[L-I] [ INDIA ] ML Update Vol. 7 No. 33 17-23 Aug 2004

ML Update
A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine
 Vol.7    No.33    17-23 Aug 2004

Manmohan's August 15 Address:
When Silence Becomes Criminal

"Today, I have no promises to make, but I have promises to keep." Thi=
s was
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delivering his Independence Day address=
 to the
nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort. To a people burden=
ed with
a history of forgotten promises, it was probably a relief not to be
bombarded with fresh promises. But can this be an excuse for a Prime
Minister to turn a blind eye to the most burning problems of the day?

Manipur has been on the boil since July. All that the people of Manip=
ur have
been demanding is lifting of the draconian Armed Forces Special power=
s Act
=66rom the state. The state has a government run by the Congress and =
supported
by the CPI. The least that the Prime Minister of India could have don=
e in
his Independence Day speech was to condemn the suppression of people'=
s basic
dignity and rights in the state and to assure them of a sympathetic
consideration of their demands. Instead he kept mum over Manipur. And
regarding the north-eastern region as a whole he talked about 'govern=
ance
and development', about 'tourism', about enabling the people to 'rela=
x and
enjoy life'. Only there was not a word about the continuing denial of
democracy that is tormenting the people of the region. Can there be a=
 worse
example of insensitivity and arrogance?

Manipur has raised a basic question about the Indian state's flawed a=
pproach
of preserving national unity at gunpoint. It has underscored the need=
 for a
really democratic and popular framework of unity. India has just surv=
ived
some major saffron blows to undermine the country's unity on communal=
 lines.
For all the promises of a healing touch, the wounds in Kashmir are st=
ill
quite raw. And now this government has once again pushed the people i=
n the
North-East on the war path. The heinous and cowardly August 15 action=
 of the
ULFA which took a toll of so many school children's lives in Assam  m=
ust be
condemned by all sensible people. But this only underlines the urgenc=
y of
finding a democratic solution to the long-standing demands of the
North-Eastern region.

On August 13 a history-sheeter and rapist was done to death by agitat=
ed
women within the premises of a Nagpur courtroom. In the early hours o=
f the
next day, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged in a Kolkata jail 14 years =
after
he had been convicted of raping and killing a school-going girl. This
particular case of death penalty has triggered a major debate in our =
civil
society with many opposing the death penalty in general and especiall=
y the
way the penalty was executed in this case after letting the convict l=
anguish
in jail for fourteen long years. But the fact remains that the people=
 are
clearly getting fed up with the growing criminalisation of politics a=
nd the
entire state system. Manmohan Singh's own cabinet has several ministe=
rs with
criminal records. While Shibu Soren has recently had to resign, the B=
ihar
government is shamelessly trying to save Taslimuddin by withdrawing o=
ngoing
criminal cases against him. What did the Prime Minister have to say
regarding this growing malady of criminalisation?

He treated it merely as a 'question of ethics in public life' and cal=
led for
a consensual evolution of a 'code of conduct for all political partie=
s, a
code of ethics for all individuals in public life, and a code of best
practices for the Government at all levels'. When organized crime ass=
umes
the proportion of an industry and governments routinely preside over =
and
revolve around the criminal-police-politician nexus, the problem cann=
ot be
resolved by talking about ethical codes of conduct. And how much sens=
e does
it make to appeal to the same parties that are busy promoting
criminalization of politics to arrive at a moral consensus and practi=
se
value-based politics! No wonder, Advani who has himself been the numb=
er one
tainted minister at the Centre was prompt to welcome Manmohan Singh's=
 appeal
for a 'consensus' on this issue.

The answer to criminalisation lies not in consensually evolving an et=
hical
code of conduct, but in intensifying mass resistance. Criminalisation=
 of
politics reflects a growing crisis and degeneration of our system. Th=
e
irrationality, inequality and injustice inherent in our system have b=
ecome
so acute that the system can hardly function within the constitutiona=
l
framework of rule of law. Organised assertion of the people alone can
challenge and change this criminalized order. The Nagpur incident has
clearly reflected the kind of mass anger that is building up in the c=
ountry.
If this mass anger can be translated into collective action and susta=
ined
resistance, it is surely possible to smash the citadels of criminaliz=
ed
power-politics and build a truly democratic and free India where prod=
uctive
and creative forces will prevail over the practitioners of crime and
oppression.

