Thursday, June 30, 2011

Workers resolve to fight anti labour policies of the govt of Bihar

Patna, June 26:

Against anti labour, anti public sector policies and the against the policy of privatization of Bihar government, Central Trade Unions called Bihar on 20th September this year. This decision was taken in a joint convention of Central Trade Unions comprising AIUTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS, INTUC, UTUC, TUCC and AICCTU at IMA Hall, Patna on Sunday. A serious of programmes of the movement were decided in the convention. District level conventions will be held through out the month of July. Massive Dharnas will be held on 9th August before the offices of District Magistrates.

Addressing the workers coming from different districts Arun Kumar Singh, President, AIUTUC, Bihar State Committee said: The rights of workers are being curtailed as the crisis of capitalism deepens. The trade union movement has lost its power of bargaining. We change the government through election, but the anti working class policy does not change. Policy remains the same and these policies jeopardize the life of the workers. The problem of unemployment is created at the one hand and jobs are being done on the contract basis on the other. Stressing on the need of powerful united trade union movement he assured all that the AIUTUC would take part in all the programmes taken by Shram Sangathan Manch, Bihar.

Others who spoke on the occasion were Usha Sahani, AITUC, Arun Kumar Mishra, CITU, R N Thakur, AICCTU, H M Vajpayee, Chandra Prakash, INTUC, Shiv Narain Singh, TUCC. The main resolution of the convention was read out by Chakradhar Prasad Singh. The convention ended with firm resolve to build up mighty joint trade union movement against skyrocketing price hike, privatisation, contract system and anti labour policies of the government of Bihar.


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Protest March and Effigy Burning against price hike of LPG, diesel and kerosene

Muzaffarpur, 25 June:

Under the auspices of SUCI (Communist), Muzaffarpur District Committee protest march was taken out and effigy of PM Manmohan Singh was burnt against price hike of cooking fuel, diesel and kerosene. The march was taken out from Shahid Khudiram Bose Memorial, Companybagh. The party activists participating in the march were shouting thunderous slogans like ‘rollback the increased prices of LPG, diesel and kerosene’,’ check the skyrocketing price hike’,’ lower the prices of LPG, diesel and kerosene reducing the taxes of state and central government’. Traversing the main thoroughfares of the city the marched reached at Saraiganj Tower where the effigy of Prime Minister was burnt.

After burning the effigy a meeting was held. Addressing the meeting Lalbabu Mahato, Member, Muzaffarpur District Committee, SUCI (Communist) said: While people are reeling under acute price hike , the steep rise in the prices of LPG, diesel and kerosene would make people’s condition more deplorable. The middle class will be affected badly due to this.

Kashinath Sahani, Secretary, AIKKMS and Member, Muzaffarpur District Committee, SUCI (Communist) said: The Central government is talking the loss of petroleum companies, where as the annual report of petroleum companies tells about the super profit earned by them. He criticized also the state government for enhancing the power tariff. Among others who spoke on the occasion were Arjun Kumar, Secretary, Muzaffarpur District Committee, SUCI (Communist), Ram Naresh Ray, Shiv Chandra Paswan, Members, District Committee, Baidya Nath Pandit, Prem Kumar Ram, Vipin Thakur, Ashutosh Kumar, Arvind Kumar and Vinay sah. All the speakers demanded in one voice to rollback the increased prices of LPG, diesel and kerosene.

Protest against the rising cases of encephalitis

Muzaffarpur, 25 June:

Protesting against the apathy of the Bihar government towards rising cases of encephalitis, a deadly disease, a sit in was organized before the office of the Commissioner, Tirhut Division, Muzaffarpur on Saturday. The sit in was organized by the district unit of SUCI (Communist). Addressing the sit in Arjun Kumar, Secretary, SUCI (Communist), Muzaffarpur District Committee said: The number of deaths due to this disease is increasing rapidly. More than 50 children have died within a fortnight. The children coming from the poor and downtrodden families are most victimized. This is going for last 15 years. But the government did not take any step to prevent it. The administration and the officers of Health department are shrinking their responsibilities branding guilty to each other. It is matter of regret that there is no emergency facility for children in Shree Krishna Medical College & Hospital and in Sadar Hospital. The child department in sadar Hospital is closed. There is no treatment for such a deadly disease in primary health centers. The specialists opine that the disease causes due to malnutrition and dirty and filthy environment.


