SEVERAL LAKHS OF WORKERS COURT ARREST AGAINST GOVERNMENT POLICIES

8th November 2011 Several lakhs of workers all over the country courted arrest on 8th November 2011 to express their serious resentment against the apathy of the UPA government towards their demands. The call for ‘Jail Bharo’ was given jointly by all the 11 central trade unions including CITU, BMS, INTUC, AITUC, HMS, AICCTU, AIUTUC, UTUC, TUCC, LPF and SEWA.


In the national capital Delhi, several thousands of workers marched towards Parliament and around 10500 workers led by the central trade union leaders including AK Padmanabhan and Tapan Sen, president and general secretary of CITU, Baijnath Rai (BMS), Sanjeeva Reddy (INTUC) and Gurudas Dasgupta (AITUC) were arrested.
The anger of the workers against the incessant price rise, unemployment, attacks on labour rights, lack of social security benefits for the unorganised workers, the institutionalised corruption etc were evident in their massive response to the call for countrywide courting arrest. Workers from both the organised and unorganised sector, men and women, in more than 500 out of the 640 districts in the country, in the state capitals and industrial centres, marched together with their colourful banners and flags and held dharnas, rasta rokos, processions etc and courted arrest. Workers courted arrest in all the districts in Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala and also in several other states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra, etc. Around 3 lakhs workers courted arrest in 23 centres in Tripura. 1.25 lakhs workers joined the action in West Bengal. In Malda police resorted to severe lathi charge injuring 32 workers. In addition to the state capitals and district headquarters, thousands of workers also courted arrest in several industrial centres in Karnataka, Odisha, and Chattisgarh etc.


Several coal-workers in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, and Maharashtra etc courted arrest en masse. Hundreds of workers marched on the streets of Jammu and courted arrest. In Jamui in Bihar, thousands of women beedi workers courted arrest. Thousands of fishers joined the industrial workers in several states in the Jail Bharo action. In many states, bank, insurance and telecom employees, state and central government employees also joined the demonstrations on the occasion. As per reports received till 3.30 PM, more than a million workers participated in the ‘Jail Bharo’ programme; the number is most likely to double when reports from all the centres in different states are received.
Addressing the meeting held near Jantar Mantar in Delhi, the central trade union leaders declared that the united struggle would be further intensified including a countrywide general strike in the coming months.


CITU congratulates the working people for their magnificent response to the call of countrywide Jail Bharo/Satyagraha and calls upon them to prepare for countrywide general strike in the coming months against the anti-people policies perpetrating a regime of loot and plunder on the people at the behest of corporates, speculators and black-marketeers.

Thanks to CITU  Press Release