Kolkata, Oct 31 BJP national general secretary Sunil Bansal on Saturday described the launch of the party’s first trade union at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here as a “historic day”, announcing plans to set up similar bodies in several other sectors.
“It is a historic day as the first trade union of the BJP is officially being started from here,” Bansal said at the inauguration of the union at the airport, which was also attended by the party’s West Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya.
Bansal said the newly formed union would safeguard workers’ interests and expressed confidence that it would function with transparency and integrity.
He also asserted that West Bengal would emerge as one of the country’s leading states in the next five years.
“Our government will work towards fulfilling the dream of a developed West Bengal,” he said.
Bhattacharya said the contractual workers’ union at the airport was being formed despite the party’s earlier position to ensure that workers’ rights were protected.
He also claimed that fresh investments were flowing into West Bengal after the BJP came to power in the state.
“West Bengal will see a thrust in industrialisation and the value of labour will increase,” he said, adding that the association of the state’s name with cheap labour would be erased.
“The exodus of labour, capital and merit from the state will be stopped,” he said.
The BJP Rajya Sabha MP blamed militant trade unionism for the decline of the state’s industrial sector and said the state could not continue with its past practices.
“If anyone thinks what has prevailed in the state for the last 49 years will continue, they are mistaken,” he said.
“We have adopted a multi-party system and accepted social pluralism,” Bhattacharya said, asserting that the right to dissent was a fundamental condition of democracy.
He said workers had the right to press for their legitimate demands but also had a responsibility to ensure that their activities did not affect the airport’s functioning.
Referring to the slogans ‘Destination Bengal’ and ‘Bengal Means Business’, coined by the previous Mamata Banerjee regime, Bhattacharya said the BJP government would translate them into reality.
He claimed that investors, including non-resident Indians from across the world, were approaching the state with investment proposals, while existing business houses were expanding their operations.
The previous TMC government had organised several Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) editions to attract investments to the state.
Bhattacharya also asserted that the BJP would ensure workers’ rights in the state.
“No one will have the temerity to say you are barking like dogs for making legitimate wage-related demands,” he said, referring to former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s alleged remark that state government employees were “barking” while demanding a hike in dearness allowance.
He urged workers to fight for their rights while ensuring that their actions did not tarnish the image of the state.
(PTI News)