People's Tribunal Against TADA:
TADA Used to Crush the Just Struggles of Struggling Oppressed People
Withdraw All Cases Imposed Under TADA - People's Jury
In the people's tribunal (Jan Sunwai) organised by All India Agricult=
ural
Labour Association (AIALA) on August 12 at Rabindra Bhavan, Patna, th=
e jury
gave its verdict that Bihar govt. should withdraw all cases from CPI(=
ML)
activists imposed under TADA and that the TADA is being used to crush=
 the
growing movements of toiling and oppressed poor in Bihar.
In the Tribunal people elected the jury comprising of Nagendra Nath O=
jha,
ex-MP and leader of Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Sangh, Anand Swaroop Verma=
,
journalist and human rights activist, Javed Akhtar Khan, cultural act=
ivist,
Prof. Bharti S. Kumar of Patna University, and Kishori Das, General
Secretary, PUCL, Bihar.
The jury called upon the Left and democratic forces and the human rig=
hts
organisations to mount greater pressure on the government so that it =
could
be compelled to withdraw the TADA cases.
Many agricultural labourers accused under TADA in Bhadasi, Belsar and
Maniawan cases in Jehanabad and Arwal districts and relatives of othe=
rs
presented their statement in the Jan Sunwai detailing the nature of t=
he wage
and land struggles they fought and consequent repression by feudal fo=
rces
and the state that led to imposition of TADA cases despite the Act be=
ing
lapsed. Representatives of many socio-political organisations also sp=
oke
before the people's tribunal.
The jury of eminent personalities from different walks of life later =
issued
a statement that all those convicted as well as accused under TADA in=
 Bihar
are landless agrarian workers who had struggled for their basic democ=
ratic
rights. It further added that while these struggling people, includin=
g
minors and children, are being treated as terrorists, government has =
never
taken action against any of the armies of the feudal forces including=
 Ranvir
Sena.
Jury also criticized Bihar govt.'s partisan attitude aimed against th=
e
movement of agrarian workers as it refused to withdraw above mentione=
d three
cases in spite of widespread demand from whole of the opposition insi=
de the
State Assembly. Jury termed it a case of political vendetta and said =
that
such deliberate acts of political attacks will further damage the alr=
eady
discredited system saying "If people struggling for their just rights=
 will
be branded as terrorists then that day won't be too far when entire p=
ublic
will come under this 'category'."
History had shown it ample times that no matter how much strong the
repressive regimes were, they had to go in face of people's anger. Bi=
har
govt. must learn this lesson and release all TADA victims and withdra=
w all
such cases, said the speakers.
A Convention on 'TADA-POTA and Democracy' held in Kolkata on Aug 5 al=
so sent
its message to the People's Tribunal in Patna. It was signed by a num=
ber of
eminent personalities including Sujata Bhadra, Partho Ghosh, Amalendu=
 Dey,
Azizul Haque, Nilanjana Dutta, Amal Roy and many others.

BJP's Own 'Tainted' Chief Minister in Jharkhand !