Among others who addressed the sit in were Lalbabu Mahato, Ram Naresh Ray, Members, District Committee, SUCI (Communist), Kashinth Sahani, Secretary, AIKKMS, Muzaffarpur District Committee, student leader Arvind Kumar, Shiv Chandra Paswan, Lalbabu Ray, youth leaders Prem Kumar Ram, Uday Kumar Jha. A charter of demand was handed over to the commissioner which include adoption of proper preventives for encephalitis, solving the problem of water logging, spreading DDT and eliminating poverty.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

SUCI (Communist) protests steepest hike in Cooking Gas, Diesel and Kerosene

Patna, June 25:

SUCI (Communist) Patna District Committee protests the excessive hike in cooking gas by Rs 50 per cylinder, diesel by Rs 3 per litre and kerosene by Rs 2 per litre and burns the effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Patna Jn. Roundabout on Saturday.

Party activists took out a protest march from Radio Station and traversing the main thoroughfare Dak Bungalow Roundabout reached Patna Jn. Roundabout where the effigy was burnt and a street corner meeting was held. The activists were shouting thunderous slogans against anti people policies of the UPA Government in Centre.


Addressing the meeting the speakers said: “The Congress led UPA government at Centre excessively increased the prices of cooking gas, diesel and kerosene in order to serve the industrial houses, the oil lobbies. The anti people face of the Central government has come to fore. The fraudulent pretext of the government of hike in international crude prices and mounting loss incurred by the oil companies, the fact is that both Government-owned oil companies as well as private oil behemoths are accumulating huge profit so much so as to be able to make massive investment abroad in oil business. The increase in the prices of diesel, the main transportation fuel, will immediately push up cost of food items, bus fares, freight as well as many consumer goods. The cascading effect of this sharpest jump in prices of kitchen fuel, diesel and kerosene will deal a severe blow to the people already reeling under spiraling rise in prices of essential commodities entailing further misery and penury to their life.


Denounced this anti people move of the government all the speakers call upon the people to rise in protest against this most despicable act of the government and build up powerful movement in demand for immediate withdrawal of the hike and lowering of the huge taxes imposed on petro-products.”


The meeting was addressed by Shivlal Prasad, M K Pathak, both senior State Committee Members, Sadhana Mishra, Secretary, Patna District committee, Baidya Nath Sharma, Rajendra Ray, Suryakar Jitendra, Anil Kumar and Anamika, all District Committee Members, SUCI (Communist).

Monday, June 20, 2011

Subodh Banerjee, A minister who can not be corrrupt

A Defiant Rebel

D. Bandyopadhyay

To write about a politician, one runs the risk of being either a self-seeker trying to get some material advantage if one spoke good of him, or a run-of-the mill faultfinder who failed to get his desired benefits if one wrote against him. But being neither, I do not hesitate to record an incident of great moral magnitude regarding the late Subodh Banerjee.

Subodh Banjerjee was a firebrand labour leader with such incendiary oratorical skill that both his friends and detractors used to say that he could set fire to the sluggish currents of the river Hooghly. Unlike many of his ilk, he was not a purchasable commodity available to the highest bidder. Employers used to be afraid of him so much that they would always prop up another trade union with a pliable leadership to subvert his union. They would concede more to the other union than come to any understanding with Banjerjee’s union. He would fight hard to get his demands met. But once an agreement was made, he would ensure that it was strictly implemented both by his followers and the employer. He would not allow any under-the-table adjustment which would be personally beneficial to the union leaders and, of course, to the management leaving the workers high and dry. All his dealings in labour matters were open and above board leaving no scope for future manipulation by the twist of a phrase or turn of a punctuation. Employers always thought him to be an uncompromisingly obstinate and dangerous leader.

