"সংগ্রাম - সংগ্রাম - সংগ্রাম" জয়ী হওয়ার জন্য, বেচে থাকার জন্য, অধিকার অর্জনের জন্য I আজ যখন সর্বত্র শোনা যায় ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন আন্দোলনের অসফল হওয়ার কথা, তখন Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Employees Union দীর্ঘ আপসহীন সংগ্রামের পথে ১০০ জন অস্থায়ী কর্মীকে পার্মানেন্ট করতে বাধ্য করলো কতৃপক্ষকে I লাগাতার আপসহীন সংগ্রামই যে শ্রমিক শ্রেনীর জয়ী হওয়ার একমাত্র পথ তা বহুবারের মত আবারও প্রমানিত হ'ল I শ্রমিক শ্রেনীর এই জয়ে আমরাও আনন্দিত I  সংশ্লিষ্ট সংগঠনের প্রতিটি লড়াকু সাথীদের জানাই সংগ্রামী রক্তিম অভিনন্দন I  মূল সংবাদটি নিচে প্রকাশ করা হ'ল  I

                      

IUF - Uniting Food, Farm and Hotel Workers World-Wide

Union at Schreibers in India obtains permanent jobs for contract workers

04-03-2011

The IUF-affiliated Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Employees Union, which represents 350 members, launched a campaign in early 2010 to rectify the systematic inequality and discrimination faced by contract workers. More than half the workforce of 700 was based on contract labour and of the 128 women workers at the factory, 125 were contract workers and only 3 had permanent jobs. The company responded with a series of attacks on the union, including suspending the union president and fabricating criminal charges against him, while bringing in powerful local politicians to stop the union. Management then terminated 200 contract workers.

In response, IUF affiliates in India mobilized in support of the Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Employees Union through the Dairy Employees Federation of India (DEFOI) and its fight against abusive precarious employment practices. Solidarity rallies were held across India, including actions by unions in Nestlé, Unilever, PepsiCo and GSK Horlicks whose branded products are made at the Schreiber Dynamix factory.

The IUF engaged one of Scheiber’s customers, Danone. As a result Danone asked Schreiber’s corporate US headquarters to explain the conflict. That pressure continues today with the IUF seeking further action from Danone in questioning the abusive practices of one of its suppliers.

While the union president still faces legal action, his suspension was withdrawn and he returned to work. Management has stopped its attacks on the union and negotiations have taken place, including the renegotiation of the collective agreement. As a result of negotiations around the issue of precarious employment, more than 100 contract workers have been made permanent. Meanwhile the union, with the support of DEFOI and the IUF India office, continues to fight for the reinstatement of the remaining 100 contract workers who were terminated during the protest rallies calling for the right to permanent jobs.

(২৮শে এপ্রিল'২০১১ পুরুলিয়া অস্ত্র বর্ষণ বিষয়ে এক বিস্ফোরক তথ্য প্রকাশ করেছে "টাইমস নাও" সংবাদ সংস্থা I এই বিষয়ে প্রকাশিত উপর্যপুরি তিনটি সম্পূর্ণ সংবাদ, আমরাও পর পর বিনা অনুবাদে হুবহু প্রকাশ করলাম)      

Purulia armsdrop case: 'Indian Government involved'

28 Apr 2011, 1255 hrs IST, AGENCIES

It's the second stunning disclosure in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case. Peter Bleach, a British citizen who served a sentence for his role in the arms drop has spoken to TIMES NOW. Bleach not only confirms that Indian politicians were involved, but also makes more startling revelations about what happened in the wee hours of December 18 1995. TIMES NOW: First question is why are you speaking out now? PETER BLEACH: Well because after so many years I thought this was all finished and done and I wasn’t happy about the outcome. But suddenly, out of the blue, India seems to want Neils Christien Neilsen or Kim Davy or Neils Holck or whatever his true name is, they seem to want him back in India. So all of a sudden, this has come back and my life has been disrupted yet again. It is high time the truth was told. TIMES NOW: How will your life get disrupted if Kim Davy is extradited to India? PETER BLEACH: Well good example ..Were talking together now and instead of me being at work, Im talking to you on Skype about this. It is a thing that doesn’t get left alone by the Press. You know, there is not a country in the world that hasn’t printed my photograph with a label of terrorist underneath it. Now I have never been a terrorist. Most people don’t believe that. So time has come to clear my name. It is not a funny label to have against you after the events of 9/11 and things like that. TIMES NOW: What was your role in the Purulia arms drop? PETER BLEACH: I was approached as a businessman. It is common knowledge that I was in the defence industry. I was approached to sell somebody some arms and ammunition and when I discovered this was an illegal deal, this was supporting a terrorist group in India, I immediately reported that to the British Government. And I was interviewed by the MI5 who passed all the information back to India. I was told that the Indian Government wanted the guns delivered into India so they could arrest the people concerned and find out who the guns were for. TIMES NOW: SO you’re saying you told the local police, they informed the MI5, which is the British intelligence agency. In other words, the British Government knew about it and yet you came along with this plane. And you’re saying this was some sort of sting operation that you were trying to carry out, that you would come on the plane and help authorities catch the other people red handed. Now that’s a fairly long winded explanation Mr. Bleach. PETER BLEACH: Well, you might say so. I have to say that it was never part of the plan that I would have been on that aircraft. That was due to circumstances beyond anybody’s control much later on. But I’ve got a copy of all the notes taken by the MI5 officer and the special branch officer who visited me and it contains the full details they passed to India. SO whether or not I ended up on the place is one aspect. Of course I wish I hadn’t been, but I couldn’t do anything about that. But that doesn’t alter the fact that the Indian Government had absolute full and detailed knowledge of every part of this. And my understanding is, in fact, the Indian Government actually supported the whole thing. It was an Indian Government job. TIMES NOW: If it was an Indian Government job and the Indian Government supported it, why would anyone in the Indian government allow the dropping of such a large cache of arms in Indian Territory in such an illegal manner? Whats the motive? PETER BLEACH: To understand that you have to stop thinking of Indian territory. This wasn’t dropped so much in Indian territory as in Bengali territory. The target here was the Government of West Bengal. At that time, Jyoti Basu was the Chief Minister and the CPIM Government was in power. The whole objective, my understanding was to destabilize the Government of West Bengal so that Presidents rule could be declared in terms of the Constitution and the state would have been ruled directly from Delhi. That could have disposed the CPIM Government and that was the entire purpose of the job as I understand it now. I didnt understand it at that time and I have to stress that.