While BJP is pooh-poohing on the 'tainted ministers' issue in the cen=
tre
with threats to stall the proceedings of the parliament and UPA's rul=
ing
combine busy protecting criminal ministers with Bihar govt., in a bid=
 to
bail itself out, withdrawing the case against Tasleemuddin, this stun=
t
totally fails this time to stir emotions among common citizens as the=
y know
that both sides, ruling as well in the opposition, belong to the same=
 flock
and have no concern with the real issues and problems of the country.
Meanwhile, CPI(ML) Jharkhand unit has provided documentary evidence a=
gainst
BJP's Chief Minister Arjun Munda who was convicted in case no. 99/88 =
by
Jamshedpur court in 1992 and that he hid this information in the affi=
davit
that was submitted during his election from Kharsova assembly constit=
uency
in 2000. This report has also been released to the media. Not only BJ=
P but
all in the NDA 'family' are silent on their own 'tainted' Chief Minis=
ter.
CPI(ML) demands to lodge a case under section 420 of IPC against Arju=
n Munda
and his immediate dismissal.
A protest day was observed by CPI(ML) in Jharkhand on Aug 9 demanding=
 to
stop using judiciary for political interests, arrest Madhu Singh who =
was
caught involved in the recent CD scandal, declare all districts in th=
e state
as drought affected,  revive HEC in Hatia, withdraw field-firing rang=
e
project in Netarhat, arrest of Adavani and Narendra Modi for Gujarat
genocide and Congress leaders involved in 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and t=
he
dismissal of Jharkhand Chief Minister. Protest programmes were held a=
t all
district headquarters including Ranchi, Giridih, Garhwa, Daltonganj,
Hazaribagh, Koderma, Dhanbad, Jamtara, Dumka and Ramgarh.

Agri. Workers' Protest before UP Assembly

Uttar Pradesh state unit of AIALA held a massive and impressive dharn=
a in
front of UP Assembly on August 13 to demand and pressurise for repeal=
 of
black laws like TADA and POTA and imposition of Acts like Gangster an=
d NSA
on political activists, seizure and redistribution of land illegally
occupied by land-mafia, waiver of loans of poor farmers, fast impleme=
ntation
of food for work scheme, red cards to all agri. labourers, and paymen=
ts of
dues to sugarcane producers and above all to declare UP as drought af=
fected.
The agrarian crisis has further aggravated by the imminent drought  a=
nd
increasing unemployment in rural areas. It was demanded to immediatel=
y
initiate relief measures.
The fact that the movement of rural poor and agrarian workers is now =
facing
increased repression under Mulayam's govt. was strongly condemned and
protested.
Dharna strongly condemned the illegal detention and arrest of CPI(ML)=
 CC
member and AIALA Vice-President Krishna Adhikari who was picked up by=
 a
heavy contingent of police from the Pilibhit railway station when she=
 was
about to board a train to Lucknow to attend the dharna. It was demand=
ed to
punish the responsible officers after an inquiry. Speakers in dharna =
said
that this incident is a continuation of staunch anti-democratic attit=
ude of
Mulayam Singh govt. to favour the corrupt criminal nexus and exposes =
his
anti-poor anti-dalit character.
Addressing the dharna, UP State Secretary of CPI(ML) Akhilendra Prata=
p Singh
said that this govt. has miserably failed to provide democracy to the=
 common
citizens in UP and the situation now is much worse than the previous
autocratic regimes of BJP and BSP. Mulayam's democracy has been held =
captive
in the palace of Raja Bhaiya, the dreaded gangster and his govt. work=
s to
protect the interests of mafia and criminals while CPI(ML) leaders li=
ke
Ramdaras and Kranti Kumar faces Gangster Act in Lakhimpur Kheri fight=
ing for
the agricultural workers' interests.

