not different. Idea Cellular has not spent even a single paise towards CSR. Bharti Airtel has spent only 21% of what is required.

The recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee that these defaulting companies should be penalised is timely. While thousands of crores of rupees are profited by these companies, they are reluctant even to spend 2% of that for the welfare of the people. They should be severely punished for their anti-social attitude and violation of law.

This is India – Two strange incidents

13 Sunday Dec 2015

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In today’s ‘Sunday Times’ two incidents have been published which show how anything can happen in ‘Incredible India’:

1. In the examination for BEd. in the BR Ambedkar Anniversity in Agra, more than 20,000 passed, while the applicants were only 12,097. Fortunately, before issuing the results, this anomaly was found. It is not known who are those passed without applications?

2. In the Park Street Rape Case in W.Bengal, the Public Prosecutor, Ms. Sarbani Roy requested to the court that punishments to the three convicts in the case be ket to the minimum. The Public Prosecutor has since been suspended.

CPI(M) sweeps Tripura Elections

12 Saturday Dec 2015

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Agartala, Dec 12 The ruling Left Front in Tripura has won a landslide victory in the election to 20 civic bodies in the state, including the 49-member Agartala Municipal Corporation.
The CPI-M-led LF bagged 45 out of the 49 wards of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) leaving only four to opposition Congress, member secretary to the state election commission, Tamal Mazumder said.
In the civic polls held on December 9, the LF candidates secured absolute majority in 13 municipal councils and six nagar panchayats in the state, he said.
Altogether, elections were held in 310 seats in 20 civic bodies in which Left Front candidates won 291 and the opposition Congress secured 13 seats and BJP just 4. The rest two were won by independent candidates.
This was the first time that BJP won seats in civic bodies.
Of the 291 seats won by LF candidates CPI-M won 279, CPI five, RSP 6 and Forward Bloc just one seat.
Convener of Left Front Committee and CPI-M central committee member Khagen Das congratulated the people of the state for LF’s thumping majority.
“It is people’s verdict for Left Front’s good governance and relentless endevour for peace, tranquility and development,” he said.(PTI)

Pollution Control – Delhi Government takes initiatives

12 Saturday Dec 2015

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Delhi is the most polluted city in the world. It has got 24 times pollution more than normal. People are suffering from many ailments due to the pollution.
Delhi Government has started some action to reduce the pollution level. It is bringing an odd-even number system, according to which cars with odd and even numbers are allowed to ply only on odd and even days respectively with effect from 1st January 2015 on experimental basis. The Green Tribunal has directed the government not to give registration to diesel cars and not to allow diesel cars which have completed 10 years. The schools are closed for 15 days from 1st January 2015.
To what extent these will reduce pollution is yet to be seen. Much more is required to reduce the pollution in the capital city.

Review the right to contest – CPI(M)

10 Thursday Dec 2015

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New Delhi, December 10: The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) considers the latest ruling of the Supreme Court upholding minimum education qualifications as a prerequisite for candidates contesting panchayat polls in Haryana as being violative of the fundamental feature of universal suffrage guaranteed to all citizens of India by the Indian Constitution.

Universal suffrage is not limited only to the right to vote.  All those who have the right to vote also automatically have the right to contest.  Such restrictions on the right to contest are against the spirit of the constitutional right of universal suffrage and the principle of equality before law.

By setting such preconditions for contesting panchayat and local bodies elections, a large section of the rural poor have been excluded from their basic right to be elected representatives.

At the beginning of the current winter session, the Indian Parliament reaffirmed  its resolve to implement our Constitution and the Central government has declared a new observance every year of the Constitution Day on November 26.

The PB of the CPI(M) considers that this present ruling should be reviewed by the full Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.

EPFO market investment has no government guarantee – Labour Minister

10 Thursday Dec 2015

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Labour Minister Bandaru Dattathreya stated in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha yesterday, 9th December 2015, that there is no government guarantee for the stock investments being made by the EPFO. The reply stated that ” The government has not provided any guarantee for such investments in the stock market as investment in such instruments are subject to market movements”.

This makes clear what the employees were telling all along. There is no guarantee for the hard earned Provident Funds of the workers that is put in the stock market by the EPFO. The unions are completely opposed to put the Provident Fund amounts in the stock market. The Central Trade Unions should compel the EPFO  to drop its decision to invest in stock markets.

There is every justification for increasing the interest rate of EPF since the earnings have increased. Last year, the interest was 8.75%. The unions have demanded for higher interest and according to the Labour minister, there is chance for an increase. The EPFO should announce the increase.