Purulia arms drop: BJP awaits Govt's explanation

28 Apr 2011, 1828 hrs IST

It is an all out political war after the Purulia arms drop kingpin Kim Davy made shocking revelations on TIMES NOW. The BJP has called the revelations shocking and depressing and said the Government owes an explanation to the nation on the ISI link to Kim Davy. Meanwhile, Congress has demanded that BJP must explain why Peter Bleach was let off in 2004. TIMES NOW: Fresh revelations have come to light in Purulia arms drop case, what is BJP's view? Is it justifiable for central Govt at that point to conspire with Govt of another country to destabilizes a democratically elected Govt in West Bengal? Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP general secretary said, “Whatever I have learnt to is what TIMES NOW is showing. It presents a very depressing scenario of about our political culture existing at the time. Obviously we have our reservations about Leftist Govt of Bengal but how can Govt at Centre permit the collusion between two intelligence agencies to permit the dropping of arms intended to destabilise any democractically elected govt. If that is true, it is very depressing, very disturbing and deeply condemnable. Cong questions BJP's motives  After Peter Bleach and Kay Davis claim Government's direct involvement, political blame game begins. Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan alleges the BJP Government allowed Purulia accused Peter Bleach to get away in February 2004. Salman Khurshid, the then MoS, MEA when the Purulia arms dropping took place, said he cannot recall what happened then and whatever that needs to be said will be done by the cabinet secretary. Purulia arms drop: The enemy within?  In the wee hours of December 18, 1995 a mysterious weapon consignment was dropped from the sky over Joupur Jhalda area under Purulia Disctrict of West Bengal. The consignment was discovered the next morning. Until now nobody knew what really happened. 16 years after the controversial Purulia armsdrop, TIMES NOW has explosive revelations from two men who know possibly more about the mystery than anybody else -- Kim Davy and Peter Bleach. Purulia armsdrop accused Kim Davy speaks exclusively to TIMES NOW, 16 years after the controversial armsdrop. He makes explosive revelations. Kim Davy says political forces were behind the armsdrop, says people in the then government saw and approved the arms drop plan. TIMES NOW accesses document to show links between Kay Davis' air cargo company and the ISI. TIMES NOW has exclusive documents that prove that Kim Davy-run company had Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Karachi based Shaheen Aviation. Kim Davy's company Carol Air Services owned AN-26 plane that dropped arms over Purulia. Davy's company had a MoU with Shaheen airlines, which is known to be the front company for the ISI. At Karachi, the plane that dropped the arms over Purulia was serviced by the ISI front company Shaheen Aviation. Questions emerge over why an ISI linked aviation company serviced the plane that dropped arms over Purulia in 1995. In a stunning disclosure in the arms drop case, Peter Bleach, a British citizen, who served a sentence for his role in the arms drop has spoken to TIMES NOW. Bleach not only confirms that Indian politicians were involved, but also makes more startling revelations about what happened on the night of December 18, 1995.

