Bharat Bandh: Unions claim response unprecedented, hope govt wakes up
Claiming that their two-day nation-wide strike has generated an "unprecedented" response, central trade unions today said the success should serve as a wake up call to the government for settling their demands, even as they deplored reports of violence on the first day.
Union leaders regretted that they were being blamed for causing Rs 20,000 crore loss to the economy and wondered if the government was aware of the loss accrued due to 2G license row, concession extended to corporates in the last budget and farmers' suicides.
"The strike was unprecedented. Never ever have we witnessed such a general strike . We had never believed the general strike would be so massive and widespread," AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta, flanked by other union leaders, told reporters here.
If the hunger strike of Anna Hazare and the protest following the Delhi gangrape could force the government to come up with anti-graft bill and ordinance, today's strike should compel it to take steps for the settlement of the workers' demands, he said.
"If anybody has an eye to look, if anybody has a brain to think, let the government think what has been the response to the strike and take the lesson from this," he said.
He maintained that the government was never ready for talks with the unions when they announced the strike in September last year and even when the matter was raised in Parliament and at the standing labour committee's meeting where the Prime Minister was present.
"What is shameful is
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