The Hindu : National : Do not brush aside workers' protest, says Prakash Karat

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Saturday, Oct 15, 2005

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Do not brush aside workers' protest, says Prakash Karat

"No amount of vilification will deter the CPI (M)" "The working people will rebuff all attempts to put restrictions on the right to protest and the right to strike"

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday ridiculed those who accused it of "political immorality for seeking to blackmail the Manmohan Singh Government while supporting it" and asked the Centre not to brush aside the import of the workers' protest across the country against the Government's economic policies.

In an editorial in the latest issue of the CPI (M) official weekly, its general secretary Prakash Karat made it clear that no amount of "vilification" would deter the Left from standing "firmly" with the working class and other sections of the working people in the struggle for a better life.

`Dangerous'

"The working people will rebuff all attempts to put restrictions on the right to protest and the right to strike. The dominating media is bordering on advocating authoritarian measures to suppress strikes in the name of national interest. The media is doing it to defend the interests of the big capital. It was dangerous for the democratic system," Mr. Karat said, justifying the September 29 general strike.

Mr. Karat said it would be better for the ruling circles to understand the message conveyed through this protest action. He noted that what was common in the editorials and commentaries regarding the general strike were a strong and often vituperative attack on the CPI (M) and the Left. "It was expected that the corporate-owned media would disapprove of the workers' action and write the usual editorials about the irresponsibility of the trade unions and how the economy suffers as a result. What is new is the offensive mounted against the Left parties and the strident tone of the demand that such strikes be stopped."

"The Left parties were accused of holding the country to ransom. Worse, they were accused of political immorality for seeking to blackmail the government while supporting it. Most of the editorial comments assumed that the central trade unions had gone on strike at the dictates of the CPI (M) and the Left parties. Some of the more rightwing papers have charged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the government of being weak for failing to deal with the strike firmly.

"What is common in this diatribe against the September 29 strike is the assumption that strikes are anti-national and anti-people," he said. The CPI (M) has been accused of "political obscenity" for inflicting the strike on the country. Another commentator has called it "a perverse day-long disruption." Another daily editorialised that "the Left remains oblivious to the possibility that workers and managers can work in a civilised, symbiotic manner."

Giving instances of recent strikes in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, South Africa and South Korea, Mr. Karat said many of the issues raised in the September 29 general strike were similar to the causes for the strikes in other countries. "They include job losses, cuts in pension benefits and changes in labour laws."

"It is an insult to the workers, the government employees and the working people of the country to brand the strike action, in which millions participated, as a political strong-arm tactic of the CPI(M) and the Left to settle scores with the UPA government,'' he said. — UNI, PTI

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