Purulia Expose: India's best kept secret

28 Apr 2011, 1045 hrs IST

In the wee hours of December 18, 1995 a mysterious weapon consignment was dropped from the sky over Joupur Jhalda area under Purulia Disctrict of West Bengal. The consignment was discovered the next morning. Until now nobody knew what really happened. Today Kim Davy the seventh man and the leader of the operation reveals everything to TIMES NOW. TIMES NOW: My first question to you Niels Christian Nielsen, alias Kim Davy, Why are you choosing to speak out now? Davy: I am under the danger of being extradited to India as a terrorist, I don't feel I am a terrorist, I have not done anything to harm anyone. On the contrary I have done things to protect people from Communist terror, State sponsored terror and I kept my silence in all those years, 15 years. But now political forces in India are coming out to reach at me again as they did 15 years ago and I feel its time to set the record straight. TIMES NOW: So tell me and I will call you Kim Davy because you are known as Kim Davy across the country. Tell me who were these arms meant for? This Purulia Arms Drop, who were these arms meant for and for what purpose, who commissioned this arms drop? Davy: The arms were meant for self-protection, it is my complete conviction that if I was tried in a Court of Law about the legality of dropping arms to protect people against State sponsored Communist terror, I would clear my name because it was legal defence against decades of murder, torture, rape by the CPIM in West Bengal. I have seen friends being butchered in front of my eyes for so many years and all I did was to work for the betterment of the rural people of West Bengal. For 15 years I worked my every waking hour to better the circumstances of the poorest of the poor in West Bengal, but the atrocities committed by the Communist simply became too much when too many friends were tortured to death so we had to defend ourselves against these attacks and that was the whole background of the Purulia Arms drop. TIMES NOW: Well I dont know if everyone is going to buy that argument but tell me who sent you? My question to you was who commissioned this arms drop and were there any Indians involved? Davy: Of course there were Indians involved. There were political forces at the centre . There have been for years MPs who had seen the atrocities committed against the people of Purulia district and 24 MPs had signed the petition to the President to intervene to try to protect these people, nothing happened. And finally central government saw and approved the plans to arm the defence of these innocent people TIMES NOW: Name the people, Can you name the people? Davy: I can tell you as much as that RAW, Research and Analysis Wing of India was informed by external forces and approved of the arms drop months in advance of the arms drop TIMES NOW: Which external forces? Davy: The communication was between the British Intelligence MI5 and RAW. There was a British ex Intelligence officer on board the plane, the Indian authorities knew the flight plan the people on board , the cargo, the drop zone everything was known well in advance and approved well in advance. TIMES NOW: You are saying that the Indian government knew and authorised these arms drop over Indian territory by you? Davy: I am saying that there were political forces in the centre in Delhi who saw it as an opportune way to further their political agenda. You must remember that we are talking ancient history here, but in 1988 centre introduced Presidential rule in Tripura after engaging in supplying arms to different rebel groups there. The same strategy was announced publically in the beginning of the 90's that there was a decision to introduce Presidential rule in West Bengal and therefore it was seen as a furthering of this agenda that arms were procured to protect local people. TIMES NOW: What was your role ? You were working with the British and American Intelligence officials, were there American Intelligence officials also involved or only British? Davy: To my knowledge there were no Americans involved. TIMES NOW: So this was, these were British MI5 which was involved in this and you are saying they told the India's external intelligence agency RAW about it? Davy: No I am not telling that. This is a well published fact go to their webpage and you will see the exact date when MI5 conferred this whole matter to RAW. It is a matter of public knowledge that this coordination was taking place TIMES NOW: This is the reason you are saying that you were able to slip in that night, in 1995? You flew into Indian territory, you are saying you were allowed to fly in, the movement was facilitated and you are saying the Indian government was told about it? Davy: Well look at the zest of this. It is a matter of public record that RAW was informed on three defined dates by MI5 about the arms drop, the people on board the plane, the drop zone everything was informed. This is a matter of public record. I don't know who in their right mind would fly a plane from the arch enemy of Pakistan into Indian airspace with a load of clandestine weapons without having it cleared by with the Indian authorities. It is unthinkable to do that. TIMES NOW: So tell me what happened after that? If you managed to come in, tell me about that flight, where you took it from, how you got the clearances, what assurances you had if you are saying you had some assurances from the Indian side? Who were those assurances coming from? Davy: That was a lot of questions, can we take them one at a time TIMES NOW: Sure, Where were the assurances coming from? Davy: You were saying how did the flight happen, how did I get away afterwards, what did you ask? TIMES NOW: No tell me about the first part on how the flight happened, who gave you the assurances that you would be allowed to come in? Davy: Well, I was in direct contact with an MP who told me that he was in further contact with the Prime Minister's office and on the 16th of December I was called in Karachi by these people who told me that I had to finish the job within 48 hours otherwise the window that they had opened for me would be closed down again. So it was very clear that the communication was on time and clearly it was also defined. It was proven in the court case that the radar station concerned, the Military radar that could have detected this was turned off, was switched off and the order for this came from RAW. So don't take my word for it is what I am saying TIMES NOW: Can you name the Member of Parliament. Please? Davy: We will do that live TIMES NOW: Why should we not believe that this is a tall claim? Davy: Well, I can only repeat that, please verify the facts that I am putting forward for you. Please verify that these contacts between MI5 and RAW did take place, please verify the fact that the radar was turned off, please verify all these external facts and you will see that what I am saying is the only logical explanation of what happened that time TIMES NOW: Neils, you just said that you had been called in by some people in Karachi and set about finishing this job in 48 hours. Who are these people? When you mention these people, who are these people? Davy: Well I can only say to you that immediately after the arms drop went wrong and crew and Peter Bleach was caught, there was an investigation going into a Bihari political connection into the arms drop. And that line of investigation was curiously enough, closed down very shortly afterwards and throughout these 15 years that has passed since, three Parliamentary Commissions in India have been commissioned. Nobody has ever seen the result of those. Though it is a matter of public record outside India that there was this communication between MI5 and RAW it has never been discussed in the Indian public, so everytime that the real story has tried to sneak its way forward in this, it has been clamped down and stopped. For obvious reasons because in the Central government in India it is only to turn a couple of pages and one will know who was behind and why, it is a matter of knowledge, it is not a matter of guesswork. TIMES NOW: What about you leaving? In what circumstances did you leave the country? There have been different reports about that, can you elaborate a little bit on that please? Davy: Well, first I was helped out of the airport in Mumbai and after that I was smuggled out of India to Nepal on the backseat of an MP's car. I can give you the full details and the latest dates when we talk again but it was very clear that those forces that had approved the arms drop did not want me to be interrogated by the CBI or anybody because the story that I can tell, would not have been convenient. Obviously today there must be political forces in India who see it as an opportune time for me to tell the full story and that's why I think the extradition is now on the table. TIMES NOW : Neils...in this period when you were, before you disappeared, you vanished from Mumbai airport from what we know, in this period when you were held, were you in touch with the people , like you mentioned the Member of Parliament, were you in touch with those people in this period? Davy: Before leaving the country you mean? TIMES NOW- Yes Davy: Yes, I was in their care TIMES NOW: Where Davy: First in Delhi, Mumbai, Delhi and then over the border, land border to Nepal TIMES NOW: And you were taken in an MP's car into Nepal through the land route Davy- Right TIMES NOW: And there were officials with you? Davy: I don't know what officials they were. But there was a car in front, a car behind with AK-47 holding guard, the whole way. I obviously did not ask people's name and what there duty was but it was obvious to me that I was being whisked out of the country by people who had the power and the ability to do it TIMES NOW : What is your link with the Anandmarg? Davy- Well, you see for 15 years I worked with development work in Africa, in Central America and especially in India. I worked with the Catholic Church, I worked with Anandmarg. I worked with Greenpeace, with different organizations through these 15 years. The project in Purulia was reference project for all NGO's around the world that I worked with. Everybody referred to the development project of Purulia as the light and the way to do things. To develop grassroots up with local resources with local people. So this project caught the imagination of not only me, but thousands around the world and when we continuously got these reports of people, even an Australian women who was almost killed by the Communist goondas, her name was Patricia. When we saw our volunteers ending up like you see in these pictures here, butchered by the Communists. This made an enormous impression, you must remember that I as a young 19 year old came to Kolkata for the first time, coming from one of the most affluent corners of the world and I saw the suffering in Kolkata and it moved my heart to do something. I had to work tirelessly for 15 years.