CPI(ML) Protests Firing on Flood Victims in Bihar

CPI(ML) strongly condemns and protests the incident of police firing =
at
Lohna Road in Darbhanga district on Aug 16 on flood victims who were
protesting misappropriation of flood relief funds by the authorities.=
 Two
persons were reportedly been killed. Party observed Protest Day on Au=
g 17
throughout the state against this incident.
In another similar incident in Vaishali district on Aug 4, the thana
incharge of Patepur targeted Mantun Paswan in forehead and fired a sh=
ot that
killed him immediately. Police then tried to remove the dead body fro=
m the
spot but CPI(ML) leader Umesh Rai successfully prevented the police b=
y
mobilising people and got hold of body till the DM and SP came to the=
 spot
four hours later. Police also threatened a photographer who was tryin=
g to
take snaps of this brutality.
CPI(ML) demands lodging a case of murder on DM and SP of Darbhanga an=
d
Vaishali, their dismissal, to stop the misappropriation of the relief=
 funds
and proper distribution of relief and medicines in all affected areas=
.
Police fired on thousands of relief seeking flood victims, including =
women
and children, when they assembled at Patepur block office after the l=
ocal
BDO informed of 'relief' distribution. Till 2 PM none of the official=
s
turned up and suddenly local guards started to herd them away. And th=
en a
peaceful protest was followed by a heavy lathicharge and then the fir=
ing.
CPI(ML) State Secretary Ramjatan Sharma led an investigation team on =
Aug 5.
The team also included Vidyanand Vikal, Kamlesh Sharma and Visheshar =
Prasad
Yadav.
While affected people are facing police repression, one relative of l=
ocal
RJD MLA, Mrs. Prema Chaudhary, took the cake away with 200 sacs of wh=
eat and
more than 25 thousand rupees that came for distribution to the flood
victims. He was later caught by the people and handed over to the pol=
ice.
But similar story could not be repeated when the mukhiya of
Harlokhanpur-Suki panchayat Bigul Pd. Singh who in connivance with th=
e BDO,
broke the embankment at Noon river and flooded 25 panchayats in a cri=
minal
act only to save himself from any inquiry. He had swallowed 200 quint=
als of
wheat and Rs. 7500 cash that came as relief. His panchayat was not af=
fected
but he flooded one and half lakhs more people and caused loss of prop=
erty
worth crores of rupees. Party has demanded a thorough inquiry into th=
is
criminal act.
Protests were also held on Aug 9 to press for demand to declare flood=
s in
Bihar a national calamity. AISA and RYA teams are also helping in rel=
ief
works in many areas in the state.

RYA's Nationwide Campaign

In the recently concluded meeting of RYA National Council held on Jul=
y 19-20
in Patna it was decided to organise  a 'Youth Awakening Campaign' dur=
ing
August-September with the central slogan - "Respect the mandate, Guar=
antee
employment". A signature campaign, seminars and conventions will be h=
eld in
this campaign besides organising Student-Youth Panchayats at various =
levels
to chargesheet the govt. on the question of unemployment, unprecedent=
ed
agrarian crisis and betrayal of UPA's CMP from the people's mandate a=
s it
rarely differs in the arena of financial and foreign policy matters f=
rom
those of the old NDA govt. It was also decided in the meeting to go i=
n for
relief works in flood affected Bihar and Assam by collecting relief
materials from the masses and distributing them among the needy.

Lathicharge on Venders in Mughalsarai

CPI(ML) strongly condemns the brutal lathicharge on AICCTU and RYA
activists, on Aug 11, who were sitting on a dharna in front of DRM of=
fice
Mughalsarai to support the movement of vendors going on for  more tha=
n a
month demanding temporary licences and a stop to police repression an=
d
illegal extortions. Hundreds of vendors and helpers have been ousted =
by the
Railway administration.
Protest demonstrations were also held on July 9 and 20 with a four-po=
int
demand charter. The movement is being led by Comrade Tulsi Yadav of A=
ICCTU.
AICCTU leader Satyanarayan Singh has been seriously injured in this
lathicharge. He is admitted to the hospital while still in police cus=
tody.
Besides more than a dozen activists, including women, were injured an=
d
undergoing treatment. The local administration has refused to file FI=
R from
those injured while imposed cases under serious sections of IPC inclu=
ding
Criminal Law Amendment Act instead of taking action against the polic=
emen
responsible for such repression. CPI(ML) demands a thorough inquiry a=
nd
punishment to the police persons as well as withdrawal of all cases i=
mposed
to suppress the movement.

CPI(ML) Condemns ULFA Blast

CPI(ML) strongly condemns the gruesome killing of at least 13 people,
including six children by the ULFA militants in Assam's Dhemaji town.=
 The
incident took place on 15 Aug when students and their parents were
participating in the Independence Day celebrations at a school ground=
 in the
town.
At a time when popular movement is gaining momentum in Manipur and ot=
her
states against draconian laws like Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act =
and
POTA, such misdirected acts can only strengthen the repressive state
machinary and vitiate the democratic atmosphere in the region.
CPI(ML) has extended its support to the 12-hour Assam Bandh call give=
n by
the All Assam Students' Union.

