More struggles against UPA Govt in offing: AITUC

Mounting a scathing attack on the UPA Government, pro-CPI AITUC today said more united struggles against its policies are in the offing as the Centre continues to push "anti-people" policies despite people's "anger" reflected during the national strike held a few months ago.
Addressing the opening session of the three-day general council of AITUC here, its general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said frequent increase of oil prices and the recent decontrol of the sugar sector showed that the Government was unwilling to take lessons from the "anger" of the people reflected by the all-India strike.
Holding that the response to the strike, jointly called by all the central trade unions including the pro-Congress INTUC, had been overwhelming, Dasgupta said "it truly reflected the lingering anger in the minds of the people at the neo-liberal policies being pushed in the country since 1991."

The CPI leader said the Manmohan Singh Government not only pursued the "capitalist" economic policies vigorously but also gave up the independent foreign policy followed by India for many decades.
"Never before India has seen a government whose entire commitment is to corporate sector and which destroyed all human values. They believe India can advance only by achieving exploitative capitalist growth by squeezing the people," he said.
Lauding the "firm stand" taken by leaders of all trade unions, including INTUC, in joining the strike, he said a joint delegation of union leaders had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up some vital issues agitating the working class.

If the Government was unwilling to heed the pleas of the unions and make policy corrections, more joint struggles would be launched in the coming days, he added.
Delegates from all the states are attending the meet, which would be deliberating on major issues of the working class and chalking out action programmes, AITUC leaders said.