An appeal of Left Front

Thursday , April 14 , 2011

Grim tidings for 11 ministers

Calcutta, April 13: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may manage to hold on to his fort in Jadavpur but 11 of his cabinet colleagues may not get re-elected, according to the projections of a STAR Ananda-The Nielsen Company opinion poll.

Although the opinion poll has forecast victories for nine of Bhattacharjee’s colleagues, it has predicted the defeat of industries minister Nirupam Sen, health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra, finance minister Asim Dasgupta, housing minister Gautam Deb and higher education minister Sudarshan Ray Chaudhuri.

The details of 36 seats were released today, out of which the Left is projected to win only 13.

The forecast has been made on the basis of fieldwork carried out across 50 of the 294 constituencies in Bengal. As many as 9,009 respondents — 180 in each constituency — were interviewed between March 24 and April 3.

The forecast for the remaining 14 of the 50 seats surveyed will be announced tomorrow.

Some seats with political significance were also chosen to gauge the mood of the electorate before the six-phase election kicks off in Bengal on Monday.

Among such seats were Singur, Nandigram, Khejuri, Mangalkot (the Trinamul alliance is predicted to bag the four seats) and Sabang (state Congress chief Manas Bhuniya is projected to lose from here).

In Jadavpur, Bhattacharjee is expected to secure around 58 per cent of the vote share, 21 per cent more than Manish Gupta, his former chief secretary-turned-Trinamul opponent.

In the 2006 Assembly polls, Bhattacharjee had secured 61.25 per cent of the votes. But the Lok Sabha polls in 2009 witnessed a decline of around 9 per cent votes in the Assembly segment.

The survey predicts defeat for Sen from Burdwan South, a traditional Left citadel. According to the survey, Sen will get only 37 per cent of the votes, 17 per cent behind the winner.

Mishra is expected to secure only 36 per cent of the votes, 20 per cent less than the winner.

If the actual figures reflect the findings of the survey, the dent in the support base of Sen and Mishra will be glaring. In 2006, the two CPM leaders had bagged over 56 per cent votes.

The survey suggests the presence of the BJP could determine the outcome in at least one seat. In Dum Dum North, the survey projects the Left as the winner, though the percentages are tied at 46 per cent. The BJP is projected to secure 6 per cent votes here, which, according to traditional wisdom, could have gone to a non-Left group if the national Opposition party had not contested.

Mamata has edge in West Bengal: Opinion poll

Headlines Today Bureau  | New Delhi, March 31, 2011 | Updated 19:42 IST

'We don't want revenge. We want change.' This is Trinamool Congress chiefMamata Banerjee's anthem for the most decisive encounter of her life. Has it struck a chord with the people? Or will the longest serving government in the country survive the battle for West Bengal? A Headlines Today-ORG opinion pollhas come out with the result showing, who will emerge victorious: Mamata or Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. A poll that projects the number of seats the two arch-rivals will win, the most definitive sign of which way the wind is blowing. 

When asked if they would prefer another term for the Left Front or is it time for a change of government, 38% voters said they preferred another term for the Left, but 53% said they favour change. That confirms the reading of most poll pundits.

When asked whom they favour as the state's next chief minister, Mamata Banerjee was a clear favourite with the people of Bengal. The railways minister polled 49% of the votes to Buddhadeb's 20. Six per cent said they would rather have Pranab Mukherjee as CM.

It follows that people are deeply disappointed with Buddhadeb's performance as CM, with 27% rating his performance as poor. Another 27% believe it is average. And 13% have judged it very poor. Twenty-two per cent of the voters though have rated Buddha rule as good.

What will come as a rude shock also for the chief minister is the fact that between him and Jyoti Basu, 56% prefer Basu over Buddhadeb. Buddhadeb polls a dismal 13 % of the votes.

Even as Buddha's ratings collapse, Mamata's are rising. Asked to rate her performance as railway minister, an overwhelming 74% of voters said it is good. Only 18% believe it is bad.

When asked how good or bad a chief minister Mamata will prove to be, 25% said she will be very good, 29% said she will be good. Nineteen per cent though are willing to bet she will be bad.

Asked whether Trinamool's Singur/Nandigram agitations were pro or anti-people, 54% said it was pro-people. Thirty-four said it was anti-people.

Despite what happened to the Nano, 62% of people believe industries will not flee Bengal in a Mamata regime. Twenty-four say they will.

In fact, 52% believe that Kolkata has fallen behind other metros because of Left's policies.

The Trinamool's alleged connection with Naxalites isn't a big problem for the voting public. Twenty-nine per cent believe it will work in favour of the party. Twenty-seven per cent say it will work against the party, while forty-four per cent decided not to hazard a guess on the matter.

Finally here's a look at what Headlines Today-ORG are projecting for the 2011 elections to West Bengal.

In 2011, the ORG projects the Left will get 43% of the vote share, 44% for Trinamool and allies and 12% for others. ORG projects Trinamool and allies will get 182 seats, the Left will get 101 seats, and others 11.

ORG have been careful to qualify their prediction of a Mamata Banerjee victory by noting that the difference in vote share between the two alliances is not as large as is the public impression. What is working for Mamata is a palpable, consuming desire: after three decades of the Left, the voter wants change.

