CPI(ML) HOME Vol.7, No.8 19 - 25 Febraury, 2004

The Weekly News Bulletin of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)(Liberation)

U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi 110092. Tel: (91)11-22521067. Fax(91)11-22518248


In this Issue:

‘Free and Fair’ Elections: Myth and Reality

Come elections and we are assured that everything would be free and fair. But experience tells us that the polls are becoming more and more unfree and unfair.

Let us take two basic parameters to judge the relative fairness of an electoral battle – whether the oppressed poor are able to exercise their right to vote and how freely opposition parties are allowed to conduct their election campaign.

It is well known that in many parts of rural India, the oppressed poor still do not have a vote in real life. In parts of Bihar the poor had managed to win the vote through organised resistance and immense sacrifice, and the forces of feudal reaction and kulak aggression are still not able to accept this new fact of life. And more often than not, the official measures announced to in the name of ensuring free and fair elections end up serving precisely the opposite purpose.

Booths where the rural poor are expected to resist the booth looters are generally identified as ‘highly sensitive’ ones and the security forces deployed in these booths often join the booth looters to intimidate and suppress the poor. If some booths where the rural poor are still not organised enough to beat back the booth looters happen to be included in the ‘sensitive’ list, the security forces would invariably be found ‘securing’ the booths for the looters.

And now the so-called ‘rationalisation’ of booths to facilitate voting by machine has brought down the number of booths by at least a quarter, locating booths away from the hamlets of the rural poor and thus making it more difficult for the latter to exercise their rights.

The EC has sounded a welcome caution on the brazen misuse of taxpayers’ money by parties in power in the name of publicising their ‘achievements’. Parties in power must also be prevented from using the official machinery and other privileges and prerogatives enjoyed as ministers for the purpose of election campaign.

Contrary to this basic principle of fairplay, the BJP which never tires of making loud claims about transparency and probity has now requested the EC to allow LK Advani to enjoy prime ministerial benefits during the campaign period. The very post of a deputy prime minister has no constitutional sanction, and now the BJP uses this plea to demand prime ministerial treatment for its two main campaigners. One hopes the EC shows the courage to turn down this plea and enforce stricter norms to prevent the misuse of the powers of a caretaker government.

This centralised squandering of resources and misuse of governmental machinery and power is reinforced by a more widespread and decentralised application of the governmental machinery to target the opposition in general and leaders of revolutionary democratic movements in particular.

Take the case of the Koderma constituency in Jharkhand. Over the last three years the Giridih-Koderma belt has emerged as the centre of a powerful people’s movement against institutionalised corruption, rampant criminalisation and unbridled police repression. The BJP-led repressive regime tried to crush this movement by unleashing police brutalities, killing four activists and subjecting many others to incarceration, torture and harassment. But the movement has succeeded in getting the erring police officials transferred and inquiries initiated into the incidents and in one case the government has had to pay compensation to the victims’ families.

Now on the eve of the elections, the killer officials are being brought back and one Dipak Verma, notorious for his barbaric record of human rights abuses, has been posted as the SP of Giridih district to implicate and arrest CPI(ML) leaders.

It is this criminal misuse of the administration which promotes the phenomenon called criminalisation of politics. Take the case of Siwan, where the reigning MP who runs one of the most notorious crime syndicates in the country is technically in ‘jail’. The former DGP of Bihar was eased out of his post because he went to the extent of suggesting that all the cases involving the crimelord be reopened and tried outside Siwan. It is an open secret in Siwan that Sahabuddin while still being technically in ‘jail’ moves around freely in the district thanks to the active connivance of DM RK Mahajan and SP Jaglal Chaudhry.

It is not necessary for Sahabuddin to try and escape from the jail because he has much more freedom and security than his ‘free’ opponents who remain shackled in terror, insecurity and official harassment.

Will the EC show the resolve of backing its own pronouncements with some real teeth and actual implementation? Will the democratic opinion show a greater degree of alertness to oppose this state-sponsored criminalisation and intimidation and bolster the morale of the people who are fighting the grim battle for democracy on the ground?

AISA Convention against Proposed Model Act

AISA organised a national convention against the 'Model Act' proposed by the UGC for the 21st Century' in the Tagore Hall of Delhi University campus on Feb 11. It was participated by a large number of students from DU, JNU, Jamia, AMU, BHU and Allahabad University. Dr. Vishwanath Tripathi, Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Prof. Dinesh Mohan, Prof. Rizwan Kaisar and Prof. Abdul Wahid addressed the convention.

