People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No. 43
October 28, 2012
|
Vol. XXXVI
No. 43 October 28, 2012 |
Peace Means
JAMMU & KASHMIR
CONCLUDING on
October 22, the
two
day meeting of the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) state
committee of CPI(M)
at
Mohmmad
Yousuf Tarigami, state secretary of the CPI(M), said the
governments at the
centre and in the state were not seen doing anything
substantial to improve the
livelihood of the common man. The escalation in the prices
of essential
commodities, the recent decision to increase the prices of
diesel and to limit
the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders would further
make the life of
the common people miserable. Tarigami emphasised that it is
only the united and
sustained struggles of the exploited which can force the
authorities to listen
to the voices of the people. Mere promises and assurances
cannot work.
The state
committee, through a resolution, took a dig at the central
government for the
hike in diesel prices, holding that the rise in fuel prices
would have a
cascading effect on all commodities and thus hit the
interests of the poor and
the lower middle class. While the food inflation and
depreciation of rupee have
already worsened the economic condition of the people, the
hike in diesel
prices would further add to their woes. Rejecting as
unreasonable and
unrealistic the justifications offered by the central
government in the name of
depreciation of rupee, losses to oil companies and fiscal
deficit, the
committee also demanded an increase in the number of
subsidised LPG cylinders
for households.
The CPI(M) state committee expressed
concern
over the recent ceasefire
violations across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch
and Uri sectors, and warned
that further vitiation of the atmosphere along the borders
would derail the
peace process between
Terming the
ceasefire violations most unfortunate, it said that such
violations would exacerbate
the ongoing impasse over
Describing
the youth as builders of future, the CPI(M) stressed the
need of chalking out a
comprehensive vision document for long term solution of the
problems facing the
youth in J&K. In addition to the general problems faced
by the youth in
As for the
new recruitment policy, the CPI(M) said it is yet another
blow on the job
aspiring educated youth who are already disillusioned.
Terming the new recruitment policy as
unreasonable and unjustified, the party said such an
arrangement would have
adverse repercussions on the delivery mechanism because of
distress among the new
incumbents.
The committee
expressed satisfaction on the obvious shift from violence to
peaceful protests
by the youth and said that the government should take it as
an opportunity for
dealing with the youngsters in the same way as it does in
the rest of the
country. It also advocated the formation of a state youth
commission which could
frame special and result oriented projects and schemes for
the harmonious
development of the youth of J&K.
The state committee took due
note of the specific dimensions of corruption in Jammu &
Kashmir. Given that the
state lags behind more advanced regions
of the country in the matter of development, corruption
and other malpractices
have more disastrous impacts here. Moreover, J&K is a
volatile state with a
fragile peace situation. In such a situation the public
perception of state
institutions assumes added importance. Legitimacy of the
government instruments
in the public eye is vital, especially in a state like
ours. A direct result of
corruption in Jammu & Kashmir is an increase in the
trust deficit in the
state. A negative correlation exists between such public
perceptions and the
law and order landscape in this volatile state. There
exists a natural
corollary between these two aspects, the latter contingent
upon the former.
The CPI(M)
state committee resolved to intensify its campaign against
corruption and urged
upon the government to augment the anti-corruption
architecture in the state,
like the State Accountability Commission, Vigilance
Commission and the anti-corruption
wings of various departments. It also demanded much greater
policy and material
support to such institutional framework,
laid stress on greater transparency and accountability in
governance, and expressed
the belief that application of the principles of
reinforcement and exemplary
punishment would help clear up the mess in a large
measure.
Regarding relief to the windstorm victims, the CPI(M) expressed
serious concern over the
inordinate delay in the release of relief for these people.
The avalanche has
damaged a number of residential houses and non-residential
structures, public
services infrastructure and school buildings, besides
causing the losses of precious
human lives. Despite the lofty announcements by the
government in the wake of
calamity in mid-March, the much needed financial aid is yet to be
provided to the unfortunate affected.
Thousands of families were expecting timely relief after
their houses were
rendered roofless due to the nature’s unprecedented fury,
especially when the
windstorm was declared as a natural calamity. The state
committee urged the
government to honour its promise of extending relief to
the calamity-hit people
forthwith.
The CPI(M) state
committee demanded regularisation of ad hoc, contractual,
need-based, seasonal,
daily rated and contingency paid workers engaged in
different departments across
the state. These workers have been functioning for many
years now, with a majority
of them having put in more than ten years of consolidated
service on
insignificant monthly remunerations. The meagre
remuneration, together with
long periods of consolidated service, warrants justice in
the shape of regularisation
of all these workers without any further delay.
The CPI(M) suggested confirmation of these workers on
the pattern of existing
Class IV vacancies which exist in hundreds in both the
divisions of the state.
The committee further urged the government of