Paid Opinion Poll: Latest Munition in Anti-Left Propaganda

April 16,2011

The opinion poll for the West Bengal assembly elections conducted by STAR Ananda-The Nielsen Company is nothing but a part of the election-time propaganda by the anti-Left media. The opinion poll, which was aired on 14th April, has claimed that the Trinamool Congress led alliance is going to win in 215 out of 294 seats and the Left Front in only 74. TMC-Congress' vote share has been shown as increasing by almost 3.5% and the Left Front's vote share declining by nearly 4% from the Lok Sabha elections of 2009. Two weeks back, another opinion poll conducted by ORG-Headlines Today had projected TMC led alliance winning 182 seats and the Left Front 101, with the respective vote shares being 44% for the former and 43% for the latter, which is roughly the same as in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The vote share and seat projections in these two opinion polls vary significantly, raising questions about the veracity of both.
The common conclusion that these two opinion polls arrive at - the defeat of the Left in West Bengal - reflects more of a desperate political desire rather than any underlying attempt to gauge the mood of the poll bound electorate in a rigorous or objective manner. In effect, these dubious predictions are part of the high pitch anti-Left propaganda unleashed by a section of the corporate media, to affect the morale of the Left activists and spread confusion within the electorate. However, the credibility of such opinions polls in India is near zero given their pathetic track record in forecasting actual poll outcomes.
Dismal Record
The most infamous case of poll predictions going terribly wrong was during the Lok Sabha elections of 2004. The opinion poll commissioned by NDTV and Indian Express and conducted by AC Nielsen in 2004 (the same market research company which has conducted the STAR Ananda opinion poll in 2011) had projected 287-307 seats for the BJP led NDA and 143 to 163 seats for the Congress led alliance. This was very much a part of the 'India Shining' hype created by the BJP with crores of rupees spent on 'media management'. What was the actual poll outcome? The BJP led NDA got only 181 seats and lost the elections. The Congress led UPA got 216 and formed the Government at the centre with outside support from 60 Left MPs.

 Even exit polls, which are expected to be more accurate than opinion polls, have gone terribly wrong in India. During the state assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh in 2007, none of the exit polls predicted a simple majority for the BSP and yet it won comfortably. The BJP, which was projected to get between 80 to 118 seats, actually got only 51.

 The story was similar during the West Bengal assembly elections of 2001. Almost all the major newspapers and magazines had predicted a win for the TMC-Congress alliance. The result showed how far these predictions were from the ground realities.

 While there were no opinion polls conducted in West Bengal prior to the 2006 assembly elections, the Anandabazar Patrika carried several constituency wise surveys. In several constituencies where ABP had predicted a win for TMC-Congress candidates, the Left Front won with handsome margins; like in Tarakeshwar, Garbeta-2, Durgapur 1&2, Behala East etc. With such a dismal record of accuracy, opinion polls in India have lost their credibility over the years.

Dubious Methods and Motives
Why do opinion polls go wrong? The reasons are simple. The sample size of such opinion polls may be too small to gauge the actual mood of the electorate. Take the STAR Ananda-Nielsen Company poll for instance. They claim to have surveyed 29457 voters in 163 seats, out of a total electorate of 5.61 crore spread across 294 constituencies, i.e. a sample size of only around 0.05% of the total electorate. In order to get an objective picture out of this sample, the methodology of sample selection needs to be robust, which is often not the case.
It can easily be seen from the record of previous poll predictions in the corporate media that there is an inherent bias in their samples towards rightwing political parties. This is because the section of population which gets covered in such surveys mostly belong to urban areas and more affluent sections of society. Opinion polls done by agencies like the Nielsen Company, whose core competence lies in market research for fast moving consumer goods, particularly suffer from such bias. That is precisely why the survey database of such opinion polls are never made available for public scrutiny. Nobody knows, for instance, how many of the 29457 persons surveyed by Nielsen Company were women and men; how many were poor, middle class and rich; rural, semi-urban and urban; Dalit, Adivasi, OBC, Muslim and general category and so on. In other words, we simply do not know whether the sample adequately reflects the diversity of the electorate or is it a biased one.
Doubts regarding sample bias gets reinforced by reports of this particular STAR Ananda-Nielsen Company survey done with the active collaboration of the Trinamool Congress. Residents of Rahara region in the Khardaha constituency have reported that the STAR Ananda survey team had gone directly to the TMC party office and the entire survey was stage managed under the directions of a local TMC leader named Sukontho Banik near the Khardaha Cooperative Bank building. This is not surprising because the infrastructure of a market research company - which is primarily meant for gathering information on sale of consumer products from retail stores - is ill suited for surveying a large number of voters on their political and electoral choices. Inevitably, the survey has to rely upon the machinery of this or that political party. This defeats the very purpose of the survey.

'Paid Opinion Polls'
The main problem with opinion polls, like the one done by STAR Ananda-Nielsen Company, lie in its motivations. Speaking at a seminar on "Electoral and Political Reforms" in Chennai on 12th February 2011, Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi favoured a ban on opinion polls before elections because they affected poll prospects of political parties.

        "Though exit polls had been banned, opinion polls are still allowed and    political parties are hit by it," Quraishi said at a seminar…Underlining the need to ban opinion polls conducted before elections, he said it was a major problem which could even lead to "paid opinion polls". "In the circumstances, when news can be paid, even opinion polls can be paid," he said.
(Outlook, news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx)

The STAR Ananda-Nielsen Company opinion poll needs to be seen in this backdrop. The ABP group in general, and STAR Ananda in particular, has always been hostile towards the Left Front and openly aligned with the TMC led anti-Left opposition. An opinion poll commissioned by such a media outfit to an American market research company on the prospects of the Communists in the assembly elections can be anything but objective and credible. Whether such propaganda under the garb of opinion polls should be allowed to vitiate the poll process is a moot point.

