ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol.  21 | No. 48 | 20-26 Nov 2018

Editorial:

CBI Corruption Scandal Goes All The Way To The Prime Minister’s Door

The unfolding saga of corruption and extortion in the Central Bureau of Investigation is one that comes extremely close to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Modi was helped to power by a powerful anti-corruption sentiment in the country, and his famous promise of ‘Na khaunga na khane doonga’ (I will neither be corrupt nor let anyone else be corrupt). A few months ahead of the next parliamentary elections, Modi faces a situation where the desperate attempts to contain the rising tide of scandals and scams is failing - and the scams are implicating the Prime Minister’s closest associates and his own Office.

The Prime Minister was already implicated in the decision to take the Rafale deal away from the PSU HAL and hand it over to an inexperienced company owned by his crony Anil Ambani. The latest and most damning instance, however, involves the attempts to subvert the CBI and suppress investigations into an extortion racket as well as other ingoing investigations.  

Not long ago, the Modi government made an attempt at a midnight coup within the CBI, trying to replace the CBI Director Alok Verma after he had sought to prosecute 'special director' Rakesh Asthana, an officer handpicked by Modi who had been part of Modi’s and Amit Shah’s trusted coterie since his Gujarat days, in a case of extortion and bribery. Verma had reportedly incurred the wrath of the PMO when he received a memorandum from Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha detailing the nunerous irregularities in the Rafale deal and demanding action against PM Modi himself under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Verma challenged his removal in the Supreme Court, leading to the Modi Government rolling back his removal in an attempt to stave off scrutiny by the Supreme Court. But during the coup, Verma’s team of investigators who were in charge of crucial cases including the PNB loan scam involving Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi (Gujarat businessmen known to be close to Modi) as well as the extortion case in which Asthana was implicated.

The Supreme Court put the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) enquiry into the allegations levelled by Asthana and Verma against each other, under the supervision of a former SC judge. Verma has alleged in a response to queries from the CVC that Asthana worked together with the Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi and the PMO to book RJD Chief Lalu Yadav on charges of an IRCTC scam. It is also believed that Asthana has played a pivotal role in scuttling investigations in the massive Srijan scam in Bihar in which Sushil Modi is a key accused.

In a submission to the Supreme Court, the Joint Director of the CBI Manish Kumar Sinha who had been in charge of the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi cases as well as part of the team investigating the FIR against Asthana, has alleged that members of the Modi Cabinet, the PMO as well as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were meddling in ongoing investigations. He alleged that his transfer was “arbitrary, motivated and mala fide” in order to protect various individuals who were under investigation on his watch.

Sinha, in his written submission to the Supreme Court, has stated the testimony of a Hyderabad-based businessman Satish Sana, from whom Asthana is accused of extorting money, that several crores were paid as a bribe to a Central Minister Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhury, who tried to pressurise senior CBI officers through a Minister for State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Jitendra Singh. Jitendra Singh is directly answerable to Narendra Modi who heads the Ministry for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension. Moreover, Chaudhury is an MP from Banaskantha in Gujarat (from where Nirav Modi and Choksi also hail) who was handpicked by Modi for his Cabinet and is now Minister of State for Coal and Mines.       

Sinha also alleged that the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval hindered the CBI investigation into the Asthana FIR by preventing the CBI from seizing Asthana’s phone. Sinha furthered alleged that a middleman Manoj Prasad, when arrested by the CBI in the context of the Satish Sana extortion case, boasted that his father was a close friend of Doval’s and warned the CBI officers of adverse consequences.  Doval is known to be one of the most powerful persons in the Modi ecosystem, exerting extra-judicial influence over various sensitive investigations, internal security matters and even foreign policy. Manoj Prasad’s threats did seem to have substance, since soon after, the CBI officers investigating the Sana/Asthana case and other cases were summarily transferred!       

Sinha also alleged that the Union Law Secretary Suresh Chandra tried to influence the Court-monitored CVC proceedings by contacting Sana through an IAS officer Rekha Rani, who in turn told Sana on behalf of Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha that the Union Government would protect him if he were to withdraw his allegations against Asthana. Sana also claimed that his team had access to tapes of a conversation in which RAW official Samant Goel claimed that the PMO had managed the CBI mess, soon after which the midnight coup took place.

Sinha also alleged that the CVC KV Chowdhary had met with Sana at his (the CVC’s) own residence along with a relative of the CVC’s who was also implicated in the matter. 

