On the eve of the all India general strike called by 10 Central trade unions in the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that there will be no bandh in the State. She also threatened to come up with legislation imposing hefty fine on those who attack public property.
Speaking to journalists at the State Secretariat here, Ms Banerjee said that she had held discussion with Home Secretary Moloy De on the issue.
Though the Chief Minister admitted that she organised bandhs a few years ago, she later realised that nothing could be achieved through it.
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“This politics of bandh should stop. I am somebody who is in support of labour rights, and I support workers demands but bandh is not a solution “ she said.
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police have made elaborate arrangements to foil any attempt to enforce bandh with the deployment of 3,000 personnel. More than 300 police pickets at busy street intersections markets, govt offices and establishment in central business districts have been put up.
Left Unions not relenting
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Claiming that the recent order of the Calcutta High Court which stated that there cannot be any use of force either to break or to enforce a strike, the State leadership of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said that verdict has provided them a “legal advantage”.
“The Calcutta High Court verdict has given us a legal advantage as it prohibits the use of force to break a strike,” State general secretary of CITU Dipak Dasgupta told media.
CITU leadership also cautioned the Chief Minister against “undemocratic use of the police and administration” to break the strike. They said that in case of a crackdown by the TMC government, the union workers will not back down from a confrontation. “If the Chief Minister wants battle then we are ready for it. We want the strike to be peaceful but if the State Government tries to break it by force, they will face stiff resistance,” warned Mr. Dasgupta.
CITU State president Shyamal Chakraborty pointed out that the general strike is against the “anti-people policies” of the Centre and alleged that the Chief Minister was doing the “ Bharatiya Janata Party’s biding” by trying to foil the strike. As for the Chief Minister’s announcement that the State government will provide compensation in case any vehicle gets damaged during the strike, he alleged that “TMC’s thugs” will vandalise vehicles and put the blame on the trade union workers.
Other than CITU, Left trade unions like the AITUC, UTUC, Hind Majdoor Sangha, and the Congress backed INTUC will join the strike.