ডেয়ারী শিল্পের সঙ্গে যুক্ত প্রত্যেক শ্রমিক কর্মচারী ও তাদের পরিবারের সকলকে জানাই শুভ নববর্ষের আন্তরিক প্রীতি ও শুভেচ্ছা I বাংলার ১৪১৮ সন সকলের ভালো কাটুক I 

রাজ্য কমিটি 

পশ্চিমবঙ্গ রাজ্য ডেয়ারী এমপ্লয়ীজ ফেডারেশন   

Declining sex ratio means we'll all become gays: Farooq

New Delhi, April 13 (IANS), DECCAN HERALD

Concerned over the latest census figures showing a decline in sex ratio, cabinet minister Farooq Abdullah says that the day is not far when there ''will be no girls to marry and we'll all become gays''.

Addressing the India Water Forum in the capital, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, said: "The male sex is growing and women are getting eliminated. The days are not far when there will be no girls to marry and we'll all become gays." The three-day international summit was presided over by Vice President Hamid Ansari. Water Resources Minister Salman Khurshid was also present. Abdullah is the minister for new and renewable energy. According to Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner C. Chandramouli, who released the provisional data for Census 2011, the child sex ratio (0-6 years) has declined from 927 females per 1,000 males in 2001 to 914 females per 1,000 males. There has been a rising trend in the child sex ratio in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  However, in the remaining states and union territories, the child sex ratio has shown a decline over Census 2001.

Corporate mafia fuelling corruption: Prashant Bhushan

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS)

He is credited with convincing the apex court to monitor the CBI probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scandal. Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan says ''India is heading towards a mafia state'' and corporate houses have become ''a law unto themselves''.

"The corporate mafia has come to control every institution of power and governance, be it politicians, bureaucracy, police and, to an extent, judiciary also," Bhushan told IANS in an exclusive interview. "The corporate houses have become monstrously large and a law unto themselves. They get the law and policies made and decision taken including judicial decisions," he said, adding "very often they decide what the media will report or not report". Bhushan, the son of eminent jurist and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, said any fight against corruption and for redeeming democratic institutions had to commence with transparency. "The situation today is much worse than what it was in the early 1970s. At that time we did not have the corporate mafia controlling all the institutions. That was a situation when a powerful prime minister temporarily choked off democracy. Today, this corporate mafia is accountable and more dangerous," Bhushan asserted. "This system is so bad. There is no point in preserving the illusion of functional democracy when it is clear that most institutions of democracy have crumbled or are non-functional. We need to restore proper democracy in the country and not preserve an illusion of democracy." The lawyer said the only prescription for rescuing Indian governance from "corporate mafia" was "transparency" and people's right to know about the functioning of the state apparatus. "Unless we wake up and start engaging in public issues and affairs, we are heading towards disaster," said Bhushan, who is facing contempt of court proceedings for highlighting the alleged misconduct of an apex court judge. It was Bhushan who convinced the Supreme Court to monitor the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allocation of 2G airwaves to telecom companies. He also spoke on his fight against corruption and allegations against Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P.J. Thomas. He said India was in a "very serious situation" and the "biggest threat was corruption that had spread in every vital sphere of the state's functioning". The crumbling democratic institutions could be "repaired and restored" provided there was a "very strong people's movement in the country that would bring pressure on the institutions". "Though the judiciary can play a useful role in that process", in the final count it needed the backing of a strong people's movement, he said. He asked what prevented the government from having a referendum on the nuclear deal with the US or even on the Lokpal (ombudsman) bill. On his opposition to  CVC Thomas' appointment, Bhushan said: "I am told that he is an honest person. He does not take money himself. But he allowed people above him like (former telecom minister A.) Raja and (former Kerala chief minister K.) Karunakaran to make money by corrupt means and then facilitated that the corrupt stay in the position of power." "For an anti-corruption watchdog we need a person who will not only resist corruption but will be pro-active in stopping corruption and prosecuting the corrupt," Bhushan told IANS. Describing the process of selecting a CVC as flawed, Bhushan said: "The selection is done by people (politicians) who have a very serious conflict of interest because they are likely to be the target of the CVC's investigation." Fighting corruption simultaneously in the government and the judiciary is not a wrong strategy, he said. "I think all problems have to be dealt with simultaneously. You cannot shut your eye to a problem in one institution in order to highlight it in another institution. This is a shortsighted policy which does not pay in the long run," he said. Advocating an independent media, he said that the media should not be controlled by corporate houses or those who have a direct or indirect interest in other business.

Lawmakers alone must not make laws

Prashant Bhushan, As told to Ashish Tripathi,

Sunday 10 April 2011 The chances of the Lokpal becoming corrupt are less due to checks and balances in the institution. There will be adequate scope to try them.

The Lokpal is required urgently in the country to check corruption as there is no anti-corruption institution. The common man does not know where to go. The CBI and police, which are required to inquire into the charges, are not effective because they are controlled by the Government. The judiciary can help but has  itself become corrupt and dysfunctional. In view of the huge pendency of cases, we can say that it has not been that effective and cannot decide the cases. Broad-based As far as Central Vigilance Commission is concerned, we have seen the recent fiasco (referring to former CVC P J Thomas, whose appointment was struck down by Supreme Court). So, we require one body in the form of Lokpal that can investigate the offences and prosecute the offenders. If Jan Lokpal Bill is passed, we are going to make the selection of its members broad-based, proper and transparent. It is going to have all the powers to investigate the complaints with regard to corruption. In most of the states, the Lokayuktas have been selected from the body of retired judges whose integrity is not above board. That’s why, they have not been that successful in achieving their intended purpose. What we propose is that our Lokpal will include the Central Vigilance Commission. Different vigilance commissions and CBI would come under its direct control to probe the charges of corruption. We believe that elected representatives, bureaucrats and Supreme Court and High Court judges would come under the purview of the Lokpal as far as the charges of corruption against them are concerned. With regard to the question, if someone appointed as Lokpal himself or herself becomes corrupt, I feel these chances are less due to checks and balances in the institution; there will adequate scope to try them. Further, the person appointed as chairman and members of the Lokpal would not be connected to any political party or carry on any business, and would discontinue practise of any profession. Clause by clause Now that the demand for setting up of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill has been conceded, we will go clause by clause and complete the exercise by the scheduled date of June 30. We hope we will complete our task by this date provided the ministers on the panel devote adequate time. If they do that, I have no reason to believe that it cannot be done within the given deadline. After we complete the job and submit it to government, the Bill will go to Parliament. Having seen the public sentiment and opinion (on corruption) during the popular upsurge over the last four to five days, I hope that Parliament will okay the Bill finalised by the committee without changes. It shows that the people of this country are fed up with corruption. They are looking for something to check corruption. They have realised that if they get organised, they can bring in change. This is also a movement towards participatory democracy. We have to move towards this law making process from the present system of only lawmakers (MPs and MLAs) forming policies. (The author is an advocate and member of Joint Committee on Lokpal. He is also part of the group led by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, which drafted the Jan Lokpal Bill as a model for the Government to emulate.)