Meanwhile, in the ongoing hearing in a CBI Court involving the Sohrabuddin fake encounter, Amitabh Thakur, former Superintendent of Police in the CBI, Gandhinagar, and chief investigating officer in Sohrabuddin case, deposed that then Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah had benefited politically and monetarily from the case, and had received Rs 70 lakh which had been extorted by Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati from builders under threat to their lives. He also alleged that a senior police officer DG Vanzara had received Rs 60 lakh to carry out the custodial killing of Sohrabuddin. Sohrabuddin’s wife Kauser Bi was also killed, and later Prajapati who also witnessed Sohrabuddin’s killing, was also killed.    

The entire can of worms spilled by senior CBI officers in the Supreme Court and the CBI Court points to how the Modi Government is mired in corruption and even extortion right at the top. The needle of suspicion is now pointing to the PM himself, with members of his handpicked team directly implicated in criminal conspiracies. The BJP tries to battle the corruption charges by pointing to Mr Modi’s lack of motive for corruption since he does not have a family. The lure of personal enrichment or acquisition of wealth for one's progeny is hardly the main source of mega corruption. Corruption thrives through crony capitalism and coterie rule, and the Modi government is an epitome of both. The utterly conspiratorial and arbitrary mode of functioning of this government is aimed at undermining the entire system of checks and balances built into the framework of parliamentary democracy and protect the corrupt from any kind of scrutiny and granting total impunity to people in power. It is a dangerous cocktail of corruption and crime and the skeletons tumbling out of the CBI cupboard before the Supreme Court constitute a shocking glimpse of this thorough travesty of governance. This arrogant abuse of power must be brought to a decisive end.

Mid-Day Meal Workers from Across the Country Hold Protest at Jantar Mantar

On November 19, 2018, Mid-Day Meal workers from all across the country gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest the Modi government's inaction with regard to their pay and work conditions. Workers from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and other states participated in the protest along with their demands. AICCTU along with other central trade unions participated in the program. They demanded raising of pay from the existing Rs.1200 per month to Rs. 18000 per month. 

Ever since Modi government has come to power it has been consistently cutting down the budget of various welfare schemes. It has been only helping the corporates using the hard-earned money of the workers. The protest gathering was also addressed by CPI MP Com. D. Raja and JNUSU President Com. N Sai Balaji. Leaders of different central trade unions also spoke at the protest meeting.

Com. Saroj Chaubey, from the Bihar Mid Day Meal Workers Union (AICCTU) addressing the protest meeting said that the Bihar state government instead of heeding the demands of the mid-day meal workers has been following the center's cue. Com. Geeta Mandal from the AICCTU affiliated All India Scheme Workers Federation said , 'The central govt gives only Ra. 1250 per month, this is clear exploitation and we demand that a minimum of Rs. 18000 should be given to us. Almost all mid-day meal workers are women and the govt has to ensure safe and dignified employment for them. Com. Rajiv Dimri, National General Secretary of AICCTU said that the government has been continuously trying to privatise the mid-day meal scheme, we demand that all scheme workers must get the legally mandated minimum wages and dignified employment' 

A memorandum with the demands of the mid-day meal workers was submitted to the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley. The protest also resolved that all mid-day meal workers will participate and campaign for the two day strike called by central trade unions on 8-9 January.

Sanitation Workers’ National Convention in Delhi

Sanitation workers from across India gathered in Delhi for the National Convention on 18 November 2008 organized by AICCTU. Sanitation workers from several States including Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi participated in the convention. Present as speakers were AICCTU JNU unit President Com. Urmila Chauhan, BBMP Guttiga Powrakarmikara Sangha General Secretary Com. Nirmala, Com. Mithun Jena from the Angul District Sanitation Workers Association, All India Municipal Workers President Com. Shyamlal, All India Municipal Workers Federation (Chhattisgarh) leader Com. Manoj Kosare, Pune Municipal Corporation Workers Union President Com. Uday Bhatt, and others. Several leaders of the sanitation workers’ struggles including Motam Devi (Bhartiya Bhilai Nagar Nigam), Urmila Chauhan (President, AIGKU JNU Unit) and other leaders from the movement of the Sanitation Workers talked about the plight of sanitation workers, the Jumla of Swachh Bharat and the resolve towards intensifying the struggle in the coming days.

