Homage to Hugo Chavez! – CPI(M)

07 Thursday Mar 2013

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The Press Statement issued by the PB of CPI(M) on the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is given below:
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep grief at the passing away of Hugo Chavez Frías, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Chavez died after battling cancer for nearly two years.

Hugo Chavez was an epic figure who symbolized the radical transformations taking place in Latin America. He was elected for a fourth term as President just six months ago with a big margin. The Bolivarian revolutionary process which he initiated enabled Venezuela to take control of its destiny by asserting national sovereignty and control over all the vital resources of the country including oil and gas. In the one and a half decades of his presidentship, the Venezuelan people got health facilities, education and literacy as never before. Poverty was drastically reduced.

Chavez was set on taking his country towards socialism. For this, he received the mandate of the people by winning successive elections democratically.

The death of Hugo Chavez is a big blow to Venezuela and for the Left and progressive forces of Latin America and the world. But his ideas and the path that he chose for Venezuela will endure.

At this hour of grief, the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the daughters and family members of Chavez, to the entire people and government of Venezuela.

Long Live Hugo Chavez!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez passed away

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela and the revolutionary and popular leader died today at Caracas after a two years battle with cancer. he was 58. Chavez was the President of Venezuela for uniterrupted 14 years winning all the elections despite many conspiracies by the US and other imperialist countries to defeat him.He had only returned a few days back from Cuba after continued treatment for cancer. He had 4 operations for cancer in the last two years. Vice-President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela announced the death in a televised speech.”It’s a moment of deep pain,” he announced in a choking voice.
Chavez was one of the most popular leaders the world has ever seen and his death will devastate millions of his followers who adored him, his people-friendly decisions, nationalisation of MNCs including oil companies and also subsidized food and free health clinics in the country side. His death will be mourned by the entire world.
I also express my deep grief at the sad demise of this Great Socialist leader and convey heartfelt condolences to the people of Venezuela in their great loss!
Red Salute to Com. Hugo Chavez!

What is happening to KSRTC ?

05 Tuesday Mar 2013

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What is happening to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, the state government PSU? It is stated that there is huge loss every day and that more than 1000/2000 trips are being cancelled every day.
Road Transport services are a public utility service and has to run effectively. In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and A.P. states, the other three southern states, the State Road transports are stated to be running well and with profits. THen why KSRTC is in loss. It is reported that whenever LDF comes in to power KSRTC is in profit and when UDF comes it is in loss. If this is correct, there seems to be a planned move to make KSRTC a loss making PSU and close it or sell it to help the private transport companies.
The Government, the Management and the workers and their unions should sit together and find out ways and means to improve the KSRTC and strengthen it as also provide better service.

Free Roaming by October 2013 – Kapil Sibal

05 Tuesday Mar 2013

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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today said that mobile phone consumers will get Free National Roaming Facility across India by October 2013 as announced in National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012.
However Kapil Sibal could not specify the exact dates for the launch of Free National Roaming Service in India, but said that “FREE Roaming will certainly be in place by the month of October, 2013″. With this service, the roaming charges on Incoming calls are waived and mobile users in all telecom circles will be able to get FREE incoming calls while traveling to any other circles across India.

India’s National Telecom Policy 2012 was approved by the Central Government in May 2012 and under the policy, the Government had said that national roaming would be made free with the introduction of concept of “One Nation, One License” which was expected in March 2013.

However all mobile service providers (except Reliance Mobile) including leading operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular had been opposing Free roaming in the consultation process by Telecom regulator TRAI and said that it will hit their margins badly and outgoing call rates may be increased.(Press Report)
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CAG finds lapses in Rs 52,000-cr farm debt waiver scheme

05 Tuesday Mar 2013

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A report from the press is given below regarding another report of the CAG on the irregularity in implementing the farm debt waiver scheme. It exposes the claims of the government on the scheme.

New Delhi, Mar 5 : Expressing serious concern over the implementation of Rs 52,000-crore farm debt waiver scheme, government auditor CAG today said in several cases ineligible farmers were given benefit while deserving ones were left out.
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has also found instances of tampering of records and pulled up the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in the Finance Ministry for deficient monitoring of the multi-crore scheme.
“Overall, the Performa…

Red Salute to Com. N.P.Padmanabhan!