ভালো মানুষ - ভুল চিন্তা - ভুলপথ 

জয় গণতন্ত্রের জয় I  জয় জনগনের জয় I  জয় দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে মানুষের সংগ্রামের জয় I এই জয়ধনির মধ্য দিয়ে অবশেষে  লোকপাল বিল গ্রহনের দাবিকে মেনে নিল ভারত সরকার I আজ দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে লাগাতার সংগ্রামের অপর নাম হয়ে উঠলো আন্না হাজারে I ডাবের জল পানের মধ্য দিয়ে  অবসান হ'ল আন্না হাজারের ৫ দিনের অনশন ধর্মঘট I আলোচনার মাধ্যমে সরকার পক্ষ ও অনশনকারীরা  উভয়ে এই সিধান্তে উপনীত হলেন, লোকপাল বিলের খসড়া প্রস্তুত করতে গঠিত হবে ১০ সদস্যের "যুগ্ম লোকপাল খসড়া বিল কমিটি"I কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার উক্ত কমিটির সদস্যদের নাম সহযোগে কমিটি গঠনের কথা সরকারি আদেশ মারফত জানাবেন I উক্ত কমিটি বাদল অধিবেশনের আগে তাদের খসড়া প্রস্তাব প্রস্তুত করবে I কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার ক্যাবিনেটে সেই প্রস্তাব পাশ করে লোকসভায় বাদল অধিবেশনে বিল আকারে তা সর্বসম্মতিতে গ্রহনের জন্য  পেশ করবেI

কারা হলেন এই  "যুগ্ম লোকপাল খসড়া  বিল কমিটির" সদস্যI  তাও ঠিক হ'ল আলোচনায় I কেন্দ্রীয় সরকারের পক্ষে থাকবেন ৫ জন সদস্য এবং সুশীল সমাজের পক্ষে থাকবেন ৫ জন সদস্য I সরকারের পক্ষে কেন্দ্রীয় অর্থ মন্ত্রী শ্রী প্রণব মুখার্জী হবেন এই কমিটির চেয়ারমান I অন্য সদস্যরা হলেন কেন্দ্রীয় আইন মন্ত্রী বীরাপ্পা মইলি, কেন্দ্রীয় টেলিকম মন্ত্রী কপিল সিব্বল, কেন্দ্রীয় জল সম্পদ মন্ত্রী সালমন খুরশিদ ও কেন্দ্রীয় অভ্যন্তরীণ প্রতিরক্ষা (স্বরাস্ট্র) মন্ত্রী পি চিতাম্বরম I শ্রী বীরাপ্পা মইলি হবেন কমিটির আবাহক .  সুশীল সমাজের পক্ষে থাকবেন আন্না হাজারে, প্রসিদ্ধ আইনজীবি শান্তি ভূষণ ও প্রশান্ত ভূষণ, কর্ণাটকের লোক্যাউক্ত ও সুপ্রিম কোর্টের অবসরপ্রাপ্ত বিচারক সন্তোষ হেগড়ে এবং RTI activist অরবিন্দ কেজ্রিবল I এই কমিটির সহ চেয়ারমান হবেন শ্রী সন্তোষ হেগড়ে I


এদিকে বাঙ্গালোরে শ্রী হেগড়ে শুক্রবার পরিষ্কারভাবেই জানিয়েছেন, তিনি ওই কমিটিতে থাকতে চান না I  তিনি নিজের পরিবর্তে ওই কমিটির জন্য বিচারক জে.এস ভার্মার নাম প্রস্তাব করেছেন I তিনি অবশ্য একই সাথে  সন্দেহও  প্রকাশ করেছেন যে শ্রী  জে.এস ভার্মা উক্ত কমিটিতে থাকতে চাইবেন না  I


সবই তো হ'ল I কিন্তু এত কিছুর পরেও দুর্নীতির পরাজয় বা অবসান ঘটবে তো ?  হাজারের ডাকে যে হাজারে হাজারে মানুষ পথে নামলেন তাদের আশা আকাঙ্খার স্বপ্ন পূরণ হবে তো ? কিন্তু কিভাবে ? লোকপাল বিলকে আইনে পরিবর্তনের মাধ্যমে কি ? 


লোকপাল বিল লোকসভায় পাশ হলে তা আইনে পরিনত হবে I বলা হচ্ছে এই নব লোকপাল আইন হচ্ছে বিশেষ আইন, তা পাশ হলে সংসদ, আমলা এবং বিচারপতিদের দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে বিশেষ আইনি ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণ করা যাবে . এই কথার কোনো মূল্য আছে কি ? না, সম্পূর্ণ অসত্য কথা এবং লোক ঠকানোর কথা I  তার কারণ.....