AISA also released a 'Demand-Charter of Students and Youth' for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections on this occasion. The charter condemns Vajpayee govt. for making false promises like providing employment to a crore every year, free education to girls at higher levels and raising budgetary provision for educatin to 6 % of GDP. It says that despite the hype of 'feel-good' electioneering BJP dared to attack on the students and youth as it has brought forward a Model Act meant towards commercialisation of higher education. Moreover, the so-called 'popular' interim budget of the govt. gives nothing to the student community. Students and youth feel a sense of betrayal and resentment against this govt. and AISA will express their voice in the coming Lok Sabha elections by active campaigning.

The charter demands for an active and competent National Youth Commission that can address problems like privatisation of education, fee hike, huge unemployment, etc. which is severely affecting todays students and youth, the largest population segment in the country. It also demanded to reject Model Act that follows WTO dictates and is against the interests of the nation. Demands to arrest the murderers of Chandrasekhar, Satyendra Dubey, Manju and Sarita; Against the saffronisation of education; to raise allocation on education to 10% of GDP; to hold elections in AMU, BHU and Jamia University; to accord the status of Central University to the Allahabad University; to repeal POTA; to declare America enemy no. 1 of the people of the world and to include ideology of Bhagat Singh in the syllabi to encourage the propagation of the worldview and thoughts of this great revolutionary, etc. have also been included in the charter.

Conventions in Biha

Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya addressed a cadre convention organised as preparations for the coming electoral battle in Mairwa of Siwan district on Feb 14. He called upon to take up an intensive election campaign with the slogan  'Atank-Apradh Par Chot Do - Bhakapa Maley ko Vote Do' (Strike on terror and crime - Vote for CPI(ML).

Leading Party cadres took part in this Convention in an atmosphere full of enthusiasm. Convention also discussed the situation sprang up due to exclusion of thousands of names of Party sympathisers from the voters' list by the administration which is working as cadres of the history-sheeter RJD MP Shahabuddin who is presently in jail but trying to bail himself out with the help of the state govt. It was decided to launch an agitation on this issue. Comrades Nand Kishor Prasad and Ramji Rai also addressed the Convention.

A district level cadre convention was also held in Samastipur on the same day which was addressed by Dhirendra Jha. He said that CPI and CPI(M) have made Left politics captive in the hands of the parties of the ruling class and appealed to defeat the Congress-RJD as well as NDA in the forthcoming elections.

A 'Samajik Parivartan Sammelan' was also organised in Daudnagar of Aurangabad on Feb 15. This was Addressed by Party's State Secretary Ramjatan Sharma.


not to be fooled again

 

You die of starvation

You, burdened with debt

met with suicide deaths

You face unemployment

with industries closed

and PSUs sold-out

You lose right to strike

You may not deserve a work

or a minimum wage

You belong to dalit

or Muslim

or a weaker sex

and fell victim

No matter

feel good - feel good

 

Bush-Blair,

MNCs,

Corporate Sector,

Big houses,

Land mafia,

Scammers,

Speculators,

Criminals,

and Corruptioneers

 

All do feel good

with NDA rule.

Why not you?

 

Yet people at large feel fool

for bringing BJP to the rule

And pledge

not to be fooled again.

 


CPI(ML) Calls Upon
the Workers, Employees and all Citizens:

 

Support, Join, Succeed

 

24th February

All India General Strike

called by Central Trade Unions

and

All India Agrarian Strike

called by

AIALA

 

Safegrard the right to strike through a Bold Strike!

Say "NO" to

Sell-out of Public Sector;

Privatisation and MNC-isation;

Closure and Down-sizing;

 

Oust BJP!

 

Resist any attempt of pushing Workers and Employees behind Congress (I) and its allies !

 

Strengthen the Struggling Unity of Workers, Peasants, Employees, Students and Youth !

 

Discard Bourgeois-Landlord Parties !

Hold High the Red Flag !!

Uphold the CPI(ML)
- The party of the Revolutionary Proletariat !!!

 


Revlutionary Youth Association

(RYA)

 

All India Conference

Kodarma (Jharkhand)

21-22 February 2004

 

Rise up the Youth
of Bhagat Singh's Dream!

Oust the ruling-clique conspiring to
mortgage our motherland to
US-Imperialists!

Punish those dark forces who have made a hell of the lives and living
of our people!

Deal heavy blows to the parties in power at centre and in states
who are playing mockery
with the unemployed youth!

March on for a Revolutionary Change!

March on for a People's India!

 

Join
Revolutionary
Youth
Association

 

March to Koderma on 21 February

 

Note: Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML) will address the rally on the inaugural day.


 

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