Heena Sharma Blog

  Cracks have emerged within the opposition ranks as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday said it will not support the ' Bharat Bandh ' and asked its workers to stay away. The TMC has been at the forefront in opposing the farm laws in Parliament. It has also lent its support to the protests by the farmers but has decided not to go with Tuesday's Bharat Bandh call. Party MP Saugata Roy on Monday said, "TMC stands in solidarity with the farmers, but will not support the Bharat Bandh in West Bengal as it goes against our principles." Earlier, TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee had tweeted, "I am very much concerned about the farmers, their lives and livelihood. GOI must withdraw the anti-farmer bills. If they do not do so immediately we will agitate throughout the state and the country. From the very start, we have been strongly opposing these anti-farmer bills." Read More

Road and rail blockades were reported from several parts of West Bengal on Wednesday as trade union activists along with Left and Congress supporters picketed in support of the 24-hour general strike against the Centre's "anti-people" policies. The strikers took out rallies in parts of the state and blocked roads and railway tracks in North 24 Parganas district. But police removed them to ensure movement of vehicles without hitch. In Kolkata, government buses were plying normally but the number of private buses was less in the early hours. Metro services were normal in the city and auto-rickshaws and taxis were also seen on the roads. Heavy police deployment was seen in several areas of the city, including in Tollygunge, Behala, Esplanade and Jadavpur. In some areas of north Bengal, the Trinamool Congress took out rallies opposing the strike and urged people to maintain normalcy. Read More

Banking services were partially affected for the second day on Wednesday, as a section of PSU bank employees came in support of the nation-wide strike call given by 10 central trade unions against the alleged anti-labour policies of the government. All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees' Federation of India (BEFI) have supported the strike, which has impacted banking operation where these two unions are strong. However, the operation in SBI and private sector banks remained unaffected as other seven unions in the banking sector are not part of the strike. According to AIBEA General Secretary C H Vekatchalam, cash transactions, clearance of cheques, remittances, bills discounting and foreign exchange transactions were impacted. Cheques worth about Rs 20,000 crore could not be cleared by the clearing houses all over the country yesterday, he claimed. Read More Business Standard

The proposed 'Bharat Bandh' called by Dalit organisations on August 9 to protest the Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST Act should be called off as the centre has decided to bring an amendment bill to restore the law, LJP leader and Lok Sabha MP General News : The proposed 'Bharat Bandh' called by Dalit organisations on August 9 to protest the Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST Act should be called off as the centre has decided to bring an amendment bill to restore the law, LJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Chirag Paswan today said. "There is no reason now to go ahead with the bandh and protest the Supreme Court verdict given that the government has decided to bring an amendment," he told reporters here, adding that the legislation could be introduced today itself and passed early next week after a debate. Dalit groups under the banner of the All India Ambedkar Mahasabha (AIAM) have given a call for Bharat Bandh on August 9 to press for their dem