He belonged to the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI). Its leadership believed in the Brahminical tradition of pollution free purity of socialist thoughts and principles. In the rainbow spectrum of Socialist-Marxist parties of West Bengal, it represented an extreme position. Though small in size, it had the reputation of being aggressively combative which could make its followers suffer untold police torture without any demur.

The late sixties of the last century witnessed tumultuous political upheavals in West Bengal. In 1967 the ruling Congress party was unseated from power by a hotch-potch combination of Right and Left parties who made a post-electoral alliance. Subodh Banerjee became the PWD Minister. Being scrupulously honest, the Department—which even in the British days had earned the sobriquet “plunder without detection”—felt the sizzling heat of a firebrand honest Minister. His lasting contribution was the removal of all statutes of “guardians and rulers” of the Indian empire from public places in Kolkata. But he did not destroy them. He appreciated the artistic value of many of them and stored them in some other public places not in the public view. The first United Front Government only lasted for seven months. The Ministry was dismissed and President’s Rule was promulgated.

After the election in 1969, the UF again came to power. Subodh Banerjee got the portfolio of his choice, Labour. In little over a year that this government lasted, he left a permanent imprint on the industrial scene by introducing “gherao” as an instrument of industrial action by militant workers. So much was the intensity of this new method of labour action that the word “gherao” got inducted into the English languge. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, 2004, on page 598 has the following entry: “Gherao: n (pl. gheraos). Indian; a protest in which workers prevent employers leaving a place of work until demands are met. Origin: From Hindi.”

So the English language was enriched by his gherao policy. Though as an incidental side-effect, the investment climate in West Bengal collapsed and a long process of de-industrialisation started. The second UF Government imploded because of its own internal contradictions. After a spell of another President’s Rule during the Bangladesh war, the Congress came back to power in 1972.

UNDER the new government, I was posted as the Labour Secretary. Dr Gopal Das Nag, a well-known general physician, became the Labour Minister. He was an amiable person and had excellent relationship with all trade union leaders irrespective of their political colour. One day he sent for me and asked whether I knew Subodh Banerjee. I told him that though I did not directly work under him during the two UF governments, I had had interaction with him in land maters. Notwithstanding his notoriety in the corporate circle, I found him to be an extremely friendly and polite person.

Dr Nag then told me that Banerjee was very sick. He had been admitted to the School of Tropical Medicine. He said he would have himself gone there but for some reasons he was unable to go, so could I go and meet Banerjee and find out from his family members and attending physicians whether Dr Nag could render any help either as a Minister or otherwise.

I could easily appreciate Dr Nag’s predicament. As a gentleman he wanted to be by the side of his predecessor in office. On the other hand, during the period of “restoration” if he were seen publicly with the “gherao Minister” it might be misinterpreted both in the business and political circles. With alacrity, I agreed to be his personal emissary to visit Subodh Banjerjee in the hospital. I was also to find out from the Director of the School whether any special medicine would be required which Dr Nag could procure quickly avoiding the usual medical red tape.

During the visiting hour on the same day, I went and met Subodh Babu. He was in a small ordinary cabin on the ground floor. He was very happy to see me. His voice had become very feeble. His body was frail. I could see that it was a strain for him to talk to me. He thanked Dr Nag and then me for coming to see him. He inquired about many officers of the Labour Department. After the usual pleasantry when I inquired whether we could do anything for him, he gave a benign smile and told me that he was already in a government hospital so he had nothing more to ask of Dr Nag as a Minister of the government or as a person. It was very kind of him to make this gesture. When I was coming away, he dropped a hint he would not mind my coming again for a chit-chat.

Thereafter, I went to the Director’s office. Dr Nag had already informed him that I would be visiting him. I found a number of other physicians in his room, I was ushered in the midst of a medical conference. When I inquired about the prognosis, he told me it was bleak and he did not expect Subodh Banerjee to last more than a fortnight at the outside. He had a bad type of blood cancer for which there was no specific medicine available in India. But some of the physicians who were doing research on the subject were aware of a new drug just made available in the market in the UK which, according to some medical journals, may prolong the life for a while, though it could not cure the ailment. In fact, the conference was about the possibility of using that drug for Banerjee.

