It was on 28 May 2021 that Comrade Sivaram, Polit Bureau member and Odisha State Secretary of CPI (ML) Red Star departed us. The departure of Sivaram, a committed revolutionary, who led the Party in Odisha from its very inception, dedicated his entire life for the building up the Basti Surkshya Manch (Slum Movement) together with the Party. Comrade Sivaram’s untimely demise at a young age due to COVID pandemic that ravaged the whole world during 2020-21, was an irreparable loss to CPI ( ML) Red Star.

Red Salute to Comrade Sivaram!

P J James
General Secretary
CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi
28/05/2026

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The Supreme Court’s May 27 judgement upholding ECI’s claim of SIR as an essential, legal mechanism to maintain clean and accurate voter rolls by eliminating duplicate or ineligible entries, has once again ignored the core question of justice to the people who are excluded from the voterlist. The manner in which the ECI’s departure from earlier electoral revisions (such as the 2003 Revision that spread over six months and relied on existing electoral rolls and Voter ID cards) has led to targeted exclusion of the marginalised and disadvantaged sections, especially Muslims, Dalits and women, is not at all given proper consideration in the judgement. For instance, the so called “logical discrepancy”, voter objection process, etc., that were used even minor spelling variances for disproportionately targeting and excluding/deleting marginalized communities, religious minorities, migrant workers and women, especially across States like Bengal and Bihar, was not at all got proper consideration by the Court.

Of course, the judgement that justified the SIR process as a routine administrative exercise for ensuring free and fair elections, has further legitimised the entire claims of the Central regime regarding it. No wonder, the BJP that used ECI as an extension of the fascist regime for weaponising SIR to systematically carrying out mass disenfranchisement of minorities and oppressed sections, has wholeheartedly welcomed the judgement along with the claim that their electoral victory in Bengal and elsewhere was due to cadre network and grassroots organisational structure.

And, the SC giving a clean chit to SIR will have its ensuing repercussions, mainly in the case of citizenship itself. The process of denying welfare and democratic rights to the disenfranchised is already reported from States under the fascist “double engine”. No doubt, it is high time on the part of all the secular, democratic, and anti-fascist forces to take up SIR not as an isolated one, but as integrally linked up with the itensifying the majoritarian fascist agenda today.

P J James
General Secretary
CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi
28/05/2026

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Implementation of SIR in Karnataka: Withdraw the Fascist Attack on the Right to Vote Immediately!

CPI(ML) Red Star State Committee Demands

​The CPI(ML) Red Star Karnataka State Committee strongly condemns the “SIR” process being implemented in various parts of the country. We explicitly state that this is not merely an administrative measure; it is a political attack by the Sangh Parivar on the fundamental right to ordinary voting, which is the cornerstone of India’s constitutional democracy.

Instead of functioning as a constitutionally autonomous body, the Election Commission of India practically acting as a political tool of the BJP is an extremely dangerous development. The real intent behind the process being carried out in the name of “SIR” is not to purify the voter list; it is to purge the poor, Muslims, Dalits, women, migrant workers, minorities, and progressive people who vote against the BJP from the voters’ list. This is a Hindutva conspiracy to push people out of the voter list today, and out of the country tomorrow.

Such measures have been used experimentally in various states, including West Bengal. By removing the names of millions of people from the voters’ list, work has been done to distort the electoral process itself. This is not about preserving the democratic general election system; it is a political conspiracy to weaken the very existence of opposition parties and permanently establish a one-party, Hindutva-Corporate fascist rule.

The reason behind this is that when the ruling classes find their political dominance in jeopardy, they resort to the wicked path of curtailing people’s democratic rights. Today, the right to vote is under attack; tomorrow, authoritarian attacks on people’s right to organize, right to free speech, and right to protest will intensify further. Therefore, the struggle against SIR is not just an electoral question; it is a people’s struggle to save democracy in India.

The Congress government in Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, must not remain silent on this issue and must explicitly oppose the implementation of SIR in the state. The CPI(ML) Red Star demands that the state government pass a resolution in the Legislative Assembly and exert pressure on the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, and the Central Government.