Workers Protest against Anti-people Reforms in Power Sector
Assam State Power Workers' Union and Vidut Karmi Sangha jointly obser=
ved
'March to Dispur' on 5 August against Power Sector reforms. A massive=
 dharna
and procession was held out in Guwahati by hundreds of Power workers =
=66rom
different parts of Assam and held a meeting in protest against Electr=
icity
Act, 2003 and reform programme in Assam State Electricity Board. This=
 was
addressed by Trade Union leaders, intellectuals, political leaders,
Youth-Students leaders who demanded withdrawal of Electricity Act, 20=
03.
AISA, AICCTU and CPIML leaders also took part and expressed solidarit=
y and
full support to the movement. A memorandum demanding withdrawal of
Electricity Act, 2003 and withdrawal of anti-worker reforms was sent =
to the
Chief Minister of Assam. This programme signals a good beginning of j=
oint
movement against reforms in power sector.

Convention in Pilibhit
Pilibhit unit of Khet Mazdoor Sabha organised a day-long Convention o=
f
Bangla speaking agricultural labourers on Aug 11 to press for some ve=
ry
specific demands of this community who came to this terai region as r=
efugees
nearly forty years back and are still facing various kinds of
discrimination. A large number of Bangla speaking agri. labourers fro=
m
Pilibhit, Udham Singh Nagar and Lakhimpur-Kheri districts participate=
d in
this convention to demand inclusion of Namosudra, Pondra, and Manjhi =
castes
in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution to enable them to incur the
benefits of scheduled castes as has been provided in many other state=
s, to
issue BPL cards to all agri. labourers, to issue domicile certificate=
s to
all Bengali settlers, etc.
The Convention was inaugurated by AIALA Vice- President and CPI(ML) P=
B
member Swadesh Bhattacharya, while Raja Bahuguna and Krishna Adhikari=
 spoke
as the main speakers. Convention launched a forum and elected its exe=
cutive
to conduct the movement on these issues further.

TU Convention in Lucknow
AICCTU unit of UP organised a Convention on July 21 in Lucknow on 'Ma=
ndate
2004 and tasks before the working class'. This was addressed by Akhil=
endra
Pratap Singh as the main speaker and conducted by UP State Secretary =
of
AICCTU Dinkar Kapur. He emphasised on the need for the working class =
to come
up as a formidable political force to combat the anti-labour liberali=
sation
policies. About 250 workers from 20 unions from all over the state at=
tended
the convention.

RYA Dharna in Sonbhadra
RYA held dharnas in front of District Hospital, Roberts Ganj, and PHC=
s at
Duddhi and Myorpur on July 21 to protest the administrative inaction =
despite
spread of cholera, typhoid and malaria in epidemic proportions. It wa=
s
demanded to send mobile medical teams to rural tribal belt of the dis=
trict.


Chavez Wins the Recall Referendum

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez garnered a historic victory on Aug 1=
5 in
the recall referendum that was called by the same opposition groups t=
hat
previously attempted to oust him by means of a coup and tried to get =
a hold
on country's oil industry and other resources with support from the U=
nited
States.

After becoming President of the Venezuela, Chavez pursued pro-people =
agenda
of reforms by implementing land-reforms and some other measures.
Interestingly, he himself introduced for the first time in the consti=
tution
of Venezuela the right to recall the President. And this right vested=
 in the
people by his govt. was used as a weapon to oust him, but people deci=
sively
voted against the pro-US lobby. Chavez polled 58.95 percent of votes =
which
was higher than in the 1998 where he won with 56 percent of votes.

       Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to celebrate this
victory throughout the country. Fireworks lit up the night sky in Car=
acas
and supporters near the presidential palace roared their approval whe=
n
electoral authorities announced that Ch=E1vez had won the referendum.=
  In a
speech to thousands of cheering supporters, President Ch=E1vez said i=
t was
"impossible" that his victory could now be reversed. He said "Venezue=
la has
changed forever" and "there is no turning back." Ch=E1vez also called=
 on
Washington, which he has often accused of supporting efforts to oust =
his
administration, to accept the results and show respect for his govern=
ment
and the Venezuelan people.
-------------------------------------------------------

www.cpiml.org

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