In this Issue
Roll Back Prices, Reverse Policies
The UPA government has just completed two years in power. If anybody was expecting a commemorative gift from the government on this occasion, the government has not refused to oblige. The people of India have been duly blessed with yet another hike in the prices of petrol and diesel. Petrol prices have gone up by Rs. 4 a litre and diesel by Rs. 2. This increase has come at a time when prices of almost all food components are also on the rise in the open market. The rise in fuel prices and, consequently in fright charges, will further reinforce this inflationary trend and make household budgets go haywire. To make matters worse for the poor, the government has also proposed a rise in prices as well as reduction in quantum of food items supplied through the shrinking public distribution system.
If the sharp and continuing decline in Sensex has rung the alarm bell for small investors, including large sections of the middle classes, the fate of whose hard-earned savings and pensions is increasingly linked to the share market, the concerted hike in prices of essential commodities signifies a veritable state-sponsored economic assault on the very existence of the aam aadmi. True to the market mantra of ‘buy one, get one free', the UPA has however chosen to combine this economic assault with some free political entertainment. While the government is pushing prices up, the demand for rollback is being raised not only by the rightwing opposition, or the Left friends and supporters of the government, but also by parties that are running the governmental show.
During the NDA years we saw some Sangh outfits try and play an oppositional card against certain policies of the NDA government. Over the last two years, we have seen the Left supporters of the UPA voicing occasional opposition to some of the UPA's policies. Now the Congress has begun perfecting this art in the form of Sonia Gandhi cautioning the government against the likely impact of some of its steps like Manmohan Singh's move to sign free trade agreements with some ASEAN countries. On the petro-price front, while there is a growing demand for reduction in excise duties on prices of petrol and diesel to compensate for the latest rise, the Congress has begun pressurising state governments to reduce the sales tax. Some Congress-led governments have already announced partial cutbacks in sales tax.
It is true that taxes account for a huge part of the price that the consumer has to pay for buying petrol and diesel. Without taxes, prices could nearly be half of what they are now. Local taxes too play a significant role in determining the actual price that the consumer has to pay. One litre of diesel for example costs seven rupees more in Mumbai than in Delhi . The demand for rationalisation and reduction of these taxes to reduce the price burden on the consumer is therefore quite pertinent. Such a rationalisation should involve a reduction of excise duty as well as sales tax, and both central and state governments must be forced to do their bits in this regard.
Rationalisation of oil-related taxes however involves much more than a reduction in excise duties and sales taxes. We must differentiate among various classes and categories of oil consumers. Oil consumed by public transport systems and for meeting the energy requirements of agriculture must be treated separately from the oil consumed by the urban elite and affluent sections with a higher capacity to pay. Of late, there has been a massive expansion of the corporate, bureaucratic and elitist fleet of luxury vehicles. If we have to import more oil to meet the consumption requirement of these sections, the burden must be fixed squarely on such rich and reckless consumers and not transferred to the urban and rural poor who are currently being forced to bear the biggest brunt of price hikes. The tax structure must be redesigned and reoriented in favour of public transport and mass consumption and heavier duties must be imposed on luxury private transport and travel facilities. The UPA's latest budget has, by contrast, cheapened foreign cars.
Currently, we depend a lot on imports to meet our oil requirement. What is the government doing to increase oil production within the country? The policies of liberalisation and privatisation have provided private players like the Ambanis with a bigger control over India 's oil economy. In some cases, foreign companies with no proven expertise are also being preferred to the public sector ONGC or Hindustan Petroleum. This policy direction is detrimental to the interests and development of our oil economy and it must be reversed to lay the emphasis back on exploration and development of new domestic sources of oil. There is also the overall question of our entire energy economy - the question of developing other sources of energy and attainment of self-reliance on the energy front. The UPA government is increasingly subordinating this crucial question to its framework of strategic partnership with the US and this is jeopardising India 's independence and vital interests in this crucial sphere.
Behind the current spurt in oil prices and volatility in the international oil economy lies the US war of invasion and occupation of Iraq . The war on Iraq is again only a part of a larger oil war, a relentless and vicious imperialist campaign for establishing American control over the global oil and energy economy. After Afghanistan and Iraq , the US policy has already turned against countries like Iran and Venezuela . Instead of opposing this oil war and strengthening India 's ties of cooperation with oil-producing countries facing the US-led assault, the UPA government has adopted a policy of closer collaboration with the US . India 's domestic energy preferences are also being openly dictated by the US . There is now a greater dependence than ever before on nuclear imports from the US . India is also under pressure to abandon the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline for a US-controlled ‘alternative' pipeline involving Turkmenistan , Afganistan , Pakistan and India . The UPA's pro-US policies are thus clearly making India increasingly vulnerable to American global designs and the US-inspired instability and volatility in the international oil and energy.
