From: "cpimllib" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2001 18:13:38 +0530 To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;@tonto.eunet.fi> Subject: [ INDIA ] ML Update, Vol.- 4; No.- 27; 3- 7- 2001. ML Update A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine Vol.-4; No.-27; 4-7-2001 The Chennai-Delhi Flyover Few scams get a name as apt as the flyover scam. Regardless of the alleged irregularities in the actual project, the scam has produced one of the longest political flyovers in the history of India's parliamentary democracy connecting Chennai straight with New Delhi. And the flyover is already witnessing heavy traffic. Three teams from Delhi have visited Chennai while a jumbo delegation of AIADMK ministers and MPs from Chennai is camping in Delhi. There have also been not a few accidents and casualties. The former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and two current union ministers from the state are behind the bars with reportedly swollen legs and broken spectacles while the Governor who was reduced to a scapegoat had a hair-breadth escape from getting run over. Last heard, there was a traffic jam on the flyover with New Delhi and Chennai frantically trying to find their way out of the mess. Meanwhile, the lady who inaugurated the flyover has now crossed over to the neighbouring state on a temple-hopping mission, trying to get an overview of the flyover from the vantage point of Guruvayur. The liberal press has branded the ongoing Jaya-Karuna duel as a case of ugly and brutal vendetta. True to the spectacular nature of politics in Tamil Nadu, where the landscape is dominated by dazzling cutouts and the air remains thick with cinematic sparks, the current duel too has all the ingredients of a standard political thriller. Of course, like the average Chennai or Mumbai potboiler, the script lacks refinement and part of it is indeed quite crude and coarse. Many have questioned and condemned the manner in which Karunanidhi was arrested or the fact that he was arrested at all. George Fernandes has seen gross violation of human rights in the fact that Karunanidhi was lodged in a 12 feet by 12 feet room without any airconditioner. NDA leaders are screaming from the rooftop that democracy has been murdered and a reign of terror let loose in Tamil Nadu. Their world of constitutional propriety and federal spirit has collapsed with the arrest of two Union Ministers even though the video clippings released by both Sun TV and the TN police show them clearly obstructing and even slapping police officials who had come to arrest Mr. Karunanidhi. It took the arrest of a former Chief Minister like Karunanidhi to sensitise people who otherwise merrily sanctify indiscriminate police firings and fake encounters and blissfully ignore cold-blooded custodial killings and rapes to the issue of police repression and violation of human rights. If Karunanidhi's arrest was uncalled for, we should remember that the national police commission itself has gone on record calling sixty per cent of the arrests carried out by the police in this country totally unwarranted, if not downright illegal. As for the much-denounced politics of vendetta, one has to make a distinction between the form and the content. The element of personal animosity and revenge certainly stands in an ugly contrast to the otherwise refined notions and sophisticated manners of a parliamentary democracy. But cases of corruption in high places and other irregularities entrenched in the system often come to light only in the course of mutual mud-slinging and war of competitive exposures. To the extent this so-called vendetta damages or at times even manages to rip apart the mask of bourgeois political propriety, sincere democrats can have nothing against it. Ironically, it is this issue of corruption which has been sought to be obscured and obfuscated in the entire debate over the political fallout of the flyover scam. The high-decibel noise over 'constitutionality' and 'propriety' has silenced the moot questions concerning the quality and content of bourgeois politics. The NDA government at the Centre has singled out the Governor of Tamil Nadu, who had already incurred the wrath of the Centre by swearing in Jayalaitha as India's first 'convicted' chief minister, as the most convenient scapegoat. Now that the long hand of law has seemingly moved against a former chief minister and even two union ministers, the ruling classes are ready to switch over from their usual clamour for letting the law take its own course to the discourse of a constitutional breakdown and crisis of law and order. The luxury of invoking Article 356 may not be immediately available to an NDA regime where the BJP has to rub shoulders with regional parties like Akali Dal and Telugu Desam and which is anyway devoid of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, but the BJP is desperate to explore every conceivable alternative avenue. Certain sections of the media and influential public opinion in the country have likened the Tamil Nadu developments unleashed by Jayalalitha to the design of Emergency unveiled by Indira Gandhi twenty-six years ago. The few superficial similarities in the two cases are however starkly overshadowed by the one most crucial dissimilarity - while Jayalalitha's Tamil Nadu express is likely to remain stranded in its own tracks, the whip at the Centre is now wielded by an Advani and his saffron brigade. Whatever may be the subtext of Jayalalitha's story of vengeance, the BJP is determined to use it as a pretext for consolidation of the fascist trend and intensification of the Centre's intervention in the affairs of the states. No genuine defender of political democracy and human rights can gloss over this bigger threat that emanates from New Delhi. Noted Economist Arun Ghosh Passes Away Condoling the death of Dr. Arun Ghosh on 22 June, Party Gen. Secy. Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya said, "With his demise we have lost a committed critic of neo-liberal economic policies. He was a prolific writer with commitment and enthusiasm of a young activist. He had expressly welcomed the idea of launching an anti-globalisation forum and would have attended the Delhi conference held in March had his health permitted him to do so." After his retirement Arun Ghosh served as Deputy Chairman, West Bengal Planning Board and Member, Planning Commission. He was the inspiration of the "Alternative Economic Survey", a compilation of essays critiquing the Economic Survey of the Government of India. He devoted his energies to work out an alternative path while offering unrelenting critiques of contemporary policies. He was also the President of Delhi Science Forum from 1999. Party Condoles death of Left Veteran Niren Ghosh Veteran left trade unionist Niren Ghosh passed away on 2 July at the age of 87. He was president of the state unit of CITU in West Bengal. He often expressed concern over the growing degeneration of the Left Front Government in West Bengal and criticised the neo-liberal policies as well as its attempts to put a leash on trade union struggles, including that of the CITU, in the state. He was also concerned over the rightist tendencies getting strengthened in the Party over the years. Party expresses profound grief over his sad demise. State Party Conference Held in U.P. The Seventh State Conference of Party's UP State unit was held on 26-29 June at Zamania in Ghazipur, attended by 300 delegates and guests. After the flag was hoisted by veteran communist Com. RN Upadhyay, the conference was inaugurated by Party General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya. It was also attended by Com. Swadesh Bhattacharya, PB member, Raja Bahuguna, Incharge of Uttarakhand Party unit and the Central Observer Com. KD Yadav. The presidium included Com. Krishna Adhikari, RN Upadhyay, Ishwarchandra, Ambarish Rai and Purushottam Sharma. The conference was conducted by a 3-member steering committee composed of Lal Bahadur Singh, Pranay Krishna and Yashwant Singh. The conference called for developing under the Party banner the struggle of the rural poor for land and freedom, particularly in eastern UP, to the level of reistance struggle and ouster of saffron mafia police raj in the state led by Rajnath Singh. The draft report was read out by the outgoing state secretary Com. Akhilendra Pratap Singh. Along with a few amendments and suggestions which came up in the course of a living discussion, it was passed by the house unanimously. The conference elected by secret vote a 23-member state committee which reelected Com. Akhilendra as its secretary. The conference emphasised the need to form a united front of struggling, democratic and secular forces to oppose the BJP and isloate the Congress, but criticised the inclusion of corrupt regional parties in the Lok Morcha (People's Front). The conference noted that while targeting the Congress, of late, Mulayam has diluted the spearhead against BJP govt., and also the fact that SP and BSP are both vying for winning over upper caste feudal forces and BSP is overtly or covertly trying to ally with BJP. The conference also criticised the old left parties for once again playing a second fiddle to Mulayam and resolved to continue its efforts for forging left unity while at the same time safeguarding the independence of proletariat and left. As the conference has infused new enthusiasm among the delegates acquiring a better political understanding, they returned to their areas of work with a better grasp of tactics, aims and objects. Bhojpur District Party Conference Held in Bihar The Party conference of Bhojpur district unit was held on 29-30 June at Nargi Pracharni Bhawan, Arrah. For this occasion, the hall was named after late General Secretary of the Party, Com. Vinod Mishra. It was inaugurated by Party PB member Com. Ram Naresh Ram. Also present in the conference were Chief guest Com. Swadesh Bhattacharya and State Secy. Com. Ramjatan Sharma. Com. Dhirendra Jha was the state observer. Altogether 354 delegates including 29 non-voting delegates were present in the conference. It elected a 21-member District Committee which reelected Com. Amar as its Secretary. Com. Ram Naresh Ram in his inaugurating speech said that both the central NDA govt. and the state RJD govt. have been creating hurdles in the path of development by indulging in anti-people activities. Com. Swadesh Bhattacharya said that no solution to agrarian problems can be fruitful ignoring the interests of the man at the lowest rung, and to this end feudalism has to be abolished. Com. Ram Jatan Sharma said that the liberalised economic policies have given a boost to crime and corruption in Bihar and created a grave crisis for the society. District Party Conference in Nawada in Bihar Nawada district Party conference was held on 29-30 June in which 84 delegates participated. It was inaugurated by State Committee member Com. Arvind and Com. Ravishankar Ram was the state observer. The conference elected a 9-member state committee which elected Com. Dilip Kumar as its secretary. Protest Day Observed in Bihar Against Killing of Dalits by Criminal Gang Protest day was observed in Bhojpur, Jahanabad and Patna on 26 June demanding immediate arrest of all the gang members led by Arun Yadav, brother of RJD leader and