A nationwide strike called by central trade unions saw a mixed response across India, impacting various sectors and states differently, with some areas experiencing disruptions while others remained largely unaffected.
Rahul Gandhi met with farm union leaders to discuss concerns about the India-US trade deal and its potential impact on farmers' livelihoods.
BMS allies with breakaway faction of Congress-affiliated INTUC. This marks a new chapter in India's trade union movement
The Congress attacked the Modi government, saying it now seems to be routine that India learns about its government's actions only from Trump or his appointees.
The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth, points out T T Ram Mohan.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that an interim trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, with chief negotiators meeting in Washington to finalize the details.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29, to protest against government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people. The Joint Platform of central trade unions held a meeting in Delhi on March 22, 2022, to take stock of the preparations in various states and sectors for the proposed two-day all India strike on 28-29 March 2022 against "the anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies" of the central government, a statement said. The statement said that roadways, transport workers and electricity workers have decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA (Haryana and Chandigarh, respectively). Financial sectors, including banking and insurance, are joining the strike, it stated.
All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said the Common Minimun Programme was 'inadequate' and not 'acceptable'.
Leaders of the Delhi units of trade unions, including All India Trade Union Congress and Indian National Trade Union Congress, on Tueday charged the government with being indifferent towards the problems of Indian migrant workers and demanded a migration policy for them.
Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh also witnessed a tense atmosphere amid confrontation between the party workers.
Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh boycotted the convention, reason for which was not known immediately.
The BJP has strongly criticized the Congress party after youth wing workers staged a protest at the India AI Impact Summit, alleging the demonstration was orchestrated to tarnish India's global image.
Ten central trade unions on Tuesday said they are going ahead with their planned nationwide general strike on November 26 and also announced their support to a two-day farmers' agitation next week. The meeting of the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and Sectoral Independent Federations and Associations was held virtually on November 16, 2020. Unions expressed satisfaction over the tremendous response being received from workers and the people at large throughout the country to the ongoing campaign for the countrywide general strike on November 26, 2020, a joint forum statement said.
The views of the trade unions who met the finance minister on Wednesday, run contrary to the demands of India Inc, which called for disinvestment of public sector enterprises to fund the widening fiscal deficit. They also suggested increasing corporate tax rate so that more money can be transferred from the rich to the poor.
Talking to PTI Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), said, "The two-day nationwide strike by the joint forum of central trade unions has begun this morning". About the impact of the agitation, she said that the entire coal belt (mining area) is affected in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. She also said that there is a good response in industrial areas of Assam, Haryana, Delhi, West Bengal, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The AITUC official noted that the banks and insurance sectors are affected all over India, while steel and oil sectors are also seeing partial impact due to the strike. Kaur said that she has got preliminary reports that markets are closed in Odisha.
Mahadevan, who said that trade unions had dropped their plans to hold a protest during Chirac's upcoming visit, also accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of ignoring anti-Clemenceau pleas.
Finding that the draft common minimum programme was "inadequate", the central trade unions on Monday said it was not "acceptable" to them and laid out over a dozen demands to the new government headed by Prime Minster Manmohan Singh.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Friday after opposition members raised slogans demanding the resignation of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and protesting against the India-US interim trade agreement.
Trade unions on Tuesday went one step ahead of Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on the issue of CEOs' salaries suggesting their remuneration must be regulated by law as 'self-regulation is no remedy'.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a strong attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, accusing them of compromising India's interests on the world stage and selling out farmers and the poor during their time in power.
The first leg of the Budget session concluded with debates over the India-US trade deal and a former army chief's memoir, and will reassemble on March 9.
The ten trade unions are National Trades Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India United Trade Union Centre, Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self Employed Women's Association, All India Central Council of Trade Unions, Labour Progressive Federation and United Trade Union Congress.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha, stating that the world is moving towards a new global order and that India has become a prominent voice for the Global South. He highlighted India's growing influence and trade deals.
Rijiju, however, did not specify when and who will give notice for privilege motion against Gandhi. It is believed that someone from treasury benches in the Lok Sabha will do so.
'In my experience of politics, I have seen political grips and political chokes are mostly hidden. The average person cannot see them,' Rahul Gandhi said.
The trade unions would jointly carry out demonstrations, sit-ins and other forms of protests on October 28 to focus on the government's economic policies which were leading to job losses and hiking the prices of essential commodities.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being 'anti-farmer' and 'selling' the country through the India-US interim trade deal, vowing to stand strongly with farmers.
Indian Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu Chib was arrested after a disruptive shirtless protest at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi, leading to further investigation into potential conspiracy and funding.
The BJP protesters, carrying placards and raising slogans, slammed the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, calling them "traitors" for allegedly tarnishing the nation's image.
Rahul Gandhi said that had an INDIA Bloc government negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told US President Donald Trump that he should treat India as an equal.
The unions would give the notice for strike to the Government on August 4, All India Trade Union Congress' Andhra Pradesh unit General Secretary P J Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters in Vijayawada on Wednesday. Prior to that, the union representatives would meet here on July 21 to finalise their stragegy for the stir, he said. The strike call has been given by 56 unions and their affiliated units which have prepared a seven-point charter of demands, Rao said.
'The prime minister didn't come to Parliament.' 'But the BJP MP is charging that you wanted to assault the prime minister.' 'Only a person who has the intellect and ideology of the BJP can come up with such bizarre charges.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a strong attack on the Congress party, accusing them of being unable to accept their repeated electoral defeats and highlighting the achievements of his government.
The incident took place right outside Parliament's Makar Dwar, the main entrance which MPs take to enter the new Parliament building, where Gandhi was standing in solidarity with suspended Congress MPs, mostly from Punjab.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
Rahul Gandhi claims the Indo-US trade deal will compromise the data security of 1.5 billion Indians, alleging Prime Minister Modi is surrendering India's data resources to the US. He warns of potential job losses in the IT sector due to AI and the importance of controlling India's data pool.
The two-day nationwide strike called by central trade unions to protest the Centre's alleged anti-worker policies evoked mixed response all over country on Tuesday.
BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said, "There are many anomalies in the draft rules on Code on Wages which need to be amended. The new rules are silent about many provisions clearly provided in the four Acts subsumed in the code."
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
Trade unions said Jaitley's minimum wage announcement is completely inadequate