Since the start of the so called ‘telecom revolution’ in the 1990s, all the decisions taken by the government have been in support of the private companies. From allotting the mobile licences only to the private companies leaving aside the DOT and also MTNL, changing the Licence charges to the Revenue Sharing System to the present allotment of 3G and BWA Spectrum, the Government always helped the private companies overtly and covertly. 2G allotment scam is only a small part of it.
Now the private companies Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have been caught illegally providing 3G services in circles where they have not got licence. As per the licence agreement, any company can give 3G service only in those circles where it had got the 3G licence. But the above three companies made a cartel, auctioned for separate circles by paying less amount than PAN India and now is providing services all over India.
TRAI has stated that this is against the licence terms. DOT has also stated that this is illegal. But why no action is taken against these erring companies? It means that the interests of the private companies are more important to the government than implementing the laws of the land! This has to be strongly protested, exposed and defeated.

After it has become crystal clear to every body that the Air India / Indian Airlines have come down to the present position only due to the wrong and anti-PSU policy of the government and the then Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, the Government is making announcements every day that it is making efforts to bail out the company.
In today’s newspapers it is reported that the Group of Ministers (GoM) have recommended an amount of Rs.25,000 crores to Air India to rejuvenate it. The amount is to be paid within the next ten years. It means about Rs. 2,500 crores only in a year. Air India has a debt of about Rs. 42,350 crores including the Air Craft purchasing loans, payment to be made to the oil companies, to the air-port operators etc. And the Government is only thinking of giving a pittance of Rs 2,500 crore!
At the same time, the government is continuing to decimate the Air India, even stripping of its profitable routes. The latest report is that more than five highly profitable route of Air India from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochin to foreign destinations, including Gulf countries, are going to be allotted to private airlines. This is the real policy of the government.
Whether the new Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi is also continuing the line of Praful Patel to decimate the Air India, the government’s own company?

According to the report of the National Crime Records Bureau on ‘Accident Deaths and Suicides in India’, it is stated that 2,56,913 farmers committed suicide during the period of 16 years from 1995 to 2010; on an average more than 16,000 suicides in a year.It means 43 suicides in a day! Maharashtra leads the suicides with more than 50,000 followed by Karnataka, A.P., M.P. and Chhattisgarh, which in total counts to 2/3 of the total suicides in the country.
Before and immediately after Independence the Congress had declared about implementation of land reforms. But it utterly failed to implement any land reforms worth its name. Wherever reforms have been introduced by the Congress, opportunity was given to the big landlords and zamindars to keep all their lands in their hands by dubious ways. It was the Kerala Government under the EMS Ministry in 1957 which boldly introduced the land reforms which changed the entire situation in the state. Through an advance Ordinace, all land transactions were stopped till the land reforms were completed. In W.Bengal also later, the Left Front Government introduced the Land Reforms. It is to be noted that in the last LDF rule in Kerala, an end could be put to the farmers’ suicides.
What actually has happened in the country is a sorry state of affairs. The lands of the farmers were confiscated by the big land owners and zamindars forcibly and by cheating. Since there is no effective arrangement for giving loans to the farmers, they had to depend upon the private bankers and greedy sharks who grabbed the land when the farmers could not repay the loans. The governments did not do any thing to help the farmers. The present situation is a shame on the governments’ policy.
The farmer who tills the land and produce the food for the country is compelled to leave his family and life itself! How cruel. The struggle of the peasants and the agricultural workers have to be supported by all for a better future for the country itself.

