All India Workers’ Strike – Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

On 12 February, under the call of the Central Trade Unions, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), and various mass organizations, an All India Workers’ Strike was organized against the four anti-worker, corporate-backed labour codes being implemented by the fascist Modi government; against the India–US trade agreement and its adverse impact on the country’s farmers; against the poison of hatred and division being spread on a massive scale to advance the Hindutva “Hindu Rashtra” project by the fascist Sangh Parivar; and against attempts to dismantle the MGNREGA Act.

 

 

As part of the strike, a sit-in demonstration was held at Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), organized by the Trade Union Council, Bilaspur. The program was presided over by Comrade Pawan Sharma of the Trade Union Council, Bilaspur, and conducted by Comrade Rajesh Sharma of the LIC Employees’ Union.

Those who addressed the gathering included former MLA and President of Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Janak Lal Thakur; CPI (ML) Red Star State Secretary Comrade Saura; All India Convenor of the Revolutionary Cultural Forum (RCF) and the Caste Annihilation Movement (CAM), Comrade Tuhin; senior Railway Union leader Comrade Ravi Banerjee; senior Left leader Comrade Nand Kashyap; Comrade Pramod of the Bank Union; President of Jan Chetna Party, Sardar Jasbir Singh Chawla; Convenor of Kisan Mazdoor Sangh Chhattisgarh, Comrade Shyam Murat Kaushik; Comrade Lalan Prasad of AICCTU ; Comrade S. K. Jain; Comrade Vijay Mudaliyar of the SECL Union; former MLA Siyaram Kaushik; Alka Gupta of the LIC Employees’ Union; Comrade Mahesh Shrivas of the Chhattisgarh Electricity Employees’ Union; AITUC leader Comrade Haridwar Singh; Comrade Narayan Chaudhari; Mahesh Gangotri and Rakesh Sharma of the Congress; leader of the Government Employees’ Union Comrade P. R. Yadav; leader of the Lingiyadih Bachao Andolan and Councillor Dilip Patil, among many others.

Comrade Tuhin presented revolutionary song at the gathering.

At the conclusion of the protest, a memorandum addressed to the President of India on behalf of the workers’ organizations was submitted to the SDM, Bilaspur. Along with various mass organizations, a large number of activists from the Lingiyadih Bachao Andolan also participated in the demonstration.