On August 1, 2015, the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee began the nationwide campaign against the anti-people and pro-corporate policies, the communal conspiracies and the corruption scandals of the BJP-led Modi regime at the Centre, and the BJP-led Fadnavis regime in the state, by organising an impressive rally of over 10,000 people. They included peasants, agricultural workers, organised and unorganised workers, women, students and youth from all over Maharashtra. The rally was led by Sitaram Yechury, MP, general secretary of the CPI(M); Dr Ashok Dhawale, central secretariat member; Central Committee members Narasayya Adam (state secretary and ex-MLA), and others. Prior to the rally, a 16-member delegation led by Yechury met the governor of Maharashtra Vidyasagar Rao and submitted a memorandum highlighting the burning problems afflicting all the toiling sections of the state. The detailed memorandum included issues related to price rise, non-implementation of the food security act, weakening of the public distribution system, against the anti-peasant and pro-corporate land acquisition Ordinance/bill, stringent implementation of the forest rights act, remunerative prices and sufficient bank loans with low interest rates to the peasantry as per the Swaminathan Commission recommendations, the problems related to irrigation and power, allocation of more funds to MGNREGA for provision of work and enhanced wages to agricultural workers, against anti-labour and pro-corporate changes in labour laws, regularisation of all scheme workers, provision of social security and minimum wages of Rs15,000 to all unorganised workers and regularising the slums till 2015 and violence against Dalits, Adivasis, women and minorities.—People’s Democracy

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Leftists use the ‘politics of victimhood’ to influence the rational and liberal majority. Using  cunningly academic techniques, they provoke nationalists and force them into breaking the fine line of socially acceptable behavioural norms. Then they use those incidents to paint the nationalists as hooligans and goons. They efficiently abuse the ‘freedom of expression’ and stretch the limits of ‘human rights’. To succeed in their evil designs, they go to any extent to provoke the nationalist forces. They would not only hesitate to call a social and peaceful organisation producing nationalists for the country as a terrorists’ organisation, but would also go to the extent of blaming an arguably progressive community as repressive and conservative. They would also project the other community, that needs reforms urgently, as better. To provoke the nationalists, they not only never hesitated in creating a hero out of Aurangzeb but also painted the greats like Sikh gurus, Rana Pratap and Shivaji in poor light in the same breath. They would not only ignore an entire incident of carnage altogether but also keep on reminding us of the incidents that took place after that. They would not only ignore the exodus of a particular ‘Pundit’ community from a state but would also not stop from asking the Army to leave the state. They would even resort to supporting terrorists. Nationalists, however, need to realise now that they are in a position to spread their influence in this country after a long hostile era. They must now counter this age-old Left strategy by refraining from falling into their trap again and again.—Organiser