That drug was not available in India. By the usual procedure it would take months before it could be accessible here. I requested him to give me the full specifications about the drug. With that I returned to office.

Though it was late, Dr Nag was waiting for me. He had a talk with the Director so he knew about the drug. Those were the days of strict foreign exchange and import control. Even by extraordinary measure an indent from the Government of West Bengal to the Health Ministry at Delhi would take days if not weeks to get processed. When he were discussing about the matter, it struck me if some Kolkata managing agency houses, which were now owned by Indians and which still had their London offices, could be approached to procure the medicine in the UK and send it to India by hand. Dr Nag told me that he was also thinking on that line. He then rang up the chairman of a well known former sterling company which had an office in London and told him of this problem. The gentleman agreed to come to Writers’ Buildings at once to discuss about it.

The gentleman was told about the urgency of the problem because the physicians did not expect him to last beyond a couple of weeks. He went back to his office to call his London office. Next morning Dr Nag told me that the London office of that Indian company had been advised to procure the medicine. The prescription of the Tropical School of Medicine had to be faxed to London to enable them to buy it. As a humanitarian measure the company would buy the medicine on their own and would not accept any payment. The problem was how to send it quickly. Dr Nag was a Press-friendly person. So some of his friends in the Press came to know of the whole episode. The next morning two important dailies of Kolkata carried news about procurement of a rare medcine for Subodh Banerjee from London. Seeing the report the local manager of the British Overseas Airways Corporation came to the Minister and told him that if the medicine could be handed over to a particular officer of the BOAC in London, they would have it transported to Kolkata free of charge on humanitarian ground. The BOAC then had three flights a week from London to Kolkata. So by the fifth day from the day the prescription was received the medicine would arrive in Kolkata.

ON the morning of the sixth day, the manager of the BOAC Kolkata brought the packet himself and handed it over to the Minister. Dr Nag sent for me and gave the packet with the request to rush to the hospital to hand over the medicine to the Director. I went to the hospital, As I was going towards Subodh Banerjee’s cabin I met the attending physician who was coming out of the room. I told him that I had the medicine and I would like to hand it over to him. He suggested that I should keep it in the patient’s room for the time being till they start administering it.

I went to Banerjee’s cabin. His condition had visibly deteriorated in the last few days. His voice was so feeble that it was not audible. He had a slate and a piece of chalk. Looking at me his eyes sparkled and he broke into a pleasant smile. I kept the packet on a stool by his bedside. His wife and daughter were on the other side of the bed.

He spoke something to me. I could not hear. His wife told me that he wanted to know who had bought the medicine. I could understand the catch in his question. I replied that the BOAC brought the medicine free of charge from London. He again said something. It was not audible to me. His wife told me that he knew about it and that he was grateful to the British public sector corporation for taking this trouble but he did not get the answer to his query. I thought it would not be proper to parry his question any further. I told him at the request of Dr Nag the chairman of an old managing agency house procured the medicine in London on the basis of the prescription of the School of Tropical Medicine and that the company refused to accept any payment either from the government or from Dr Nag personally. The company donated the medicine for a humanitarian cause.

His face hardened. That pleasant smile vanished. For a fraction of a second his eyes blazed. I could perceive that something was boiling within him. Then he gradually calmed down. Again he resumed his pleasant self. Then I noticed a flicker of smile on his lips. He took the slate and the chalk. With his unsteady hand he wrote a few incomplete sentences and handed over the slate to me. There I found, he profusely thanked Dr Nag and the chairman of the managing agency house for their kind gesture.

Then came the bombshell. He wrote that he fought against this managing agency house for their unfair labour practices throughout his trade union career. He could not and would not accept the medicine from them. Then there was almost an appeal to me: “Please do not try to pollute me in the remaining hours of my life.”

