People's Democracy

PUNJAB

CITU Protests Attacks on Its Bengal Activists

AT the call of the its all-India secretariat, the Punjab state unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) organised on June 7 protest actions all over the state against the politically motivated violent attacks on the its leaders, workers and offices as well as against the common people in West Bengal. So far, these attacks have claimed the life of over a dozen CITU activists and caused heavy losses to the property.

On the day, protest rallies and demonstrations were organised in Longowal (district Sangrur), Ropar and Hoshiarpur. At Longowal, over 500 workers and activists of the CITU took part in the rally, preceded by a procession, in protest against the murderous attacks on CITU workers in West Bengal. Addressing the rally, state CITU general secretary Raghunath Singh strongly condemned the politically sponsored, violent and barbarous attacks on the cadre and activists of the CITU being perpetrated in collusion with the government of the TMC-Congress combine in West Bengal. He demanded that the West Bengal government must immediately stop the violence against CITU activists and take the culprits to task. He urged upon the working class of Punjab to stand by the CITU and the working class of West Bengal in this critical situation. The Punjab CITU warned the West Bengal government that if violence against the CITU activists and common people was not stopped, the working class of India would give the TMC-Congress combine a fitting reply. State CITU secretary Dev Raj Verma, its vice president Ram Singh Sohian, Jagminder Singh Jagga and Jagseer Singh (leaders of the workers’ union in Sant Harchand Singh Longowal Institute of Engineering Technology) and Balveer Singh (district president of the Lal Jhanda Bhatha Workers Union) also addressed the rally.

At Ropar, the Swaraz Mazda Contract Drivers and Workers Union took out a big procession in the city to condemn the violent attacks on activists of the CITU in West Bengal. Over 200 workers of the union, which is affiliated to the CITU, joined the procession. District CITU president Gurdev Bagi, union general secretary Tarlochan Singh and its president Nirmal Singh addressed the rally, demanding a stop to the violence against the CITU in West Bengal.

In Hoshiarpur district a public meeting was organised in village Satnaur. Over 100 brick kiln workers and MNREGA workers took part in it. Addressing the rally, Mahinder Kumar (state general secretary, Lal Jhanda Bhatha Workers Union) urged upon the workers to extend every support to the working class of West Bengal.