CPI(M) West Bengal state secretary Suryakant Misra in a  statement  issued on July 30, has demanded that all citizens residing in Assam should be enlisted in NRC.He said people of West Bengal are concerned about developments in Assam. It is doubtful whether the statement of the West Bengal chief minister in this regard is actually aimed to address this concern. The role of TMC in the past on citizenship issue is one reason for this doubt.

AGRICULTURAL workers play an important role in agricultural production, of food as well as commercial crops. They make up the largest share of all working people in our country. According to the last Census in 2011 there were 14.43 crore agricultural workers in India. This is about one third of our country’s workforce and 55 percent of the rural workforce. With continuing agrarian crisis, large numbers of small and marginal farmers are compelled to abandon cultivation and join the ranks of agricultural workers. Thus, their number has been rising steadily every year.

THE proposal to eliminate the University Grants Commission and to tighten political control over the higher education system in India, has been mooted at the behest of Narendra Modi who is apparently concerned about the dearth of Indian names among the top-ranked universities in the world. This concern is not confined to Modi alone; it is shared by large numbers of persons in the country’s political establishment, and by many in the general public.

SPEAKING at a seminar on “  challenges  facing India” at Chennai  organized by the Tamil Nadu Platform for People’s Unity on July 29, the leaders of the CPI(M), Congress, DMK and CPI  said that Modi government has failed on all fronts and called for ending the BJP rule.CPI(M)  General Secretary  Sitaram Yechury said that India is facing multiple challenges. The four pillars of the Indian constitution are severely attacked by the BJP government. It has failed on four major fronts ; economy, democracy, social justice and ensuring the state government rights.

A JOINT meeting of leaders of various political parties, central trade unions, service organisations, trade unions and officers organisations in banking and insurance sectors, non-governmental organisations(NGO), women organisations, youth and student organisations etc., have decided to launch a movement against the grave crisis gripping the financial sector. The movement has been named as Movement for India’s Financial Independence (MIFI).Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, inaugurated the national level campaign of MIFI on June 18 at Martyrs Column, Thiruvananthapuram.