Despite the fact, that the thousands of casual and contract labour engaged in BSNL are being ruthlessly explloited and all statutory rights denied, is well known to the Government, DOT, Labour Department and BSNL top management, why it is not corrected and genuine issues of the workers not settled?
This, to say the least is most shameful and condemnable.
As the Prsident of the BSNL Casual and Contract Workers Federation, I have approached the Prime Minister, Communication Minister, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Chief Labour Commissioner, Secretary DOT, CMD BSNL and all others connected with the issues. All has assured to do justice to the workers. Government has issued orders on minimum wages, BSNL has endorsed it, BSNL has issued orders for implementation of social security benefits to the casual and contract workers etc. etc. But they are not implemented at least in 90% of the places.
I have written to the Prime minister, Communications Minister, Labour Minister, Chief Labour Commissioner, Secretary DOT and CMD BSNL again. It is their responsiblity to get implemented their own orders by the field level officers and the contractors. Workers are on struggle in many places. If the authorities keep silence, the struggles will be intensified.

Probably, the Indian National Congress formed on 28th October 1885, is the first political party formed in India. Formed under the leadership of Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Surendranath Banerjee, Mahadev Govinda Ranade and other prominent personalities, it grew in to a force gradually. It led the Independance struggle. Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders strengthened it along with the strengthening of the Independance struggle.
After 126 years since its formation, the present ruling Congress is mired in Corruption charges and lack of governance. It has almost forgotten all the high ideals and socialist concepts it preached before Indpendance and immediately after. Even after 60 years of Independence, the country have more than 50% illiterates, 76% poor and what not? Of course the millionaires and billionaires have grown and increased by leaps and bounds.
A change from the present is required. Everybody will agree.

Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian again, according to the Forbes’ List published now. He is valued of Rs. $ 22.6 Billion. Next richest are are Laksmi Mittal( $ 19.2 billion), Azim Premji ( $ 13 biilion) Ruia ($ 10.2 billion) Jindal ($ 9.5 billion), Sunil Mittal($ 8.8 billion), Gautam Adani ($ 8.2 billion), Kumar Mangalam Birla ($ 7.7 billion) Palonji Mistry($ 7.6 billion) and Adi Godrej( $ 6.8 billion). Anil Ambani who has got only $ 5.9 billion is not in the first ten in the list.
However one interesting fact is that all these billionaires have lost from last year. It is stated that the down fall has been due to the mega scams and corruption charges in the country in which many corporate are also involved.

But a question need be answered by the Government?
Can any Indian become this rich if he abides by all the rules of the land? If he does not get the patronage of the ruling politicians? Without avoiding the due taxes? Without giving bribes?

As per reports in the Business Line in its first page today, BSNL Website was hacked by Pakistan Hackers at 18.00 hours on 26th October and it was rectified at 1400 hours on 27th. BSNL is reported to have claimed that no data has been lost.
The message was reported as posted in the BSNL Website as follows: ” Haxtd by KhantastiC haXor – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. – India’s No. 1 Telecom Company …. This is now just a Warning!!”
I contacted one or two top officers in BSNL, but could not get any confirmation.
If it was hacked, then it is very serious. What is the security of the various data and other information in the web? I think the BSNL should issue a clarification in the matter to the media so that there will be no misunderstanding among the public and the workers.

The Joint Action Committee of BSNL Associations / Unions of Executives and Non-Executives are meeting on 31st October to plan out for the successful organisation of the 15th November Strike against proposed VRS, denial of bonus, withdrawal of medical allowance, LTC etc. as also demanding immediate action by the management to procure mobile equipments, modem etc. The financial commitments made to the BSNL at the time of corporatisation like payment of ADC, Licence fee reimbursement, grant from USO Fund etc. should be restored.
All efforts are made to ensure the success of the one day strike.

The 25th November Parliament March is going to be participated by thousands and thousands of workers and Pensioners. The Central / State Government, Defence, Railway, BSNL and other sections of workers and Pensioners are participating in the march. Memorandum signed by lakhs of workers demanding to drop the anti-workers will be submitted to the Prime Minister. Hectic preparations are going to make the programme a great success.
BSNLEU and AIBDPA members are also expected to participate in large numbers. It is a fight against the injustice and attack on right of the workers for pension. Participate in the programme.