​Concurrently, we demand that the Supreme Court of India intervene immediately and halt this process which undermines the citizens’ right to vote.

​The CPI(ML) Red Star Karnataka State Committee calls upon all democratic forces in the state as follows: Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, women, farmers, workers, student-youth organizations, social justice movements, and all opposition parties must unite to build a statewide struggle for the cancellation of SIR.

​Protecting the right to vote means protecting the survival of Indian democracy. Only a united struggle of the people against fascist forces can save the country.

​B. Rudrayya
State Secretary
CPI(ML) Red Star, Karnataka State Committee

17-5-2026
Bengaluru

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TUCI’s Objections to the Chhattisgarh Industrial Relations Code, 2026

— Comrade Saura
(State Convenor, TUCI Chhattisgarh & Organising Secretary, Progressive Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union, Chhattisgarh)

We believe that the Chhattisgarh Industrial Relations Code, 2026, which seeks to replace the existing three labour laws/rules, is an attack on the rights of workers, especially unorganised workers. It has been framed entirely in line with the four labour codes introduced by the Modi government, which are pro-corporate and anti-worker. In the name of “labour reforms,” this code grants greater concessions to capitalists and corporate houses while weakening the collective strength of workers.

An analysis of its anti-worker aspects is as follows:

1. Harsh Restrictions on the Right to Strike

Earlier, prior notice before a strike was mandatory only in “public utility services.” Now, at least 14 days’ prior notice has been made compulsory in almost all industrial establishments.

We argue that:

Its objective is to make workers’ resistance against increasing corporate attacks on labour rights almost impossible.

During the notice period, management can resort to repression, retrenchment, or police intervention.

It becomes easier to declare strikes as “illegal” and take action against workers.

In practice, this amounts to restricting the constitutional and democratic right to strike.

2. Making Retrenchment and Closure of Factories Easier

Previously, industries employing more than 100 workers were required to obtain government permission before retrenchment, lockouts, or closure. Now this threshold has been increased to 300 workers.

This means:

Thousands of factories employing up to 299 workers can dismiss workers without government approval.

Permanent employment and job security are weakened.

It may become easier to target workers active in union activities.

Since most factories in the state employ fewer than 300 workers, this will have a widespread impact.

3. Replacing Permanent Employment with Casualisation

By promoting “Fixed Term Employment,” companies can:

Employ workers on contracts for a few months or years.

Remove them once the contract period ends, without permanent absorption.

Although the law claims that such workers will receive benefits equal to permanent employees, we believe that:

Job stability is destroyed.

Workers become less confident about forming unions.

Labourers are forced to live in constant insecurity.

This is effectively a move toward a “hire and fire” model.

4. Possibility of Weakening Trade Unions

The law requires 51% membership for a union to qualify as a “Negotiating Union.”

Practical problems include:

Many factories have multiple unions.

In the absence of 51% membership, management-backed unions may gain an advantage.

The role of smaller, militant, or independent unions may be restricted.

We see this as an attempt to control union plurality and democratic labour politics.

5. Special Impact on States Like Chhattisgarh

In mining and heavy-industry states like Chhattisgarh, the impact could be even deeper:

Contract labour may increase in coal, power, steel, and mining sectors.

Employment rights of displaced people may weaken.

Casualisation may increase in SECL, NTPC, private mines, and industrial projects.

Administrative repression against union-led struggles may become easier.

6. Exclusion of Irregular and Contract Workers

We believe that the definition of “government employees’ associations” in this code is intended only for regular permanent employees. Accordingly, irregular, contractual, casual, and contract workers are being deprived of their right to organise and collectively fight for their demands. This goes against the spirit of the Constitution.

7. Part of Neoliberal Economic Policies

We believe that Chhattisgarh’s new labour code is part of neoliberal economic policies aimed at making the labour market more “flexible” for corporate capital.

Instead, the state government should discourage contract labour, “hire and fire” practices, and temporary employment arrangements, while promoting permanent employment.