MLA from Sandesh, Bijendra Yadav, responsible for the murder of 6 poor dalits belonging to Nat community and suspension of the SP of Bhojpur and the incharges of the concerned police stations for abetting the crime. It is to be noted that on 24 June, a big gang of armed criminals led by Arun Yadav raided the houses of Nat (acrobat) community in Kori village on the pretext of recovering the arms allegedly stolen from the houses of Brijraj Yadav, the newly elected mukhiya of Pauna and his two brothers. They surpassed all records of medieval barbarity thrashing women and brutally torturing males, killing two of them there on the spot. Four other members of Nat community were apprehended by the killer gang elsewhere on the same day and killed. Two of them were dragged out of a bus while going to Arrah with a girl child for her treatment. Somehow a woman reached Sandesh police station but the police did not show any interest to nab the culprits. A Party investigation team led by Com. Ram Naresh Ram, leader of CPI(ML) Legislature Party, Rajaram Singh, deputy leader and Rameshwar Prasad, ex-MP, visited the spot and found that no case was entered in Pauna, Chandi and Sandesh police stations about the theft of arms and moreover, the Nats had no criminal record against them, whereas Arun Yadav and brothers of mukhiya Brijraj Yadav have a number of cases against them. State Convening Body of Khet Mazdoor Sabha In the Bihar State Committee meeting held on 22-23 June in Darbhanga, the state convening body of Bihar Pradesh Khet Mazdoor Sabha (Bihar State Agricultural Workers' Union) was constituted. The 16-member committee will be headed by Com. Rameshwar Prasad. The organisation will take an active part in the signature campaign launched by All India Kisan Sangharsh Samiti. Centre Has Over-reacted in Recalling Tamil Nadu Governor - CPI(ML) On the developments in Tamil Nadu, Party General Secretary Com. Dipankar issued the following statement on 1 July : The arrest of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi and other DMK leaders including two central ministers yesterday evoked widespread public condemnation for the highhanded manner in which the whole thing was executed and the political vendetta that it smacked of. But with its decision to recall the Tamil Nadu Governor Fathima Beevi, the NDA government has now also set a wrong precedent. And two wrongs do not make a right. The high-handedness meted out to Mr. Karunanidhi, unfortunate as it is, is something experienced all too often by ordinary citizens of this country. By despatching two central teams to 'study' the situation, the Centre had already expressed its displeasure over the events. Yet without awaiting the reports submitted by its own teams the Centre has rushed to the extreme decision of recalling the Governor. This unseemly step is clearly a case of over-reaction on the part of the Centre. It has once again underscored the fact that there is little dignity and meaning left in the office of the Governor. The real issue of corruption in high places must not be allowed to be obscured in the storm over Karunanidhi's arrest and the centre-state confrontation growing around it. BJP Quota Politics in UP Targets MBCs as Vote Bank Backward politics has indeed completed a full circle in UP where the BJP has resorted to set the political agenda of the state for the coming assembly elections by floating the proposal of a quota for the most backward castes (MBCs) within the 27% quota for the other backward castes (OBCs). And now the parties banking on reservation, the SP and BSP, find themselves in a catch-22 situation. The BJP government has decided to set up a Social Justice Committee to give practical shape to the long-pending proposal, which was first moved by Chhedi Lal Committee two decades back. It recommended 29.5% reservation for the OBCs containing a special quota for the MBCs, whereas the Mandal Commission had recommended for 27% quota to OBCs with no specific quota for MBCs. Successive governments lacked the will to rake up Chhedi Committee report because they never felt the urgency to carve out MBCs out of the OBCs. The Congress govt. at that time had no interest in backward politics as it relied mainly on Muslims, dalits and Brahmins. In the early 90s, the BJP under Kalyan Singh opposed Mandal Commission but it preferred to remain quiet on Chhedi Committee recommendations lest it annoyed the Lodhs and Kurmis. Then the SP-BSP combination, which came to power in 1993, again preferred to ignore the recommendations as their respective vote base would have been affected. But today while BJP is bent on consolidating upper caste votes, it is fast losing backward and dalit base, while a fledgling Apna Dal is cutting into their Kurmi vote bank in east UP and the BSP-SP causing a dent in central and western parts of the state. In this situation the BJP govt. suddenly remembered the trump card of Chhedi Lal recommendations. And with this in hand, they have found an agend to pit an upstart outfit like Lok Janshakti of Ram Vilas Paswan against the BSP. Not only that, Rajnath Singh could go even to the extent of seeking the blessings of Mandal messiah VP Singh to put the coup through. As a proponent of Lok Morcha (Peoples Front). VP has committed to side with SP in the coming elections, but his long-standing rift with Mulayam is known to all. Thus the latest weapon in the BJP armoury has the potent of utilising inner contradictions within Lok Morcha too. And the issue is not just paper issue. MBCs account for 38% population among the 52% OBCs in Uttar Pradesh, but they have been able to avail only 20% of the benefit of the quota in govt. jobs that have