The latest edition of the CPI(ML) monthly,Liberation,discusses the cancellation of the Vedanta groups mining project in the Niyamgiri hills. It says that,while one Niyamgiri has seemingly been saved,there are hundreds of Niyamgiris all over the country where a state-sponsored destruction campaign is on. It cites the Polavaram dam project in Andhra Pradesh and the proposed nuclear power plant in the environmentally delicate Konkan region of Maharashtra,and claims that while the environment ministry is now being described as a green crusader,it has actually functioned as a green destroyer. On to Rahul Gandhis visit to Niyamgiri,it says: one hand of the Congress is busy coercing and displacing the Adivasis,while the other hand garners sympathy… and pretends to be their soldier and saviour. The politics of the Congress revolves around this calculated combination of Operation Green Hunt and Operation Greenspeak and we must unmask the hypocrisy of Rahul Gandhis professed concern for the deprived tribal people. When the rhetoric of Nehru and Indira could not stop the radical Left even during the heyday of non-alignment and mixed economy,can the clever lines of Rahul Gandhi fool a people who are bearing the brunt of the pro-corporate,pro-imperialist policies of the Congress, it asks.
Ayodhya adventure
The lead editorial in the CPIs New Age describes the verdict of the Allahabad high court as judicial adventurism. They reach this conclusion in light of the Supreme Courts observation in a matter related to the acquisition of land in Ayodhya in 1994 that it does not have jurisdiction on mythical issues. From the summary of the judgment it seems that… the two judges of the Allahabad high court have traversed a field the SC has refused to enter, it notes. It was also critical of the observation that the Babri Masjid cannot be treated as a mosque as it came into existence against the tenets of Islam. It means they have concluded that the Babri Masjid was built after demolishing the temple. Obviously these are fanatical observations,and they will spark a heated debate about the jurisdiction of the courts in dabbling with questions related to history and archeology, it says,noting that it was time people were mobilised on real socio-economic issues,pushing emotive topics like Ayodhya towards judicial processes.
Spoiled companies
Following reports that corporate India has rejected the idea of reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the private sector,the CPM says the UPA governments failure to implement the policy,after promising it six years ago,betrays its lack of political will about providing social justice. An article in the CPM weekly Peoples Democracy says: these champions of neo-liberal policies want the government to abdicate all its responsibilities towards the people. But,they have no shame in demanding the government act proactively in their favour,be it to rescue them from the recent crisis,offering bailout packages,or doling out incentives. It claims that industrial houses that have benefited immensely from the reservations provided to them in the name of protection by the government,are arguing against reservations now. They do not think twice when demanding incentives and tax holidays in their competition with foreign players,even in this era of globalisation, it says. Noting that the UPA government makes a lot of noise about inclusive growth,it says the Centre must realise that growth with inclusiveness requires a concerted effort. It needs to be backed by legal protection against caste-based discrimination,and specific legal measures to implement reservations for SCs and STs in the private sector.
Compiled by Manoj C.G.
