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Kerala moots law to regulate shutdown strikes

The Congress-led United Democratic Front government's move to enact a legislation to regulate shutdown strikes (hartal) in Kerala has evoked mixed response in the state.
While Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala's post in this regard in his Facebook page got more than 30,000 likes, many dismissed the proposal as a political gimmick. The critics urged him to demonstrate his sincerity by asking his own party not to practice shut down strike.
Another section feels that the state did not require a new law but the political will to implement the prevailing laws and court guidelines. Raju P Nair, who heads the 'Say no to hartal' campaign, says none would dare to enforce a hartal in the state if police are allowed to act on the guidelines issued by the high court from time to time.
Unfortunately the successive governments have not given the law enforcement agency a free hand to deal with forceful shutdown strikes because they abuse this mode of agitation for their narrow gains. He alleged that most of the hartals being called by political parties were a violation of the court orders.

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