Thaindian News

Kolkata, Feb 11 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Saturday accused the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal of pursuing “undemocratic and anti-people” policies after it decided to revoke subsidies to the transport corporations.

“What kind of a policy is this? It is not necessary that all corporations will have to make profit… but now the government is saying that they will not give any subsidies to the corporations,” Leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said, reacting to the announcement.

Announcing the decision to withdraw subsidies in a phased manner, Transport Minister Madan Mitra said it was “absolutely impossible for the state government to provide the ailing corporations (in the transport sector) with annual subsidies for surplus workers to meet salary needs”.

The Calcutta State Transport Corporation, the North Bengal State Transport Corporation, the South Bengal State Transport Corporation, the West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation, and the Calcutta Tramways Company are the five corporations under the transport department.

Mishra, addressing a rally here, said that while the workers in transport sector are denied their salary, the government is paying crores of rupees to sports clubs and organising needless festivals in the state, burdening its coffers.

He called the state government’s move to take away the right of government employees to join trade unions as undemocratic and anti-people and urged the people to participate in the Feb 28 shutdown called by 11 major trade unions in the country.

Stating that the shutdown was the last resort to protest for the working classes, Mishra said that if the government continued to ask the working classes not to participate in strikes, they will reply with strike.