Caravan News
NEW DELHI – Thousands of members from at least ten trade unions on Wednesday protested here against the Centre and extended their support to the all-India shutdown by trade unions.
Gathered at the Shaheed Park, the members walked towards the ITO intersection and blocked a section of Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.
Holding red trade union flags and braving the winter drizzle, the protesters shouted slogans “Stop attacking students”, “Stop attacking universities”, “India belongs to us”, “Stop dividing us”, and “NRC, CAA, NPR will not be allowed”.
They extended support to the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and anti-National Register of Citizens (NRC) protests as also to protesting students, saying these issues are affecting all Indians, including labour.
The demonstration was called to support the all-India general strike called by the trade unions.
Protesters torched vehicles and ransacked government buses, including a police van in West Bengal as they tried to enforce the day-long bandh called by central trade unions on Wednesday, 8 January.
Meanwhile, the strike was near total in Left-ruled Kerala, with vehicles, including state-owned KSRTC and private buses keeping off the roads.
Train services were disrupted in the suburbs and neighbouring districts of Kolkata by supporters of the nationwide general strike on Wednesday, PTI reported Railway officials as saying.
At least 175 local trains were cancelled in the Sealdah and Howrah divisions of Eastern Railway (ER) owing to the blockades put up by supporters of the strike, its spokesman said.
The said they are on streets across the country because they are unhappy with the “Modi-Shah government as they have destroyed the country”.
(With inputs from IANS)