Com. Urmila Chauhan, herself a sanitation worker and also the AICCTU JNU unit President, said that in 2014 our Unit at JNU, after a long battle, ensured that sanitation workers will neither enter into sewers, nor pick up dead animals. Three of our comrade workers at JNU died due to work-related illnesses, but still we are carrying on the fight for rights and dignity.

BBMP Guttige Powrakarmikara Sangha General Secretary, Com.  Nirmala said that in the contract system in sanitation work ended in Karnataka after a 15-year long battle fought by sanitation workers. Earlier, contractors there even used to sexually harass women sanitation workers. But now, after our struggles, sanitation workers are employed under the Municipal Corporations, though they still have to face caste discrimination and untouchability. Our struggle for social dignity is still on.

Along with the sanitation workers, CPI (ML) General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya also addressed the convention and supported their demands. Well-known journalist from the sanitation workers’ movement Bhasha Singh also spoke at the convention. Bhasha Singh congratulated AICCTU on organizing this convention, bringing to the fore the problems and demands of sanitation workers and making it a political issue. She said that today the death of sanitation workers due to entering sewers has become almost a daily occurrence, but neither the Central government not any State government has come up with any plan to stop such deaths. AIPWA National Secretary Com. Kavita Krishnan also attended the conference and supported the movement.

AICCTU National General Secretary Com. Rajiv Dimri said that if we listen to voice of sanitation workers across the country, it becomes clear that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a huge scam and a ‘jumla’ like all the other government schemes. Narendra Modi has not spoken a single word about the almost daily sewer deaths of sanitation workers. His government has failed totally and miserably to ensure the dignity and rights of sanitation workers. The anger of sanitation workers against the government is very evident, and Modi will have to pay the price for this in the Lok Sabha elections next year.

The cultural teams Sangwari and Dasta presented songs during the convention which was presided over by Clifton D’Rozario. The national convention concluded with the resolution that similar programs would be organized in the future in various States also. Through another resolution, the sanitation workers decided that they would participate in a 2-day countrywide strike called by sanitation workers’ Unions across India, and would campaign for the success of the strike.

Insaf Manch Holds Bhojpur District Conference in Bhojpur

In recent times the BJP, RSS, and Bajrang Dal have created an atmosphere of hate, fear, and insecurity in Bhojpur. Last year, communal riots were engineered in Piro during the Tajiya procession. Attempts were made to create communal frenzy in the name of beef at many places from Ranisagar to Abgila. The atmosphere of fear and insecurity was so deep that the Muslim community did not hold Tajiya processions at many places in Bhojpur, including Ara and Piro. Incidents of rape and gang rape occurred at many places in the district. A woman was paraded naked by the mob in Bihiya while the police watched as spectators. Attacks on dalits have increased. A dalit youth was tied to a pole and beaten up in Narayanpur. The victims (dalits, women, and minorities)of the Bathani and Nagri carnages still await justice. Given this atmosphere, the Insaf Manch organized its first District conference in Bhojpur on 4 November 2008 to speak out loud for justice for dalits, minorities, and women.

The conference was presided over by Advocate Jamal Yusuf Sahib, Mohd Manir Alam, and Shahabuddin Qureshi. It was inaugurated by CPI (ML) Tarari MLA and All India Kisan Mahasabha leader Com. Sudama Prasad. CPI (ML) politburo member and AIARLA National General Secretary, Com.  Dhirendra Jha addressed the conference as the chief guest. The conference was also addressed by Insaf Manch State Secretary Com. Suraj Singh, Com. Aftab Alam, Com. Raju Yadav, Com. Ajit Kushwaha, Com. Sangeeta Singh, Com. Qayamuddin Ansari, Com. Mohd Faiz (Rajan) and others.

Com. Dhirendra Jha said that dalit-minority unity is the need of the hour because the Modi government is destroying the secular values and democratic consciousness which were born of our freedom struggle. The economy is in the doldrums; youth are up in arms against unemployment; CBI is fighting CBI and the autonomy of the RBI is in jeopardy. Having betrayed the people’s aspirations, the Modi government is faced with wrath from all sides; to divert the issues, they have started playing the old tune of mandir-masjid. Com. Dhirendra Jha called upon dalits, minorities, workers, farmers, women, students, and youth to unite and fight against this Sanghi conspiracy.