We must therefore demand a rollback not just of the latest hikes in petrol and diesel prices but of the entire policy package which is ruining our lives and livelihood, our energy economy and other vital national interests.
Jharkhand's BJP Govt. Receives Nationwide Condemnation for Framing Comrade Dipankar Under Charge of Attempt to Murder
Mahadharna Starts in Ranchi , Statewide Campaign Intensifies in Jharkhand
Jharkhand's BJP Govt. led by Arjun Munda is receiving nationwide condemnation and protests for framing charges before a fast track court in Ranchi against CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and four other activists, Om Prakash, Harsh Narayan Singh and Sita Ram Singh as well as Motu Oraon, a labouring tribal youth who was a bystander, under Sections 147, 114, 148, 149, 353, 323, 324, 307, 188, 431 of the IPC and Section 17 of the CLA (Criminal Law Amendment Act). This was done for leading a march to the Assembly of the newly formed Jharkhand State on March 1, 2001 to protest against a spate of incidents of police brutality, including the infamous and unprovoked firing on Muslim youth at Doranda and on tribals at Tapkara protesting displacement by the Koel Karo Dam.
While a three-day long Mahadharna was started in Ranchi from 13 June which was attended by thousands of people from various parts of Jharkhand, many left and democratic organisations and prominent persons have condemned this assault on people's democratic right to protest.
Five political parties in Bihar - CPI, CPI(M), Lok Janshakti Party, Samajwadi Party and CPI(ML) - have jointly sent a letter of protest to Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda demanding immediate withdrawal of falsely imposed cases. The letter says that this act of Jharkhand Govt. is an attack on political freedom and democratic rights and such an incident is unprecedented in Indian politics. The letter further says that the violation of human rights has become the norm of the day under BJP rule in Jharkhand. Black laws like POTA were rampantly used there against innocent people and, besides police atrocities, there have been many incidents of state sponsored violence. The killings of Senior Advocate and civil rights activist Prashant Sahay and CPI(ML) leader and MLA Mahendra Singh were also indicative of this bitter fact. Even the CBI team probing into the murder of Comrade Mahendra Singh held police responsible for violating many procedures which should have been followed by police after the killing. And the Jharkhand Govt. is still protecting one of the main accused in this murder, Dipak Verma, SP in Giridih at the time of this killing.
The Mahadharna in Ranchi was led by Party's Polit Bureau member Swadesh Bhattacharya, Central Committee member and Editor of Samkalin Janmat, Ramji Rai, State Secretary Subhendu Sen, Rajaram and Janardan Prasad. Eminent intellectual and convener of Jharkhand Jan Sanskrit Manch Dr. BP Kesri, Journalist Faisal Anurag, Adivasi Adhikar Morcha leader Dayamani Barla, Sashibhushan Pathak of PUCL, Aloka of IPTA, journalist Javier Kujoor and many other social and political activists also joined and addressed the dharna.
The speakers condemned the Arjun Munda Govt. for using state repression as a weapon to suppress the democratic protests in the state. They condemned the state government for its failure to punish the killers of Doranda and Tapkara even after so many years while those who protested against these killings are now being subjected to face conviction under the charge of attempt to murder. The promotion given to Dipak Verma, one of the main accused in the killing of Comrade Mahendra Singh, and his exclusion from the ambit of CBI inquiry also exposes Jharkhand Govt.'s attitude towards people's movements and their leaders. They emphasised the need to develop more intense struggles against anti-people policies of the government and to develop effective resistance to force the govt. to refrain from taking such repressive measures.
This statewide campaign against state repression was started in Jharkhand on June 9 with a dharna at Daltonganj in Palamu district. On June 10, protests programmes were held in Latehar, Garhwa, Bokaro, Giridih, Devghar, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Gumla, and Jamshedpur . Dharna were also held in Bundu, Tamar, and Rahe in Ranchi district.
