[Marxistindia] Press Communiqué

[news from the cpi(m)]

July 17, 2022

Press Communiqué

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi
on July 16. It has issued the following statement:

Growing assaults on people’s livelihood

World Bank data shows that the annual growth of the Indian economy over
2020-22 was a mere 0.8 per cent. 

Unemployment: According to the CMIE Report for the January-April 2022 the
number of unemployed in the age group of 20-24 years was over 2 crore – a
staggering unemployment rate of 42 per cent. In the 25-29 age group, this
was over sixty lac - an unemployment rate of 12.72 per cent. Together
unemployment in 20-29 age group is nearly 80 per cent of the over 3 crore
unemployed Indians above 15 years who are actively looking for jobs.  

India’s working age population is 36 per cent of the total. Of these 61.2
per cent have simply stopped looking for employment as there are no jobs.
The Labour Participation Rate has dropped to an all-time low of 38.8 per
cent. 

Galloping price rise: The annual Whole sale Price Index (WPI) rose to 15.8
per cent in May 2022 – the highest level since 1998. Food prices are rising
14.4 per cent; primary items by 19.71 per cent, fuel and energy by 40.63 per
cent, manufacturing products by 10.11 per cent. 

This price rise is imposing further hardships and reducing the purchasing
capacity of the Indian people further lowering the levels of demand in the
economy. The shrinkage of domestic demand is pushing down manufacturing
activity leading further job losses. 

Obscene levels of inequality: The communal-corporate nexus, crony capitalism
and the loot of our national assets is accelerating the widening of income
and wealth inequalities to obscene levels. Companies listed on the Bombay
Stock Exchange reported collective profits of over 9.3 lac crores in 2021-22
– over 70 per cent more than the previous year and three times higher than
the average profits earned annually for a decade before pandemic i.e.,
between 2010-2022. 

The Union government must immediately impose a tax on the super-rich and use
the revenue for hiking public investments to build our much needed
infrastructure, generate jobs and boost domestic demand in the economy.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Union government must immediately release funds to pay the long pending
wages for those who have already worked under the MGNREGS. 

Allocation for MGNREGS must be substantially increased as this is the only
source of employment and livelihood for crores of rural youth. 

Withdraw Compulsory Aadhar 

Union government must immediately withdraw the order making Aadhar
compulsory for the supplementary nutritional program for children. In the
name of weeding out fake beneficiaries lacs of children between the age of
six months and six years will be denied this legal entitlement that was
enacted along with the National Food Security Act in 2013. Currently, 7.9
crore children benefit from this programme but, only 23 per cent of children
below the age of five have Aadhar cards according to official records. India
today has one of the worst records of child malnutrition in the world. 

Assaults on Education

The aggressive pursuit of National Education Policy, 2020 using the
restrictions during pandemic, together with all-out efforts to introduce
online education is causing havoc. Lakhs of schools have been closed down
and drop outs are growing at an alarming rate at college and university
levels. There is an obnoxious aggressive assault against secular and
scientific content of education.

Attack on tribal rights 

The Modi government has mounted a vicious attack on tribal rights by
amending rules under the Forest Conservation Act. These amendments are aimed
to facilitate private corporates to access and control India’s forests for
profit maximisation. These rules eliminate the rights of the Grama Sabhas,
tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers whose prior consent
was mandatory for diversion of forest land. This is also a clear violation
of the Constitutional guarantees given to the tribal communities. These
rules must immediately be withdrawn.

Growing assaults on civil liberties

The Polit Bureau demanded the immediate withdrawal of cases against Teesta
Setalvad, Zubair Mohammed and others. These arrests are aimed at stifling
dissent. Those who bring the truth before the people exposing the fake news
propagated by Hindutva communal outfits that generate an atmosphere of
incendiary hate and violence are increasingly being targeted by the BJP
governments. Those who propagate hate speeches are not acted against but
those who oppose are persecuted and prosecuted. This official patronage to
hate mongers must stop. 

Devastating floods

The Polit Bureau expressed its deep concern at the devastation caused by
floods in various parts of the country. In Assam the floods have wreaked
extensive damage claiming many lives, destroying properties and displacing
lakhs of people. Similarly, floods are causing havoc in Telangana,
Maharashtra, Gujarat and elsewhere. 

Union government must immediately release the necessary resources and
materials to the affected states for relief and rehabilitation. 

Condemn baseless allegations

The Polit Bureau strongly condemned the unsubstantiated and baseless
allegations levelled by the ruling BJP on Shri Hamid Ansari, former Vice
President of India. Shri Ansari is a globally respected diplomat, scholar
and served with distinction in every responsibility given to him by the
Union government with an unimpeachable track record of patriotism.

Targeting Shri. Ansari because of his identity and steadfast commitment to
the Indian Constitution and to the secular democratic Republic is
unaaceptable. 

Kerala Developments

The Polit Bureau strongly condemns the effort being made to destabilise the
LDF government in Kerala misusing the Central agencies. The opposition
Congress party and the BJP are acting in tandem against the LDF government
which gained the confidence of the people of Kerala by once again forming
the government in 2021 with a larger mandate.  

75 Years of India’s Independence

The Polit Bureau called upon the entire Party to observe August 1-15,
organising extensive programmes calling upon the Indian people to defend our
secular democratic Constitutional Republic, the Constitution of India,
Democracy, Democratic rights and civil liberties. 

 

 

 

 

Muralidharan

[For CPI(M) Central Committee Office]

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://cpim.org/pipermail/marxistindia_cpim.org/attachments/20220717/65b0d0a4/attachment.html>