The Hindu : National : Resolution on right to strike eludes parties in West Bengal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 17, 2004

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National

Resolution on right to strike eludes parties in West Bengal

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, DEC. 16. Although most political parties in West Bengal agree on the right to strike and to call bandhs as a form of protest, they are far from reaching unanimity over an all-party resolution endorsing the right to strike to be placed in the Assembly on December 21.

The decision to move the resolution came in the wake of a ruling of a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court recently stating that the call for bandh by the Trinamool Congress on December 3 was illegal and unconstitutional.

Immediately on receiving copies of the draft of the proposed resolution at a meeting of the Assembly's Business Advisory Committee leaders of the Trinamool Congress and the Congress have indicated that they would move for an amendment to the draft seeking the State Government to act in accordance with the spirit of the proposal. Even as local politicians argue over the wording of the draft resolution, the Left parties are preparing to take the issue to the national level. If necessary, the United Progressive Alliance Government will be pressured for Central legislation that would set up guidelines on the right to strike — a matter to be discussed at the two-day meeting of the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to begin in New Delhi on December 17.

`Constitutional right'

The Chief Whip of the Left Front, Rabin Deb, who is instrumental in framing the draft of the resolution, to be placed before the West Bengal Assembly, told The Hindu that the right to strike as mentioned in the resolution was a Constitutional right. He was hopeful of a consensus among all political parties over the resolution. But the Leader of the Opposition and Trinamool MLA, Pankaj Banerjee, said his party would insist on an amendment so that the State Government abided by it no matter which party might exercise it. The State administration, he pointed out, was bent on ensuring the failure of any bandh called by the Opposition.

Mr. Banerjee said the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party in the Assembly, Atish Sinha, agreed with him on the issue of moving an amendment to the proposed resolution. "Let the CPI(M) take up the matter with the Centre; at the State level we will not be a party to the all-party resolution as it stands according to the draft,'' a senior Congress MLA said. The winter session of the Assembly began today.

The Speaker, Hasim Abdul Halim, made obituary references to 14 eminent people who had passed away since the last session in August.

Those mentioned included Yasser Arafat, Palestine leader, M.S. Subbulakhsmi, Carnatic music exponent, and Raja Ramanna, scientist.

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