A large number of intellectuals, cultural personalities, social and political activists and prominent citizens in Bihar have also opposed this step of the Jharkhand govt. and demanded the withdrawal of the charges framed against CPI(ML) leaders. Sarvoday leader Rammurty, Ex-DGP DP Ojha, Convener of Lokpaksha Shankar Raman, Priyadarshi of Jan Mukti Sangharsh Vahini, JD(U) leader Laxmi Sahu, Raghupati and Akhtar Husain of Sampurna Kranti Manch, Gorelal Manishi of Azadi Bachao Andolan, Arshad Azmal, Bihar President of AIPWA Meena Tiwary, General Secretary of Revolutionary Youth Association Kamlesh Sharma, State Vice President of PUCL Kishori Das and many others have sent letters to Arjun Munda in this context. Prof. Shiv Jatan Thakur, ex-member of Bihar Public Service Commission, Member of Patna University's Senate Prof. Bharti S. Kumar, Prof. Santosh Kumar, Prof. Devendra Kumar, Prof. OP Jaiswal, Prof. Maya Bhattacharya, Prof. BN Singh, Prof. Daisy Narayan and senior advocates Indu Bhushan Singh, Vasant Kumar Chaudhary, Ratneshwar Prasad Singh, Bhupendra Kumar, Shruti Muni, Yogesh Chandra Sharma, Ibrahim Kadir, Brajesh Kumar and Ujjawal Kumar have also sent similar letters. Many cultural personalities including Arun Kamal, Ravindra Kalia, Jaiprakash Kardam, Madhukar Singh, Rajendra Prasad Singh, Ramji Rai, Ramdhari Singh Diwakar, Shekhar, Naren, Awadesh Preet, Salil Sudhakar, Anant Kumar Singh, Gaurinath, Pratibha Verma, Sanjay Kundan, Gyandev Mani Tripathi, and many artists associated with IPTA, Theatre Unit, Dastak, Hirawal, Abhiyan, Prerna, Bhangima, Punascha, etc. have also requested Jharkhand Chief Minister to withdraw charges. A protest March will also be held in Patna on June 15 which will be attended by various left and democratic forces and personalities.
Besides, a number of persons from various parts of the country have signed a petition to this effect. They include Journalist Latha Jishnu, E. Deenadayalan of Samarthan Trust, Anil Nauriya, writer and Human Rights Activist in Tamil Nadu S,V.Rajadurai, Film Maker Anand Patwardhan, Jai Sen, I.K.Shukla, Yogendra Yadav, Amita Bhaduri, Hardeep Singh, and many others. An online petition has also been signed by nearly 300 prominent intellectuals and Left leaders and activists across the world. Alex Callinicos, Professor of European Studies in King's College, London, Roseline Vachetta, Former Member of the European Parliament, Spokesperson for the Ligue communiste revolutionnaire (France), Alain Krivine, Former Member of the European Parliament and Spokesperson for the Ligue communiste revolutionnaire (France), Pierre Rousset, Président, Europe solidaire sans frontières (ESSF), France, John Fernandes, Dr. Kasturi Sen, Pierre Beaudet, Lionel Bopage, Peter Boyle and Sue Bolten, Secretary and Assistant National Secretary respectively of Democratic Socialist Perspective in Australia, Nirmala Rajasingam, Amrit Wilson and Sarbajit Johal of South Asia Solidarity Group in London, Nurdin Abdul Rahman of Achehnese Community in Australia, Dr. Gautam Appa from London School of Economics, Yuri Dergunov, a journalist from Ukraine, Fred Fuentes of Resistance - Socialist Youth Organisation of Australia, Arnljot Ask, international secretary of AKP, Norway and People's Democratic Party (PRD), Indonesia, are some of the signatories on this petition. Mukta Manohar and Medha Thatte of Lal Nishan Party (Leninist), J. Sri Raman, Bela Bhatia, Dunu Roy, Hari Sharma, Nripen Bandopadhyay, Pankaj Bisht, Mukul Dubey, Madhuchhanda Karlekar, Dr. Pritam Singh, Subhash Gatade, Editor, Kriti Sanskriti Sandhan, and Kunal Chattopadhyay have also signed it.
In Delhi , a public meeting will be organised on June 15 on 'Growing Trends of Assault on ‘Right to Assembly and Protest' with special reference to BJP-led Jharkhand Government's this conspiracy.
Nationwide Protest Against Price-hike
CPI(ML) observed country-wide protest week from 7-13 June against central government's decision to hike prices of petrol and diesel, fifth time in two years, and a proposal to raise prices and cut quota of foodgrains under PDS. Protests were held in almost all important centres as well as in interior countrysides throughout the week. CPI(ML) has demanded immediate roll-back of petro-price-hike and withdrawal of the proposal to hike foodgrain prices and a cut in quota in PDS.