I was stunned, I just could not react. I stood shell-shocked for a while. When I got control over myself, I thought his wife and daughter had the right to disagree with him so that the medicine could be administered. I gave the slate to his wife. She said nothing but nodded consent with her husband’s stand. I then gave it to his daughter with the faint hope that she might disagree. To my surprise, she also agreed with her father.

There was a patient who was to die in another 72 to 94 hours. There was the medicine procured from half the world away which was to prolong his life by three to six months. And here was that determined and dauntless non-conformist who would not accept the medicine donated by his class enemy. I did not know what to do: I looked at him directly in the eyes. I saw a naughty look of a child who had just outwitted his headmaster. There was again that pleasant smile indicating that he was totally in peace with himself and with the world outside.

I bowed and picked up the packet. I went to the Director’s office where he was conducting a meeting with his fellow physicians about that medicine. I kept the packet on his table and told the dumbfounded audience that Subodh Banerjee refused to accept the medicine given by a corporate house.

A couple of days later, while I was having tea I heard in the news of the All India Radio that Banerjee had passed away in the wee hours of that morning. I was alone in my room. I stood up and bowed to the indomitable spirit of a defiant rebel.

(Courtesy : The Statesman)

The author was the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministries of Finance (Revenue) and Rural Development, and the Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, Manila.

Former Agriculture Minister of Bihar supports the farmers struggling against asbestos factory at Marwan

Muzaffarpur, June18:

Under the auspices of Khet Bachao Jiwan Bachao Jan Sangharsh Committee (KBJBJSC) a mass meeting was held at Chainpur Middle School ground under Marwan bloc in Muzaffarpur district, Bihar in continuation of the protests against setting up deadly asbestos factory. Addressing the mammoth gathering Ram Jiwan Singh, noted Socialist leader and former Agriculture Minister, government of Bihar said, “There are some prerequisites for opening a factory. Raw materials should be available nearby the factory. It should not have ill effects on the health of the people residing nearby. But the very asbestos factory being constructed at Marwan does not fulfill any of the prerequisites. The raw material required for this factory will be brought from Canada. The neighboring people will suffer form cancer. There is no sufficient market for the product too. It is beyond the understanding how the government of Bihar permitted the owner to set up such a factory of carcinogenic nature here.” In spite of relatively low fertile land in Punjab, the people of Bihar go there for agricultural work. Punjab has more small industries and this is why people from outside the state get job easily. The soil of Bihar is favorable for the cultivation of Mango, Litchi, banana, sugarcane, rice, potato, tomato, maize etc. If industries are set up based on these materials, agriculture will be developed without health hazards and more people will get employment and as well, he added. He expressed his belief that CM Nitish Kumar will certainly ban the asbestos industry. I shall be forefront it is necessary to die in order to stop the factory, he added.

Addressing the gathering Surendra Kumar, National Secretary, Gandhi Peace Foundation said, “The government is serving only the capitalists. The administration and the owner hatched a conspiracy to divide the people fighting against the setting up of asbestos factory. He stressed the need to intensify the struggle of the farmers. The meeting was addressed by Harinandan Ishwar, Zila Parsad Neera Devi, Farukh Azam, Mukhiya Umesh Mahato, Panchayat Samati Sadashya Md. Mosim, Tarkeswar Giri, Ramashankar Singh, Convener Ramchandra Ray, Journalist Kundan Kumar and Arun Kumar Singh. The meeting was presided over by Sikandar Singh.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

AIDSO protests severe lathi-charge on the CBSE students

Patna, June 15:

In protest of the police severe lathi-charge on students of CBSE Class 12 demanding re-evaluation of their answer scripts AIDSO burnt the effigy of CM Nitish Kumar at Dakbanga Chauraha here on Wednesday. The procession of students shouting thunderous slogans started from the statue of Netajee Subhash Chandra Bose at Gandi Maidan and reached the venue.