A 19-member committee was elected under the supervision of Insaf Manch State in-charge Comrade Rajaram. Qayamuddin Ansari was elected President; comrades Shahabuddin Qureshi and Dr Jahid Sahab Vice Presidents; Com. Ajay (Gandhi Ram) Secretary; and Comrades Mohd Faiz and Shahabuddin Mansuri Joint Secretaries. The other members of the committee are: Comrades Mohd Sultan, Mohd Salim, Mohd Nasim Rain, Rabnawaz Khan, Shah Alam Mansuri, Sunil Paswan, Khairati Khan, Feroze Alam, Dr Bashir Khan, Mohd Nasim, and Lalbabu Ansari.

Earlier, a Block level conference was held at Jagdishpur and a 15-member Block committee was elected, with Com. Shah Alam Mansuri as President and Com. Sunil Paswan as Secretary. Other members of the committee include comrades Chhatu Ram, Lalbabu Ansari, Shahid Alam, Mukhtar Qureshi and Shahid Raj. Both the conferences expressed deep concern over the rise in ruling power-protcted and organized attacks on dalits and minorities after the BJP came to power at the Centre, and pledged to strengthen and sharpen the struggle for the rights of these communities.

6^th AIARLA All India Conference

The All India Agricultural and Rural Labour Association held its 6^th All India Conference in Jehanabad on 19-20 November. The conference began with a massive ‘Oust BJP, Save the Poor’ rally attended by thousands of agrarian and rural workers from Bihar.

The conference was attended by more that a thousand delegates from all over the country who elected a 263-member National Council, 83-member Executive, with Comrade Rameshwar Prasad as Honorary President, Comrade Sriram Choudhury as President and Dhirendra Jha as General Secretary and other office bearers.

Jehanabad was called Shah Chand Nagar, the hall was termed Virendra Vidrohi Sabhagar, and the dias was named after Comrade Manju. The town was decorated with banners and flags and gates were erected in honour of martyrs and departed leaders including the late AIARLA Odisha President Satyabadi Behera and late AIARLA Tamilnadu President PK Janardanan.  

Oust BJP, Save the Poor Rally

Tens of thousands of agrarian and ruaral workers and the poor gathered at the historic Gandhi Maidan in Jehanabad on 19 November 2018 for the Oust BJP, Save the Poor rally prior to the 6^th AIARLA National Conference. Earlier, the statues of Dr Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and Swami Sahajananda were garlanded and tributes were paid by leaders including CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(ML) Politburo member Swadesh Bhattacharya, AIARLA General Secretary Dhirendra Jha, former MP Rameshwar Prasad, CPI(ML) State Secretary Kunal, senior leader Ramjatan Sharma, AIARLA State Secretary Gopal Ravidas, Mahanand, Shrinivas Sharma, and Ramadhar Singh. Well-known economist Jean Dreze was also present on the occasion.

Addressing the rally in Jehanabad, Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya said that Jehanabad has been the soil for many historic and indomitable struggles of dalits and the poor. This is the soil that has seen the martyrdom of hundreds of comrades including Shah Chand, Manju Devi, and Virendra Vidrohi. The communal-fascist forces had assumed that they could oppress the poor and suppress their voice, but this huge presence of tens of thousands at the Gandhi Maidan today tells us that the struggle of the poor is unstoppable.

Comrade Dipankar said that the country’s villages are today resounding with the slogan of ‘Oust BJP, Save the Poor’ because the country has never before seen such an anti-poor government. After for and a half years, the country is reeling under terrible distress and tragedy. The Modi government has proved to be a disaster for the country. They have snatched away the rights of the poor. Acts like MNREGA are being totally made ineffective. Adivasis and rural poor are being evicted from the land. The Food Security Act has been reduced to a joke. Ration is being linked to Aadhaar cards, leading to the poor starving to death. About 60-70 starvation deaths have already taken place in the country.

He said that the Modi government talks of 2022; why do they not talk of today? Failing on all fronts and lacking any other issue, they are resorting to their old communal tune of Ram Mandir. This government has become entirely devoid of humanity. Therefore, we have decided that the country must be saved from this national disaster. The disaster that has struck our freedom and our Constitution today is no ordinary occurrence. This government wants to destroy everything; so, the first thing to do is to oust this government from seat of power by building an unprecedented unity among workers, farmers, Scheme workers, sanitation workers, and all working people.