ভারত নামক রাষ্ট্রটির সংবিধান মোতাবেক আইন প্রস্তুতের দ্বায়িত্ব হ'ল আইন সভার (যথা লোকসভা,রাজ্য সভা,বিধানসভা ), শাসনের দ্বায়িত্ব হ'ল শাসনসভার বা শাসন কর্তাদের বা আমলাদের এবং বিচারের দ্বায়িত্ব হ'ল বিচারসভার বা বিচারালয়ের বা বিচারকদের I বলা হয়ে থাকে ভারত হ'ল একটি গণতান্ত্রিক রাষ্ট্র I গণতান্ত্রিক রাষ্ট্রের অর্থ হ'ল দেশের প্রতিটি নাগরিকের জন্য সমান আইনি, শাসন এবং বিচার ব্যবস্থা চালু আছে I  কিন্তু লোকপাল আইন হ'ল একটি বিশেষ আইন এবং যা কেবল সংসদ, আমলা এবং বিচারপতিদের দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে বিশেষ আইনি ব্যবস্থা গ্রহনের উদ্দেশ্যেই গঠিত I এই আইন প্রকৃতপক্ষে সম্পূর্ণরূপে সংবিধান বিরোধী কারণ তা গণতান্ত্রিক রাষ্ট্রের সকলের জন্য সমান ব্যবস্থার নীতিটি লঙ্ঘন করে I   তাই নির্দিধায় বলা যায় লোকপাল বিলটি সংবিধান অনুযাই নাগরিকের সমানাধিকারকে লঙ্গন করলে তা লোকসভা কিম্বা রাজ্য সভায় কোনভাবেই পাশ হবে না I ভারতের সংবিধান মেনে চলা কোনো রাজনৈতিক দল এবং তাদের সংসদরা অতি-সাংবিধানিক কোনো  আইনই পাশ করতে পারবেন না I   


তাই, এই জয় ক্ষনিকের জয় . এই জয় নবরূপে প্রতারিত হওয়া ছাড়া কিছুই নয় I দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে জয় তো নয়ই I এছাড়াও আন্না হাজারের চিন্তা চেতনায় বড়ই গলধ I প্রশ্ন উঠবেই, আন্না হাজারে কি গণতান্ত্রিক ব্যবস্থা এবং তার রীতিনীতি বোঝেন না, নাকি মানেন না I  ভারতে সংবিধান অনুযাই দুর্নীতি প্রতিরোধে দুর্নিতিরোধক অভিন্ন আইন আছে, অভিন্ন বিচার ব্যবস্থা আছে, বিচারে  কেউ অপরাধী সাবস্ত হলে, শাস্তি লাগুর ক্ষেত্রে প্রয়োজনীয় অভিন্ন শাসনতন্ত্র রয়েছে I তাহলে, শ্রী হাজারে এই ব্যবস্থার উর্ধ্যে অন্য কোনো বিকল্প বা সতন্ত্র ব্যবস্থা চাইছেন নাকি ? না, তা ঠিক নয় I দুর্নীতিমূলক ব্যবস্থাটা পাল্টাবার কোনো কথাই উনি বলছেন না I আসলে উনি বলছেন তা হ'ল একটি বিশেষ আইনের কথা I যা নাকি বিশেষ বিশেষ নাগরিকের ক্ষেত্রেই লাগু করা হবে I এ কেমন কথা হ'ল, গণতান্ত্রিক রাষ্ট্রে নাগরিক বিশেষে ভিন্ন ভিন্ন আইন চালু করা যায় নাকি ? না, উনি গণতন্ত্রের ধার ধারেন না I  ওনার প্রস্তাব অনুযাই কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার "যুগ্ম লোকপাল খসড়া  বিল কমিটিতে" সুশীল সমাজের যে ৫ জন  সদস্যদের নাম গ্রহণ করেছে, তাদের কেউই তো জনগনের দ্বারা নির্বাচিত নন I বরং সরকার পক্ষের যে ৫ জন ওই কমিটিতে থাকবেন তারা জনগনের দ্বারা নির্বাচিত I তাহলে, তো গোড়ায় বিসমিল্লা I  দুর্নীতি দমন করবেন, আইন পাশ করবেন, তারা  জনগনের দ্বারা নির্বাচিত হবেন না I এটাই হ'ল দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে সংগ্রামে মহান নেতার বক্তব্য I দুর্নীতি দমন হবে অগণতান্ত্রিক পথে . ইহা যদি সৈরতন্ত্র না হয় , তবে ইহা কি? 


একথা অবশ্যই ঠিক এবং অনশিকার্য্য যে আন্না হাজারে অত্যন্ত নিরাভরণ জীবন যাপন করেন I বাক্তিগতভাবে অতন্ত্য সত, সাদাসিধে ও একজন একনিষ্ঠ গান্ধীবাদী মানুষ I এমনকি উনি আন্তরিকভাবে দুর্নীতির অবসান চাইতেই পারেন I কিন্তু তার অর্থ এই নয় যে, তার চিন্তা চেতনায় গণতন্ত্র, গণতান্ত্রিক পথ ও দুর্নীতির অবসান সম্পর্কে স্বচ্ছ ধারণা আছে I একই সাথে যুগপথ এটা দুঃখের ও  দুর্ভাগ্যেরও  কথা যে কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার এরই সুযোগ নিল এবং আন্না হাজারের মত দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে সংগ্রামে সামিল হাজার হাজার সত দেশবাসীকে বহুবারের মত আবার ঠকালো I তাই উদ্বাহু হয়ে সবাই মিলে একযোগে বল ভাই, "জয় ভারতীয় গণতন্ত্রের জয় "I "জয় জনগনের জয়" I

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উপরোক্ত রচনাটির দায় ও দ্বায়িত্ব সম্পূর্ণরূপে আমার, পশিমবঙ্গ রাজ্য ডেয়ারী এমপ্লয়ীজ ফেডারাসন  কোনভাবে দ্বায়ী নয় I  

   অভিজিত রায়