Latest news with #K.Neela
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Comprehensive probe into Dharmasthala ‘burials' case sought
Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary K. Neela has urged the State government to order a comprehensive probe into the alleged burials of bodies in Dharmasthala village. Addressing presspersons here on Monday, Ms. Neela said that thorough investigation is essential to uncover the mystery of a series of alleged crimes reported since the 1970s wherein women and young girls are said to have been sexually harassed and brutally killed. She urged the State government to conduct thorough re-investigation in the case of a school teacher identified as Vedavalli who was burnt alive in a bathroom for winning her promotion case in 1979 and in another case of 1986 wherein a girl named Padmalatha was kidnapped and the body retrieved from the Netravati, as her Communist father contested an election against an influential candidate. She said that further investigation is required in the 2012 case of mahout Narayana Safalya and his sister Yamuna said to have been killed for refusing to give up their land and also, in the case of Soujanya said to have been raped and murdered. She said that eyewitnesses in most of these cases died under suspicious circumstances. And, now, a former sanitation worker of Dharmasthala has claimed that he was asked to bury bodies in the forests and on the banks of the Netravati between 1995 and 2014, she said. Ms. Neela demanded transparent and fair investigation in the Dharmasthala case to bring all the unseen hands involved in the alleged rape and murders to book.
The Hindu
27-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Police brutality against farmers condemned, land acquisition in Devanahalli opposed
Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Centre of Indian trade Unions (CITU) and the All India Kisan Khet Mazdoor Sangathan (AIKKMS) have strongly condemned Wednesday's police brutality against farmers, leaders and activists during a peaceful protest led by the Samyukta Horata Karnataka at Devanahalli in Bengaluru Rural district opposing the forcible land acquisition by the State government. The members of CPI(M), CITU and AIKKMS under the banner of Samyukta Horata Karnataka staged a protest and gathered at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk and also outside the Deputy Commissioner's office in the city and raised slogans against the State government for manipulating the laws to acquire land by force without the consent of farmers in Devanahalli taluk. CPI(M) district secretary K. Neela said that the then BJP government in the State had implemented the land reform policy introduced by the BJP-led Central government. However, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government which had opposed the 'anti-farmer policy' and came to power vowing to protect the interest of farmers by repealing it, is now hell-bent on enforcing the same policy, leaving the farming community in distress, she said. For the past 1,180 days, farmers from 13 villages from Devanahalli taluk have been protesting against the State government's attempt to acquire 1,770 acres of agricultural land under the pretext of industrial development. The agitators said that the State government's land acquisition move is a threat to the livelihood of hundreds of farmers who mainly depend on horticulture, vegetable cultivation and dairy farming. Activists M.B. Sajjan and Sharanabasappa Mamshetty said that the State government held three rounds of meetings with farmers and organizations in the name of industrial development just to pacify them before announcing its final decision on Wednesday. They accused the State government of prioritizing industrial interests over those of farmers. Condemning the cowardly act of the police in trying to suppress democratic rights of farmers to fight for their land and livelihood, AIKKMS district president Ganpat Rao Mane criticised the police for taking 52 protestors (leaders and activists) into preventive custody on Wednesday for supporting the agitation. The agitators demanded that the State government stop the land acquisition process and warned that they will intensify their agitation and continue to fight until the acquired land is returned to farmers.
The Hindu
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Left questions U.S., Israel justification that Iran is developing nuclear weapons
Left parties have jointly condemned the U.S. airstrike on Iran, calling it a grave violation of Iran's sovereignty and the United Nations Charter. In a strongly worded statement, the district units of the CPI(M), the CPI and the SUCI(C) in Kalaburagi criticised the move as an act of imperialist aggression aimed at destabilising West Asia and asserting Western dominance over the region's strategic resources. The statement, released by CPI(M) district secretary K. Neela, CPI district secretary Mahesh Rathod K.R. and SUCI-C district secretary Veerabhadrappa, noted that the United States and Israel have justified the strike on the grounds of Iran developing nuclear weapons. However, it pointed out that Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi clearly stated on June 19 that there is no evidence of Iran making any systematic attempt to build nuclear weapons. And, even the U.S. intelligence agencies have admitted to lacking concrete proof, it added. Despite Iran being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the U.S., having withdrawn from the agreement, continues to escalate tensions, the Left leaders said. They added that the June 12 Israeli airstrike on Iran was deliberately aimed at derailing any possible diplomatic talks between the two nations. While U.S. President Donald Trump earlier proposed a two-week window for dialogue, the joint attack reveals what they called a clear intention to provoke conflict in the region. The Left said that the actual aim behind such military action is to establish imperialist control over West Asia, destroy Iran's autonomy and secure access to vital resources. The leaders further said that the strike serves the interests of the global military-industrial complex and international capitalist forces which are struggling to recover from a prolonged crisis. The statement compared the current situation to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, also based on unverified claims, which was later proven baseless. The use of B-2 stealth bombers in the recent Iran attack mirrors the previous aggressive actions and shows a dangerous disregard for diplomacy, they said. Calling the U.S. position hypocritical, the Left leaders pointed out that it remains the only country to have used nuclear weapons, despite lecturing others about nuclear threats. The airstrike, they said, can severely intensify the conflict, threaten global peace and have disastrous consequences for ordinary people, particularly in countries like India, which are heavily dependent on oil imports and West Asian employment. The Left parties urged the Union government to immediately abandon its pro-U.S. and pro-Israel foreign policy stance and instead, join global efforts to halt the conflict. They announced that protest actions will be organised and appealed to peace-loving citizens of India to stand in solidarity with them denouncing imperialist aggression.
The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Left condemns war in Gaza, stages protest
Strongly condemning the ongoing war in Gaza, members of the district committees of Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCI-C) staged a protest in Kalaburagi on Tuesday. The members of Left parties led by CPI(M) district secretary K. Neela, CPI district secretary Mahesh Rathod, SUCI-C district secretary R.K. Veerabhadrappa gathered at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk to express their 'solidarity' with Palestine. Ms. Neela alleged that in the last 20 months Israel has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children. Essential infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and refugee shelters, have been deliberately targeted, she claimed. The protestors claimed that it is disturbing that the Indian government, instead of standing with Palestinians, has increasingly adopted a stance of appeasement of Israel.