The ML General Secretary said that the Constitution was passed on 26 November; all the people in the country got equality and freedom, albeit on paper only. Today our fight is for equality and freedom, on the strength of which we want to realize the dreams of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh. We had dreamt of a country without hatred, communalism and casteism, but today the Modi government is bent on destroying the very fabric of this country. Today Modi has no answers to our questions, so the BJP is once again fanning communal flames in the name of Ram Mandir, and has given the call to march to Ayodhya on 25 November to build the Ram Mandir.

Comrade Dipankar said that if we all take up the responsibility of every village, their unholy intentions can be defeated and we can totally defeat the BJP. We shall not allow this crop of hatred and lies to be sown and harvested.

Addressing the meeting, Kisan Mahasabha General Secretary Comrade Rajaram Singh stressed the need for unity among agrarian workers and farmers and said that on 29-30 November we are marching to Delhi and will force the government to bow to our demands. The meeting was also addressed by CPI(ML) MLAs in the Bihar Assembly Mahboob Alam, Sudama Prasad and Satyadev Ram, AIPWA General Secretary Meena Tiwari, State Secretary Shashi Yadav, AIARLA leader Kunti Devi, Mahanand, and other leaders. Shriram Chaudhary, Tirupati Gemango were also present on the dais. The meeting was presided over by former MP Rameshwar Prasad and conducted by Gopal Ravidas.

Earlier, veteran leader Pratap Das hoisted the flag at the Gandhi Maidan and tributes were paid to all the martyrs. Comrade Nirmohi sang a song in memory and honour of the martyrs.

Sessions of the Conference

The open session of the 2^nd day of the conference was addressed by well-known economist Prof Jean Dreze, Aifa Begum, a people’s movement activist from Assam, former JNUSU GS Chintu Kumari, AIPWA GS Meena Tiwari and Bihar AIPWA Secretary Shashi Yadav, Tarari MLA Sudama Prasad and others.    

 CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Swadesh Bhattacharya, Rameshwar Ram, Kunal, Mahboob Alam and many senior leaders were present at the open session. After the open session, the conference proceeded under a 13-member Presidium comprising Shriram Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh), S Balasundaram (TN), Asha Devi, Shanichari Devi (Bihar), AIARLA Bihar State President Virendra Prasad Gupta, Dev Janaki (W Bengal), Pratima (Karbi), Meena Das (Jharkhand), Harvinder Singh (Punjab), Satyadev Ram, Tirupati Gomango (Odisha), Arjun Rao (AP), Laxman Bhai and Chhagan Bhai (Gujarat). A team comprising comrades Sajal Adhikari, Arup Mohanty, Ajay Kumar, Basava Prasad, Anil Paswan, Pankaj Singh, Dilip Singh, Kalyan Bharti, Parmeshwar Bharti, Rashida Khatoon, and Upendra Paswan was also elected to assist the Presidium.

Addressing the open session, Prof Jean Dreze said that MNREGA, Food Security, Public Distribution System (PDS) etc are in the clutches of large scale corruption. The commitment of those in power is not to the common people but to corporate houses. These schemes have gone from bad to worse in the Modi regime, which is why starvation deaths are occurring across the country today. The poor, dalits, and adivasis need food but there are no food grains in their homes. There should be a guarantee of provision at least for two square meals a day. Food security is the most important issue, which is why the Food Security Act was passed. But this Act has been made a joke today. We can and should mobilize the poor on this issue. We need to work seriously among the poor on this question.

Jean Dreze further said that the large scale corruption in the PDS needs to be ended. The food grains meant for the poor are being stolen by a chain of people from the dealer to the powers at the top. Therefore, these middlemen must be removed from these schemes. PDS must be run entirely through people’s participation and autonomy. We must fight for people’s-management not only in PDS but also in the economy. That is the only way to stop theft and loot. But we are being told not to think for ourselves, as that is a very dangerous thing to do.

He said that there had been much discussion about the Employment Guarantee Act at the AIARLA Rajamundhry conference. This Act gave workers an opportunity to organize themselves. Today after 12 years, we see that some employment has been generated, but the Act has not been implemented as it should have been. People have to struggle for work today and minimum wages are not paid generally. The people who are supposed to implement the Act are extremely anti-worker. We must break the contractor-politician nexus. Wherever workers have tried to organize themselves in MNREGA, they have been brutally repressed. Therefore, we must carry forward the class struggle and fight an extensive battle against corruption. We must strive for revolutionary social change as well as employment and livelihood guarantee. Jean Dreze expressed happiness that AIARLA is moving forward strongly on both these issues.

