People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No. 20
May 20, 2012
|
Vol. XXXVI
No. 20 May 20, 2012 |
Basudeb Acharia IN Lok Sabha, CPI(M) group leader Basudeb
Acharia said that while we are observing the 60th year of our parliament, we
should remember those who laid down their lives and went to the gallows. The
sacrifices of the heroes of our freedom struggle won us independence and we
adopted the parliamentary democratic system of governance. We will have to
seriously think whether the problems of inequality, discrimination, poverty,
exploitation, etc have increased or decreased, and whether the intent of the
founding fathers of the constitution has been implemented in letter and spirit,
in this 60 years period. We see that the poverty has not reduced; happiness has
not come to the people. The gap between the rich and the poor has increased.
Lakhs and lakhs of people are still born under the sky and die under the sky.
We have not been able to provide shelter to 100 per cent of our population. We
cannot even provide safe drinking water to the poor. We must seriously think of
the tribals and dalits whose conditions have not improved. If a farmer commits
suicide after 64 years of independence, we will have to seriously think over
it. Another major problem which is corroding our parliamentary democracy is the
use of money power in elections. If voters and votes are purchased, what will
happen to the parliamentary democracy? There is a need for electoral reforms. Unless
there is state funding of elections, we will not be able to curb the use of
money power. Something has to be done to cleanse the system and protect it from
corrosion. We should seriously ponder over it. The problems of discrimination,
exploitation, pauperisation of the people, starvation and illiteracy still
exist in this country, and we cannot enjoy the successes and achievements of
our parliamentary democracy unless we remove these ills. The sitting extended till the evening. Both
the houses adjourned after passing a resolution to uphold the dignity and
supremacy of parliament.
Joint
Statement issued by the Communist & Workers' Parties
NATO, A Threat to World Peace!
Below we publish
the joint statement of the Communist and Workers' parties on NATO issued on May 17, 2012. The CPI(M) has
signed the statement along with many other parties.
IN an international situation marked by the deepening
crisis of capitalism and by the violent imperialist offensive against the
achievements and rights of the workers and peoples, a NATO summit will take
place on May 20-21, in
In the context of an ever-deeper crisis of capitalism,
imperialism embarks on a militaristic and interventionist escalation.
Having renewed NATO's strategic concept in 2010 - a
new and dangerous qualitative step in its interventionist ambitions, of which
the aggression against Libya was an example – the USA and NATO, which has the
EU as its European pillar, seek to expand their sphere of influence, promote an
arms race and ever greater military spending, invest in new weapons and in
their worldwide network of military bases.
Imperialism militarizes international relations,
proceeds with occupations, threatens new aggressions, promotes conspiracies and
manoeuvers of interference in countries of every continent. The principles of
the UN Charter are seriously jeopardized and the process which seeks to destroy
International Law is accompanied by an ever greater instrumentalization of the
UN, with a view to whitewashing imperialist violence and its goals of
controlling resources and markets and of military and geostrategic domination.
NATO, being imperialism's main instrument in its quest
for world domination, is an enormous threat to world peace and security.
But, as the facts are demonstrating, imperialism's
force-based response to the crisis of capitalism is having to confront the
progressive and revolutionary struggle of the peoples, which in various parts
of the world are taking into their own hands the defense of their rights and
the sovereignty and independence of their countries and are resisting in the most
diversified ways, imposing setbacks to the strategy of imperialist domination.
Reaffirming thier commitment to the struggle for
peace, for the right of each people to freely decide its destiny, for social
progress and socialism, the Communist and Workers' Parties signing this
declaration:
-
Demand the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from
-
Reject the escalation of war in the Middle East, namely against
-
Demand the dissolution of NATO and support the sovereign right of peoples to
decide to disassociate their countries from this aggressive alliance;
-
Reject the deployment of
the
-
Demand an end to the
arms race, nuclear disarmament starting with the world's major nuclear powers –
such as the USA - and the complete destruction of chemical and biological
weapons;
-
Express their solidarity
with the peoples that resist imperialist occupation, aggression and
interference, namely in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and
Joint
Statement issued by the Communist & Workers' Parties
NATO, A Threat to World Peace!
Below we publish
the joint statement of the Communist and Workers' parties
on NATO issued on May 17, 2012. The CPI(M) has
signed the statement along with many other parties.
IN an international situation
marked by the deepening
crisis of capitalism and by the violent imperialist
offensive against the
achievements and rights of the workers and peoples, a NATO
summit will take
place on May 20-21, in
In the context of an ever-deeper
crisis of capitalism,
imperialism embarks on a militaristic and interventionist
escalation.
Having renewed NATO's strategic
concept in 2010 - a
new and dangerous qualitative step in its interventionist
ambitions, of which
the aggression against Libya was an example – the USA and
NATO, which has the
EU as its European pillar, seek to expand their sphere of
influence, promote an
arms race and ever greater military spending, invest in new
weapons and in
their worldwide network of military bases.
Imperialism militarizes
international relations,
proceeds with occupations, threatens new aggressions,
promotes conspiracies and
manoeuvers of interference in countries of every continent.
The principles of
the UN Charter are seriously jeopardized and the process
which seeks to destroy
International Law is accompanied by an ever greater
instrumentalization of the
UN, with a view to whitewashing imperialist violence and its
goals of
controlling resources and markets and of military and
geostrategic domination.
NATO, being imperialism's main
instrument in its quest
for world domination, is an enormous threat to world peace
and security.
But, as the facts are
demonstrating, imperialism's
force-based response to the crisis of capitalism is having
to confront the
progressive and revolutionary struggle of the peoples, which
in various parts
of the world are taking into their own hands the defense of
their rights and
the sovereignty and independence of their countries and are
resisting in the most
diversified ways, imposing setbacks to the strategy of
imperialist domination.
Reaffirming thier commitment to the
struggle for
peace, for the right of each people to freely decide its
destiny, for social
progress and socialism, the Communist and Workers' Parties
signing this
declaration:
-
Demand the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from
-
Reject the escalation of war in the Middle East, namely
against
-
Demand the dissolution of NATO and support the sovereign
right of peoples to
decide to disassociate their countries from this aggressive
alliance;
-
Reject the deployment
of
the
-
Demand an end to the
arms race, nuclear disarmament starting with the world's
major nuclear powers –
such as the USA - and the complete destruction of chemical
and biological
weapons;
-
Express their
solidarity
with the peoples that resist imperialist occupation,
aggression and
interference, namely in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America
and
