Protesting against the alleged terror tactics of the ruling Trinamool Congress in the civic polls, the Left Front and six Central trade unions have called a general strike on April 30. While the Left Front had called for a 12-hour strike, the Central Trade Unions called for a 24-hour strike.
Among the trade unions there are four Left-backed unions including the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the labour wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Hind Mazdur Sabha (HMS), an independent socialist workers’ union, and the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), the labour arm of the Congress.
“We are calling for the strike in protest against the destruction of democracy in Bengal by the TMC and its tyrannical actions,” Left Front chairman Biman Basu said here on Sunday. He also accused the TMC government of not being able to maintain the law and order situation in Bengal and said that it had deteriorated over the last three years.
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Making similar allegations against the TMC, senior CITU leader Shyamal Chakrabarty said that if such terror was unleashed by TMC in the civic polls, it may also take place during the 2016 Assembly elections in Bengal.
“We invite all irrespective of their political allegiance to join forces with us to make the strike a success because the murder of democracy in Bengal must be stopped,” Mr. Chakraborty told journalists earlier in the day.
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TMC general secretary and State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee accused the Left Front and the trade unions for indulging in narrow minded party-politics at a time they should stand by the people affected by the earthquake. He urged the people not to support the strike.
“Our Leftist friends, some in the name of trade unions, others under the guise of the Left Front are trying to bring back the culture of strike in Bengal when it is on a path of development under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s leadership,” said Mr. Chatterjee.