India enters second day of a two-day nationwide general strike

March 30, 2022

Yesterday, India entered the second day of a two-day nationwide organised by a forum of  along with numerous other regional trade unions. Hundreds of protestors were seen with red flags in, a place frequently used for protests.

The protestors claimed that the economic policies under the current led by Narendra Modi were hurting the  of the country. Swadesh Dev Roye, a top official of in a statement said that the  "wants to hide its economic criminality under the garb of  and religion". The protestors demanded job security in the unorganised sector, increased wages under the and scrapping of the  which would give employers more freedom in deciding working hours and wages.

Some protestors were also demanding the halt of plans to privatise two. The Modi government has been privatising many public sector institutions to stimulate economic growth in the country.

, general secretary of reported that over 20 crore (200 million) protestors had participated on the first day. Banks, markets, and railway services were affected.

India saw a in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate in the country was reported to be eight percent in December last year.