[Marxistindia] Press Communique

[news from the cpi(m)]

June 4, 2021
 
Press Communique
 
The Polit Burau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met on June 3,
2021. It has issued the following statement:
 
Covid Vaccination
 
The second wave of the pandemic has plateaued according to pandemic
administrators but there is no substantial decline in the number of
infections. This is very alarming and concerning. 
 
The only way to protect the lives of our people and contain the pandemic is
through a massive free universal mass vaccination programme. The target of
vaccinating all adults by the year-end requires close to 190 crore
vaccination doses. The Modi government that claimed on May 13 that between
August-December 2021 India will have access to 216 crore vaccine doses has
substantially lowered vaccine availability in an affidavit to the Supreme
Court on June 26 to 135 crore doses. This is an alarming shortfall to meet
the year end target.
 
The Modi government must immediately procure vaccines from all globally
available sources and intensify the vaccination drive. India and our people
cannot afford to combat the third wave and it is imperative to prevent it
through mass vaccination. 
 
Crippling Price Rise
 
The near daily hikes in petroleum prices apart from crippling people's
livelihood's directly has resulted in a surging inflationary spiral across
the board. The prices of all food items are on the rise. Edible oil prices
are sky rocketing. The LPG cylinder costs have been hiked by nearly Rs. 250
for a subsidised cylinder during the last seven months. 
 
This Modi government increased the excise duties on petrol by 258 per cent
and on diesel by 820 per cent. The Central Government is raking in revenues
at the expense of ruining people's lives who are already burdened with
increased expenditures in combatting the pandemic. 
 
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands the scrapping of these excise duties
on petroleum products and effective measures to control the prices of all
essential commodities. 
 
The Modi government must immediately give a direct cash transfer of Rs. 7500
to all families outside the Income Tax paying bracket and distribute free
food kits containing all essential items of daily consumption. 
 
Rafale Deal
 
The French public prosecution services (PNF) has ordered an investigation by
a French judge into the 2016 multi-billion dollar deal for Rafale fighter
jets entered into by the Modi government. Judicial investigation was
formally opened into the Inter-Governmental Agreement on June 14 following a
decision by the Financial Branch of the PNF. The exposures of official
papers concerning the deal by a French investigative website show that
Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale and Anil Ambani's Reliance
Group entered into an agreement on March 26, 2015 i.e. fifteen days before
PM Modi's announcement of the new deal and exclusion of HAL.
 
This reconfirms the apprehensions raised by the CPI(M) that PM Modi's
turnaround from the earlier purchase agreement, is mired in deep corruption
and money laundering. 
 
The Polit Bureau reiterates its demand raised in September 2018 for the
constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the role of
the Prime Minister and the government in this whole episode and establish
the truth of the deal. 
 
 
Withdraw the 
Draconian Essential Defence Services Ordinance, 2021
 
The Polit Bureau strongly condemns the promulgation of this ordinance, which
aims to prohibit the working class and employees of the ordnance factories
to organise legitimate protests against the outright sale of India's
national assets to facilitate profit-maximisation of corporate cronies. The
41 ordnance factories are being converted into 7 corporations. The  Modi
government has announced that only 4 public sector units will remain in this
strategic sector. This is unacceptable. The protests against this naked loot
of our national assets will intensify. 
 
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands that this ordinance be withdrawn
forthwith. 
 
 
 
 
For CPI(M) Central Committee Office
 
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