After the open session, AIARLA General Secretary Dhirendra Jha presented the organizational report on the current political situation. The report condemned the Modi regime, and raised many issues including livelihoods of dalits and workers, homestead land, education, health, attacks on migrant workers, eviction of poor settled for decades on small pockets of lands, attacks on the rights of adivasis and forest-dwellers. The report also reviewed the organizational work of the past 3 years and emphasized the need to strengthen the organization and struggles in all States. The report also raised the issues of demonetization and its destructive effect on agriculture, the unorganized sector where crores of jobs were lost, the economic ruin of farmers and workers, employment under MNREGA and the conspiracy to fix MNREGA minimum wages far below the minimum wage in the market, unemployment allowance, etc.

Many delegates participated in the discussion on the General Secretary’s report and enhanced it by sharing their experiences. A 10-point resolution was passed by the conference and the need to strengthen struggles in the coming days was stressed.

AIARLA has expressed solidarity with and support to the farmers’ protest in Delhi to be held on 29-30 November. The Conference also resolved to participate strongly in the countrywide workers’ strike on 8-9 January 2019 and resolved to throw out the fascist BJP government.

CPI(ML) Bihar Secretary Kunal said that the AIARLA national conference is being held in Jehanabad which has been home to the revolutionary struggle of agrarian workers and poor farmers. This conference will lend further strength to their struggle. The condition of the poor has gone from bad to worse under the Modi regime. Demonetization has adversely affected agrarian workers, poor farmers, and the rural economy. Unemployment is at its peak. We have the example of several starvation deaths in neighbouring Jharkhand. Those who loot the country are fleeing abroad and are being helped and protected by the government. The burden of these crises is being put on the shoulders of the villages, the poor, workers, and farmers. The JD(U)-BJP government in Bihar is evicting the poor from lands they have been long settled in, instead of giving entitlement of land to the landless poor.

Apart from these, the conference also raised the issues of a central law for the safety and dignity of workers in the country as well as migrant workers, guarantee of ration, livelihood and pension for all, and equal and quality education for children.

The Conference declared a decisive battle against the Modi government at the Centre and the BJP-JD(U) government in Bihar. The people are against communal frenzy, and for the protection of the Constitution, democracy, and people’s rights.

This 6^th national conference of the AIARLA was held on the basis of a countrywide membership of more than two million. The Conference also demanded land reforms, government acquisition of Betiya Raj zamindari lands, passing of a new Sharecroppers Act, Constitutional status for the right to housing, and a law for a maximum limit of 2 plots or houses at 2 places in order to confiscate black money and ‘black’ property.

CPI(ML) Cadre Meeting and Marx Bicentenary Celebration

The CPI (ML) in Kerala conducted a state level cadre meeting at Shikshak Sadan, Ernakulam on Nov 6 . The meeting was inaugurated by Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya. Whereas party members and leading Comrades from all over Kerala together with comrades from Kanyakumari of Tamilnadu were the participants, V Shankar, Politburo Member, Clifton, State Secretary, Karnataka were also present. Comrade KKS Das, a prominent dalit intellectual and leading Comrade in Bhoo Samara Munnai – (Land Struggle Front) also attended this meet. The meeting was presided by John K Erumeli, Kerala Secretary and the welcome address was delivered by O P Kunjupillai. The participants discussed the party activities and prospects in their concerned areas of mass work.

Comrade Dipankar observed that the emerging canvas of class struggle in Kerala is changing and there is a need to find and reach out to those sections in the society which are increasingly being marginalized, including dalits, adivasis, and women who are being oppressed by the neoliberal and Brahmanical forces. There is a need to defend the communist legacy. Comrade Dipankar also called for concerted and creative efforts in the cultural realm addressing caste and gender which have been virtually left to the monopoly of RSS and they are dictating in that area, even in Kerala. Sabarimala is a case in point. He called for unity against the fascist forces.

The cadre meeting was followed by a public meeting on Marx’s bicentennial at Vanchi Square, High Court junction, Ernakulam. Com. Dipankar discussed the emerging issues in Indian polity and economy, their correlation with Marx’s understanding of Capitalism and thus the contemporary relevance of Marx. Comrades KKS Das, Hariharan (RMP-I), Anthony Muthu (SC Member, Tamilnadu), Sunny Ambatt also addressed the meeting. The public meeting was presided by John K Erumeli.