BPCL workers protest with ‘Go Back Modi’ placards in Kochi as PM inaugurates key projects

BPCL workers affiliated to five trade unions boycotted the inauguration ceremony and took out a protest march while raising slogans of ‘Modi go back’
BPCL workers protest with ‘Go Back Modi’ placards in Kochi as PM inaugurates key projects
  • While accusing the government of adopting double standards, the trade unions said that the privatisation of PSUs cannot go hand-in-hand with inauguration of assets created by PSUs

  • The Central trade unions claimed that the inauguration of BPCL's petrochemical project was aimed at cashing in on the Assembly elections due in Kerala in May this year

New Delhi: On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Kochi to launch five key projects, including a Propylene Derivative Petrochemical Project of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), workers affiliated to five trade unions boycotted the inauguration ceremony and took out a protest march while raising slogans of 'Modi go back.' Workers under Coordination Committee of Trade Unions, a forum of five trade unions against privatisation of public sector undertakings, took out a protest march from Thripunithura railway station in Kochi ahead of the inauguration ceremony.

'Privatisation of PSUs can't go hand in hand with inauguration of new PSU assets'

While accusing the government of adopting double standards, the trade unions said that the privatisation of PSUs, especially BPCL, cannot go hand-in-hand with the inauguration of assets created by PSUs. In a statement released earlier on February 12, the Central trade unions had claimed that the inauguration of BPCL's petrochemical project was aimed at cashing in on the Assembly elections due in Kerala in May this year. The protest march was taken out by workers affiliated to Cochin Refineries Workers' Association (CITU), Cochin Refineries Employees Association (INTUC), Refinery Employees Union (KR), Kochi Refinery General Construction Workers Union (CITU), and Kochi Refinery General Construction Workers Congress (INTUC).

PM inaugurates 5 key projects in Kerala

Apart from BPCL's petrochemical project, Modi launched Ro-Ro vessels to be operated between Bolghatty and Willingdon Island and inaugurated the Sagarika International Cruise Terminal. The PM also laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of South Coal Berth, in Cochin Port, besides inaugurating the Marine Engineering Training Institute, the only maritime training institute in India functioning within a Shipyard having extended training facilities for trainees on various vessels under construction or repair. Speaking on the occasion, Modi said that the five projects will energise the growth trajectory of India and will go a long way in creating an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

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