05 Tuesday Mar 2013

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Today, 5th March 2013 is the 19th death anniversary of Com. N.P.Padmanabhan, former Secretary, NFPTE and the Convener of the powerful Co-ordinating Committee of P and Unions, Kerala, for a tumultous period of more than 10 years. Meetings will be held in all centres in Kerala to pay homage to this great leader.
Conm. Padmanabhan was a charismatic and revolutionary leader. Appointed as Postal Clerk in 1945 in Calicut, within no time he became active in the union. He participated in the successful Postal Strike of 1946. After the formation of UPTW, he became an active worker of the same. When NFPTE was formed in 1954, Comrade Padmanabhan along with Coms. T.M.Janardhanan Master, Ananadan Master, K.Bhaskaran Nair and others organised it in the Malabar area. When the Kerala P and T Circle unions were formed at the Trivandrum Conference in 1961, Com.N.P. was elected as the Asst. Circle Secretary of Postal Class III Union and in 1966 Kollam Conference as the Circle Secretary. Next year at the Palakkad Conference, he was elected as the Convener of the P and T Co-ordinating Committee.
THe Historical One Day Strike of 1968 became a battle ground between the Central Government and Communist Government in Kerala.Central Government wanted all state governments to crush the 19th September 1968 strike of the Central Government employees with an iron fist using the drastic Essential Service Maintenance Act (ESMA). But the Kerala Government led by Com. E.M.S.Namboodiripad bluntly refused to implement the ESMA against the striking employees. Enraged, the Central Government was proposing to dismiss the state government. Anyhow,this did not happen. But the Indira Gandhi Government at Centre saw to that maximum victimisation was imposed on the employees of Kerala. Hundreds of criminal cases were filed, thousands of Rule-14 Charge Sheets issued, 300 workers terminated and hundreds of employees suspended.Even in 1960 strike, such victimisation did not take place.
The situation was tense. All the Circle and district leaders were either under suspension or termination. To face this brutal attack was not easy. The P and T Co-Ordinating Committee under the leadership of Com. N.P.Padmanabhan organised sustained and continuous struggles against the victimisation. It took about three years to take back all the terminated employees and to reinstate the suspended. But Com. Padmanabhan was not re-instated. He was dismissed from service.
The P and T House, the office of P and T Unions at Trivandrum was the centre point of many unions to get advice and support for their struggles. He was elected as the Secretary of the NFPTE in 1978 and shifted to New Delhi. He continued in that position till 1981.
His health started deteriorating due to the hard work and strain and went back home to Kannur in the late 1980s. He continued his activities from there. On 5th March 1994, he left us forever.
Since 1958, when I joined the P and T and got transfer to Kannur from Kottayam, he had been my leader and guide. It was under his indomitable leaderrship that we all went on in the 1960 five days strike. I had the opportunity to work with him at Trivandrum during my tenure as Circle Secretary and till his death.
Com. Padmanabhan was a real leader in all respects. The entire P and T movement and especially Kerala comrades lost a revolutionary leader in his death. His body was cremated in the Payyambalam Beach, Kannur, where a memorial is constructed for him among the memorials of leaders of the working class like Coms. A.K.Gopalan, E.K.Nayanar and others. When I went to Kannur to attend the AIBDPA All India Conference in February this year, I went there and paid my homage along with Com.P.V.Chandrasekharan, Patron of AIBDPA, A.K.Bhattacharjee, Prsident AIBDPA, K.G.Jayaraj, General secretary AIBDPA and Com. Bhaskaran AIBDPA leader at Kannur.
Red Salute to Com. N.P.Padmanabhan, the Revolutionary leader! His memory will always be with us.

