NEW DELHI: The RSS affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) or the trade union wing of the Sangh issued a statement on Wednesday claiming that their protests against the Centre’s new labour reform laws and decision to privatise many of the public sector units (PSUs), met with violent attacks from Trinamool Congress workers in Nandigram in West Bengal.
The statement also said that apart from Bengal, their protests were very "successful and peaceful" across the country.
With assembly elections coming up in the state next year, and BJP gearing up to take on the ruling Mamata Banerjee led TMC government in Bengal, the saffron party and the Sangh affiliates have been building up a case against the regime on the issue of "lack of law and order" accusing the ruling party of perpetrating political violence in West Bengal. Union home minister Amit Shah has also talked about imposition of President’s rule in the state, depending on the governor’s report from the state, before the polls.
BMS has stated on Wednesday that "We are very pained to note that in Nandigram of East Medinipur district of West Bengal the protest demonstration by BMS, against the recently introduced labour reforms was attacked by TMC goons. These goons have severely injured the people who were protesting peacefully and many of the protestors are now admitted in hospitals. Some senior office bearers of BMS have also been targeted."
BMS had planned for a countrywide protests on June 10, according to a resolution passed in their triennial conference, under the "save public sector, save India" theme. However, the statement dated October 28, did not mention the date of the Nandigram incident.
The Sangh affiliated trade union said that it has "organised protest demonstrations against the labour reforms introduced recently across the country at district and unit levels. This was in continuation of the ‘Sarkar jagao, PSU bachao’ and ‘Chetavni’ saptah. Our protests across the country were very successful and peaceful except in West Bengal."
"Under these circumstances, we strongly demand that the chief minister of West Bengal take steps to ensure that such incidents are curbed and don’t take place in future. We hope that the culprits of this violence are punished as soon as possible," BMS general secretary Binoy Kumar Sinha said in the statement. He also requested the Centre to take immediate steps to curb the unchecked violence going on in West Bengal. "We strongly demand intervention from the Central government to pull West Bengal out of this crisis," he said.