After burning the effigy a short meeting was held. Addressing the meeting Suryakar Jitendra, Secretary, AIDSO, Bihar State Committee said: “The barbaric lathi-charge on the students exposed the real face the anti student face of the Nitish Government. Under the garb of good governance the NDA government is suppressing the voice of protesting students.” Others who spoke on the occasion were Anil Kumar, Secretariat Member, AIDSO, Bihar State Committee, Kanchan Kumari, President, Saroj Kumar Suman, Secretary and Nikolai Sharma, Office Secretary, AIDSO, Patna District Committee. All the speakers condemn in one voice the brutal lathicharge on the students and demanded stern action to the officers responsible for lathicharge and re-evaluate the answer scripts.







Monday, June 13, 2011

Protest against proposed asbestos plant in Vaishali, Bihar




Hazipur, June 13:

Protesting against the proposed asbestos factory at Rampur Rajdhari Chaksultan (Panapur) under Goraul bloc in Vaishali district, Bihar, a dharna (sit-in) was held here at district headquarter before the office of District Magistrate on Monday under the auspices of Khet Bachao Jiwan Bachao Sangharsh Committee. Referring WHO, ILO resolution for banning the use of asbestos Rajkumar Chaudhary, Member, Citizens’ Forum against Asbestos, Patna in course of addressing the dharna he said: The green signal by the state government for setting up of hazardous asbestos factory in the vicinity of populated area and on fertile and irrigated land at Panapur under Vaishali district is totally anti people. In the name of sushasan (good governance) the deadly asbestos causing cancer is being promoted in our state of Bihar whereas 55 countries in the globe have already ban the use of asbestos. Suggesting the government to use and to promote the alternatives to asbestos he stressed the need of protected and sustained movement against the construction of the factory of such a carcinogenic substance like asbestos. He urged all the citizens to get themselves involved in this movement for protecting public health. Addressing the dharna Ajit Kumar Singh, Convener, Khet Bachao Jiwan Bachao Sangharsh Committee said the people of Panapur are determined to intensify their struggle to achieve their demand of stopping the construction of deadly asbestos factory in their locality. Among others who spoke on the occasion were Indradeo Roy, Member, State Committee, SUCI (Communist), Lalit Kumar Ghosh, Secretary, Vaishali District Committee, SUCI (Communist) and Tribhuwan Ray, Secretary, Vaishali District Committee, CPI (ML). The dharna was presided over by Rampukar Ray, Joint Convener, Khet Bachao Jiwan Bachao Sangharsh Committee. Later on a memorandum was submitted to the District Magistrate, Vaishali demanding immediately ban on the construction of asbestos factory.


Friday, June 3, 2011

Protest of steep hike in power tariff

Patna, June 3:
Under the auspices of Patna District Committee of SUCI (Communist) a protest march was taken out from Radio Station and an effigy of Mr. Nitish Kumar, CM, Bihar was burnt at Patna Junction roundabout against the steep hike in power tariff. The protesters were shouting slogans like ‘Roll back the increased power tariff’, ‘Scrap anti people Power policy-2003 ’and ‘Build up movement against steep hike in power tariff’.
Addressing the people gathered at Patna Junction roundabout after burning the effigy the speakers condemned the steep hike in power tariff and demanded immediate rollback the increased tariff hike. They said the prices of essential commodities and food items are skyrocketing and due to this the common people of the state are most effected. In such a pitiable condition the JDU-BJP combine government running in the name of good governance has increased power tariff exorbitantly as maximum of 20 per cent. This hike in tariff would worsen the pitiable condition of the people of Bihar. The speakers demanded scraping the Power policy-2003 holding it responsible for tariff hike, privatization of electricity and retrenchment in the power sector. Terming as anti people and anti poor the speakers said the JDU-BJP combine government like the previous one making the life of the people miserable sub serving the ruling capitalist class.
The meeting was addressed by Shival Prasad and Manikant Pathak both Senior State Committee Members, SUCI (C), Rajendra Roy, Suryakar Jitendra and Anil Kumar, all District Committee Members, SUCI (C).