been opened up before OBCs following acceptance of Mandal Commission Report. The whole episode has once again brought to the fore the fact that the battle for social justice cannot be fought on the basis of caste-based reservation issue. The real battle for social justice must be fought on the plane of political democracy and secularism and it is there that the graveyard of communal fascist Rajnath govt. lies. ILO Holds its 89th Session in Geneva "Decent work deficit" was the core issue of discourse in the 89th session of the International Labour Conference concluded on 21 June at Geneva. It is interesting to not that the ILO was formed precisely to counter the spreading influence of October Socialist Revolution among the workers across the world and confine them to seek a better life under capitalism. The ILO had, therefore, declared "decent work" as its basic objective. Following the collapse of Soviet model of socialism, the offensive of neo-liberal globalisation has brought a crisis of agenda before the ILO. Therefore, the old objective has been rediscovered as an immense global deficit of decent work, reflecting in gross inequalities which has resulted in increasing poverty and lack of legitimacy for the global economic system. Hence, the task of reform and modernisation has been undertaken by ILO aimed at focussing its energy on decent work. The report says that the decent work deficit is manifested in (i) absence of sufficient employment opportunities, (ii) inadequate social protection, (iii) denial of rights at work, and (iv) shortcomings in social dialogue. The report says that all over the world, 16 crore people are unemployed. If underemployment is also taken into account, the number skyrockets to 100 crore. For every 100 workers, 22 are unable to get their family over the most minimal poverty line of $ 1 per person per day. Then 25 crore children are working. Only 20% workers have truly adequate social protection. Daily 3,000 workers die as a consequence of work-related accidents or disease. The report highlights that forced labour, slavery, criminal trafficking in human beings, especially women and children, are on the rise worldwide in new and insidious forms. According to the report, agriculture is one of the three most hazardous industries and out of a total of 335,000 workplace accidents annually the world over, some 170,000 casualties are among agricultural workers, who get injured in workplace accidents with machinery, or poisoned by pesticides and other agro-chemicals. In most of the developing countries including India, agricultural workers do not have any social protection. However, despite its emphasis on social security as the key point, the ILO has no teeth to implement the condition. It cannot enforce nor get it ratified by 175 member states. The organised strength and movement of the workers alone can force the implementation of the conditions of decent work. Balance Sheet of Bush Trip to Europe Recently Bush embarked on a trip across Europe covering five nations, i.e., Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Poland and Slovania and attending three historic summits, with the aim of laying a new common basis with the biggest trade bloc in the post cold war era. But his fond hopes dashed to the ground as he not only encountered roadblocks put up by a more closely integrated Europe, wherever he went there were protests by thousands of people in the streets and even while departing USA he had to face a mighty protest at home. In the first summit of 19 NATO nations, his projection of North Korea, Iraq etc. as rogue states, enemies to be targeted in the post-cold war era, was not agreeable to the European allies. His advocacy of missile shield and discard of ABM Treaty was rejected by all except the rightist-ruled Spain. Two dominant powers, Germany and France bluntly told him that his NMD will encourage dangerous arms race and destroy the foundation of international arms control. The second summit with 15-member European Union experienced unbridgeable differences on neo-liberal trade matters. On global warming too the EU-US summit ended in a stalemate and both admitted total failure in resolving climate and trade rows. The final summit was with Russian President Putin, who emerged taller than Bush in winning the world attention. Russia did not agree to rogue state theory for changing the 1972 ABM treaty and going over to missile shield. A day before the summit, Putin attended the Shanghai 5 summit with China to give shape to a new Shanghai cooperation organisation, described by China as a new international security and conflict resolving mechanism, which opposes Bush's NMD programme and is aimed at promoting a new international democratic and just political and economic order. Ten days after the summit, Russia launched an ICBM capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, which could alter the strategic weapon balance. It was called "Pentagon's nightmare". Simultaneously, Russia announced development of a super-sophisticated anti-missile detection system which can be transformed into a regional umbrella. Thus, an audacious Bush's Europe tour was reduced to a "polite dialogue". After Bush's return, editorials in US saw "poverty of purpose" and "narrow-minded foreign policy" behind the visit. "If the (US) administration does not seek to shape the world, others will take on the job, and not to America's advantage", Washington Post editorial concluded. Mail to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] CPI(ML):[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: http://www.cpiml.org ___________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
