CITU calls for nationwide protest over hawker eviction

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has vehemently condemned the brutal midnight crackdown on railway hawkers, small shop owners, and local residents at the Jadavpur Railway Station area on the intervening night of June 7–8. Terming the eviction drive a barbaric action carried out under the cover of darkness, the trade union body has called for massive nationwide protests in front of railway offices on June 15.

A massive contingent of police personnel, Railway Protection Force (RPF), and other security agencies reportedly used bulldozers and earthmoving machinery to demolish makeshift establishments, destroying the livelihood of hundreds of poor vendors.

When local residents, trade union activists, and students from Jadavpur University peacefully assembled in solidarity to demand rehabilitation and a reasonable time to pack their essentials, they were allegedly met with severe force, intimidation, and violent repression.

CITU strongly condemned the physical assault that resulted in serious injuries to numerous protesters. It also criticised the arbitrary arrest of Srijan Bhattacharya, All India General Secretary of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), along with several other democratic activists.