New Delhi: Over 50,000 activists affiliated to different Leftist-trade unions on February 26 staged a march to Parliament to protest the government's "anti-people, anti-labour and anti-national" economic policies and threatened to intensify their stir in the coming days.

The protesters, who were stopped by police on Ranjit Singh flyover in the heart of the capital, alleged that the policies have led to the surrender of the country's economic sovereignty to international financial institutions and multinational companies (MNCs) "resulting in utter pauperisation of the masses".

Leaders of different unions opposed the Centre's move to implement recommendations of the Second National Commission on Labour, which they alleged "dismantled all rights of workers, facilitated hire-and-fire of employees, indiscriminate outsourcing of jobs and closure of industrial units".

They also opposed the sale of public sector units and alleged not a single disinvestment deal was free from corruption.

Demanding reversal of the "anti-people" policies, they threatened to stage a countrywide general strike before the end of the Budget session, the date of which will be decided on March 12.

Addressing the rally, All India Trade Union Congress general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta demanded that immediate steps be taken to protect the agricultural labourers who were affected by the Government's "WTO (World Trade Organisation)- friendly" policies.

Traffic in the capital was severely affected by the protest march.

PTI