CALCUTTA, 20 December 2004 — An unprecedented resolution is set to be adopted by the West Bengal legislative assembly today in favor of general strikes defying the Calcutta High Court and Supreme Court which have ruled shutdowns as illegal.
Leaders cutting across political lines say that the all-party resolution is a precursor to a new legislation recognizing strikes as a legal form of protest to stop the judiciary from passing strictures or penalizing parties in future for resorting to shutdowns.
The weeklong winter session of the provincial law-making body will conclude on Thursday.
Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim said: “For the first time in India, members of all political parties represented in a state legislative assembly will adopt a unanimous resolution on the right to strike for discussion in the House.” Political parties are in a combative mood after the Calcutta High Court’s crackdown on three shutdowns in a row on Nov. 17, 22 and Dec. 3 organized by Socialist Unity Center of India (SUCI), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and Trinamool Congress respectively against hike in fuel prices.
The High Court not only summoned political leaders who gave the call for strikes but forced the administration to deduct salaries of government employees who did not report for duty during the shutdowns. The issue united all political parties ranging from the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the opposition Trinamool Congress, Congress Party and the little-known SUCI.
Left Front Chief Whip Rabin Deb said that the idea of an all-party resolution was first mooted on Dec. 10 when legislators belonging to various political parties called on the speaker to “safeguard the democratic right to strike”.
Rabin said the resolution has been drafted by constitutional experts and leaders of various political parties who favor legislation to make strikes legal.
Trinamool Congress and Congress leaders say while they broadly support the Left Front’s initiative to legalize strikes, there should be discussions to identify issues on which strike calls can be given.
Besides today’s unprecedented resolution, plans are afoot to send an all-party delegation of West Bengal MLAs to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to drum up support for a national law upholding the right to resort to strikes. There is a growing conviction in West Bengal political circles that the only antidote for growing judicial disapproval of shutdowns is to pass a law in the national Parliament legalizing shutdowns once and for all.
Marxists are optimistic that Manmohan’s United Progressive Alliance government might oblige the red party whose support is crucial for its survival. But analysts say that convincing the Bharatiya Janata Party will not be easy at all.
Significantly, Calcutta High Court has taken the cue from a string of recent anti-strike judgments of various high courts across the country.
In 1997, Kerala High Court blazed a new trail when it ordered strike organizers to pay damages to affected persons. The verdict was reiterated by Justice Shyamal Sen of Kolkata High Court forcing the West Bengal government to issue a notification that year.