In Delhi , a protest was held at Jantar-Mantar on June 9 where protesters appealed to intensify struggle against the anti-people policies of the UPA Govt. They also condemned attempts to demolish public distribution system which will mean that the Country's food security and agriculture will go into the hands of big corporates and multinationals. In Uttar Pradesh, this week witnessed a number of protests. Party's Sonbhadra unit held protest on June 13 with hundreds of people, while rail track was jammed for two hours in Pilibhit on the same day. Protests were held and effigies of Prime Minister were burnt in Faizabad, Varanasi , Gazipur, Lakhimpur, Deoria, Lucknow , Puranpur, Allahabad , Kanpur , Gorakhpur , Mirzapur, Chandauli, Balia, Ambedkarnagar, Sitapur, Unnao, Moradabad and many other places. Roads were also blocked at many places. A joint dharna was organised in Guwahati in Assam on 13 June in protest against the hike where leaders and activists of CPI(ML), CPI, CPI(M), RSP, and SP held a meeting and condemned the anti-people policies of the UPA Govt. They also decided to intensify movement jointly if the Govt. does not withdraw price hike. Later the protesters took out a procession to DC office, Kamrup and sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding withdrawal of price hike. The memorandum also demanded to minimize Central taxes and duties on petrol and diesel. Assam Gan Parishad also extended its support to the movement and its general secretary also took part in the programme. A joint demonstration of different Trade Unions, including AICCTU, was also held at Guwahati on 13 June. Similar programmes were held at Bargang, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh on 13 June. On 7 June, demonstrations were held at Jorhat and Diphu as a part of the AIALA's nationwide protest day on the same issue.
In Bihar, party units at all the places held protests during the week at various places throughout the state, AIALA's call to protest was also observed on June 7. AIPWA also held protests on June 10 at many district headquarters while RYA and AISA organised of march in Patna on June 11. Many street corner meetings were organised in Patna on June 12 where UPA govt.'s policies were criticized. Party also took part in joint protest held by left parties on June 13 in Bihar . Block level protests were also held at many places. In West Bengal , protests were held by CPI(ML) and AIALA in many districts including Jalpaigudi, Darzeeling, Bardhman, Nadia and Kolkata. The protest week was also observed at various places in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, etc. CPI(ML) also participated in protests organised by Left parties in various cities on this issue.
Foil This Game Plan of Desperate BJP
BJP leaders Vinay Katiyar and Sahib Singh Verma recently announced cash rewards for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to encourage them to kill terrorists. Reeling under a serious crisis of identity and direction, the BJP is desperately looking out for issues can provide some political fodder for the crisis-ridden party. Having been rejected and routed by the people in election after election in state after state since the May 2004 Lok Sabha polls, the party now sees such ‘potential' in the sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir . The Katiyar-Verma offer has only held a true mirror to the ugly mindset of the Sangh-BJP leaders who have a long history of treating the people of Jammu and Kashmir as dispensable cannon fodder.
The BJP's strident demand for abolition of Article 370 and its rabidly communal and sectarian politics have historically played a key role in vitiating the atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir and aggravating the tragedy of its people. Unnerved by the improving climate of peace and cooperation between India and Pakistan and the emerging prospect of a political solution in Kashmir , the BJP desperately wants to disrupt the political process and weaken the secular democratic initiative of the people of Jammu and Kashmir . This desperate game plan of the BJP must be foiled by all who value democracy and justice and who care for the lives of the Indian people, including the people of Jammu and Kashmir .
Com. K R Palaniappan
Comrade K.R. Palaniappan, member of Party's City Committee in Chennai, died in a road accident on 12 June 2006 . He was 72. He got involved in the communist movement at a young age when he was in Burma . He had an occasion to shake hands with Comrade Mao during his stay in Burma . After coming back from Burma in the 60s, he worked in TI Cycles in Chennai and became active in the workers' union. He participated in many struggles in the factory which led to his victimisation by the management including his eventual termination from the job. Since then, he had been working on our Trade Union front in various capacities. During his struggles in TI Cycles, he also fought against the compromising attitude of the trade union which proved decisive in setting the future orientation of his political work. For decades, he was actively involved in the struggles of the working class and was dealing with the day to day issues of the workers. He was very popular among the workers of the Ambatur Industrial area in Chennai. Despite advancing age he was active till his last breath and was next to none in upholding the people's interests and Party's revolutionary tradition. He will remain a source inspiration for coming generations of working class activists.
Red Salute to Comrade K.R. Palaniappan!
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