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Balco workers' strike enters 13th day

Shoved to the background following the furore raised over the Tehelka exposure, the issue concerning the divestment in Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd continued to simmer with the indefinite strike by its workers entering the 13th day on Thursday.

The Balco issue which had been raging in Parliament, the Chhattisgarh assembly and outside, has somehow been overshadowed by the recent happenings but the workers, whose lone demand is that the company's management should return to government control, have decided to continue their strike.

While the new Balco management has expressed its sincerity to negotiate with "anyone" to find a solution, the Balco Bachao Sanyukta Abhiyan Samiti (BBSAS) has downright refused to have anything to do with the management.

They instead are demanding that negotiations should start with representatives of either the Centre which has 49 per cent stake in the plant or the state government which has been sympathetic to their cause.

Chief Minister Ajit Jogi had extended his moral support to the agitation.

The core committee of the BBSAS decided against responding to the new management's appeals for negotiations.

The BBSAS has given a call for Chhattisgarh bandh on Friday in support of its demand.

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