End this Brutal Exploitation of Casual/Contract Labour in BSNL

04 Monday Mar 2013

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Reports are being received from many SSAs each day about the non-payment of minimum wage, non-implementation of social security measures etc. to the casual/contract labour who are engaged in BSNL.
There are many Acts of the Parliament like Minimum Wages Act, Contract Labour Act, EPF, ESI Act etc which are not implemented to these poorly paid workers. Brutal exploitation by the contractors and the management continues for years.
BSNLEU and BSNL Casual and Contract Workers Federation (BSNLCCWF) are putting maximum efforts to put an end to this exploitation and for implementation of the clear orders on wages etc. Agitations are going on in many SSAs. BSNL Corporate office is washing their hands stating that they have issued all instructions for implementation and that they are getting compliance reports from Circles/SSAs.
This situation has put the entire management in a very dark colour, exploiting or supporting exploitation. It is a shame on the top management, that while they receive very high salary from the BSNL, they refuse to pay/ refuse to ensure payment of even minimum wage fixed by the government to these poorly paid casual/contract workers.
Yes, the only way is struggle, the struggle for justice. Already through continued and sustained struggles, the workers in W.Bengal, Kolkata, T.Nadu and Kerala, to a certain extent, have achieved the demands. The struggle in other states are continuing.
Let us continue the struggle till the BSNL management opens its eye and ensure justice to the workers.Let us remove this black dot in the face of BSNL. BSNLEU and other organisations of non-executives and executives should come together to put an end to this brutal exploitation.

Recruitment in BSNL a must to revitalise the company

04 Monday Mar 2013

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As I have stated earlier, young blood and enthusiasm are always necessary for the growth and energisation of any organisation, whether company, union, administration or any other organisation.
The fact that there has been no recruitment worth its name in BSNL, except in the cadres of JTO and TTA, for about 25 years (both during DOT and BSNL) has made the company with the staff having an average age of more than 45 years. It may become over 50 within another few years, if no recruitement takes place.
The young people are energetic, capable of using new technology, have high ideological values and also is much suited to the new atmosphere of competition. New recruitment can not be avoided if you want the company to survive.That is why recruitment is being done in LIC, Postal, Income Tax and all PSUs, eventhough a small %. This should be done in BSNL also.
The first step can be to recruit those waiting for Compassionate Ground Appointments. There are about 2,000 applications waiting for the last years.These applicants can be given job without any delay. Secondly, there are about 4,000 casual labours who are engaged by DOT/BSNL for the last 15 to 25 years. Many of them are highly/adequately qualified. Third will be by regularising the contrat workers. Fourth will be by new recruitement from high level management personnel for top management.
After the above process is over, recruitment could be done from outside, while continuing the present recruitment in the cadres of JTO, TTA etc.
These actions will certainly improve the working of the company and improve efficiency and its image.

60 years after Stalin

03 Sunday Mar 2013

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Joseph Stalin, the General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party and the Premier of USSR expired on 5th March 1953. He made USSR a military and economic force and had a prominent role in the defeat of Hitler and end to Fascism in the II World War ( 1941-45).
He was depicted as dictator and after his death, the next Secretary of the Party, Nikita Krushchew, attacked him on his policies and attacks on his detractors.
Whatever be his dictactorial actions, nobody can decimate his leadership in making the USSR a great force in military, science and also developmenmt.
USSR stands collapsed more than 20 years back and the bulwark against imperialism weakened. But the same people who has thrown out communism in Russia, seems to be defending the achievements that communism has brought to the country.

Four Crore Signatures Submitted to PM by Left Parties

03 Sunday Mar 2013

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LEADERS of the Left parties — the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the All India Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party — met the prime minister on February 26 and submitted a memorandum urging the government to take immediate measures to bring a food security legislation in this budget session of parliament, which would provide for a universal public distribution system and ensure 35 kg of foodgrains at not more than Rs 2 per kg. They also urged an end to the cash transfer scheme for the public distribution system.

The Left parties had conducted a signature campaign throughout the country and had collected over four crore signatures. Papers carrying these signatures were also delivered at the prime minister’s office.

Those who met the prime minister were Prakash Karat, S Sudhakar Reddy, Debabrata Biswas, T J Chandrachoodan (general secretaries of the CPI(M), CPI, AIFB and RSP respectively), Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat (members of the CPI(M) Polit Bureau), D Raja (leader of the CPI group in Rajya Sabha and Abani Roy (leader, RSP).