Today in Politics: Rahul, Tejashwi to lead Opposition protest against electoral roll revision
Gandhi would be joined by top INDIA bloc leaders including Bihar AICC in-charge Krishna Allavaru, state Congress head Rajesh Kumar, state Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Shakil Ahmed Khan, CPI (ML-Liberation) chief Dipankar Bhattacharya and several MPs and MLA.
These leaders, who will start marching from Income Tax Roundabout to Vidhan Sabha, will reach the office of State Election Commission to press their demand for immediate recall of ongoing drive.
The Opposition has termed the exercise 'flawed' and 'unnecessary' before upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, due later this year. RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha and ADR have moved the Supreme Court against the drive. The apex court will hear the matter on Thursday.
Congress spokesperson Gyan Ranjan Gupta told The Indian Express: 'Our leader would oppose NDA's nefarious design to enforce votebandi in the country. Our protest would continue beyond Bihar bandh'.
RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari added: 'Presence of senior leaders like Gandhi and Tejashwi would give extra momentum to the protest. We have been getting feedback of chaos and confusion over the entire exercise. We have nothing against the revision but it should have been done in a non-election year while taking the Opposition into confidence.'
Over 25 crore workers to go on strike
More than 25 crore workers engaged in sectors ranging from banking, insurance, postal to coal mining, highway and construction are likely to go on a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, potentially disrupting services across the country.
A forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates have called for a general strike or 'Bharat Bandh' to 'oppose the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the government'.
In a statement, the forum has called for making 'the nationwide general strike a grand success', and said preparations have been taken up in earnest by unions in all sectors of formal and informal/unorganised economy. 'More than 25 crore workers are expected to take part in the strike. Farmers and rural workers will also join the protest across the country,' said Amarjeet Kaur from All India Trade Union Congress.
The forum had last year submitted a charter of 17-point demand to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the workers' union forum said in its latest statement.
It further said that the government has not been conducting the annual labour conference for the last 10 years and continues to take decisions in contravention to the interest of labour force, attempting to impose four labour codes to weaken collective bargaining, to cripple unions' activities and to favour employers in the name of 'ease of doing business'.
'We are demanding from the government to address unemployment, recruitments against sanctioned posts, creation of more jobs, increase in days and remuneration of MGNREGA workers and enactment of similar legislation for urban areas. But the government is busy imposing ELI (Employment Linked Incentive) scheme to incentives employers' instead,' it stated.
Trade unions had earlier observed similar strikes on November 26, 2020, on March 28-29, 2022, and on February 16 last year.
Delhi HC to hear Sharjeel Imam's bail plea
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday will hear the bail plea of activist Sharjeel Imam in a February 2020 riots case.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur was scheduled to hear the plea on Tuesday, but it adjourned the matter after the prosecution sought time.
Umar Khalid, Imam and several others were booked under stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC provisions for allegedly being the 'masterminds' of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC. Imam was arrested in the case on August 25, 2020.
– With PTI inputs
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