8. Undermining Democratic Trade Union Struggles

At the same time, excessive importance has been given to high-level committees and grievance redressal mechanisms for the settlement of labour disputes. Instead, democratic methods such as trade union struggles, strikes, and protests should be respected.

This is because it is not grievance committees, but the long struggles of workers to build trade unions and fight collectively, that remain the primary means of securing workers’ rights, especially for unorganised labourers.

— Comrade Saura
State Convenor
Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI)
Chhattisgarh State Committee

Contact:
9425560952
8982108086

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Verdict of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 15 May declaring Kamal Maula Mosque – Bhojshala complex as a Saraswati temple and a Sanskrit learning centre, and directing Muslims to seek alternate land, is revealing. This comes in the immediate context of the latest Assembly elections and the fascist “double engine” directly extending its stranglehold over 78 percent of the Indian population. This judgement of the Court is a gross violation of the 1991 “Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act”, preventing the reopening of historical religious disputes. Following the Court ruling, without wasting time, on 16 May itself, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has issued an order stating that Hindus shall have “unrestricted access to the Bhojshala Complex” along with the discontinuing of “the offering of namaz” by Muslims.

Of course, as in the case of Babri Masjid, the issue connected with Kamal Maula Mosque in Dhar in MP is a dispute whose history dates back to 14th century ( around 1310- 1320 AD) when Dhar was under the rule of the Sultanate. According to historical records, since then the Kamal Maula Mosque in Dhar was utilized by Muslims as a center for Islamic worship and the burial site of the Sufi saint Shaikh Kamal Maula, associated with the Malwa Sultanate period. However, as in the case of Babri Masjid, following the claims of Hindu groups who identify the site as the Bhojshala complex with a temple dedicated to Saraswati, the mosque -temple dispute intensified integrally linked up with the colonial policy of Hindu-Muslim divide. In fact, the term “Bhojshala” itself was popularized during British rule in the early 20th century by a local education officer following the 1903 “discovery” of Sanskrit shlokas inscribed on the floors and pillars at the venue.

Even as the dispute was going on, following an administrative order by the princely state of Dhar in 1934, Muslims started performing regular Friday namaz at the Bhojshala complex in Dhar. However, endorsing the Hindutva claims, the ASI under Vajpayee government made an arrangement on 7 April 2003 which allowed Hindus to perform poojas at the “Bhojshala complex” on Tuesdays and during the festival of Basant Panchami, while Muslims continued to offer namaz on Fridays. Now, the present landmark verdict of the High Court entrusts the entire disputed site to Hindus, declaring the complex’s true religious character as Hindu and suggests the need of alternate land to build a mosque for the Muslim community. While the Hindutva forces characterize this one-sided judgement as “historic and the result of a 700-year struggle”, and smacks of the historic Supreme Court judgement on 7 November 2019, handling over the entire disputed Masjid-Mandir site to a government-created trust for the construction of a Ram Mandir.

Of course, this is a tragic repetition of the same pattern that was witnessed in the case of Babri Masjid. In the background of decades of legal battles, a district judge ordered the inner gates of the Babri masjid to be unlocked in February 1986, officially permitting the Hindus to enter and perform puja and darshan inside the premises. Consequent to Rath Yatra, the site was later demolished in 1992. Later, the Supreme Court gave the disputed structure to the Hindu community. The Ram Mandir was subsequently built and consecrated while prime minister Modi himself was the main “Yajman” during the ceremony in 2024.

The case of Kamal Maula Mosque is not an isolated or the last one. In this no holds barred Hindutva move towards “new history writing” and its implementation, Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, Shahi Masjid in Mathura, etc. are already in the queue. At a time when all institutions of State power, including even the judiciary, are saffronised, it needs to be identified that this denial of religious rights to the Minorities, is part of the ongoing majoritarian move towards their disenfranchisement and denial of citizenship altogether. It is high time on the part of all secular, democratic and all anti-fascist forces to come forward resolutely and relentlessly resisting this heinous majoritarian fascist offensive towards a Hindu Rashtra.

P J James
General Secretary
CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi
17. 05.2026

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